Example #1: a Researcher Wishes to Examine Whether Time of Day

question 79

Short Answer

Example #1: A researcher wishes to examine whether time of day (morning versus afternoon) affects the memory of older and younger participants. He obtains a sample of 40 older individuals and 40 younger individuals and gives them a passage to read. They are later given a test over the passage (scores on the test could range from 0 to 30). Half of the individuals are randomly assigned to read the passage and take the test in the morning, and the other half do so in the afternoon. The data are reported in the table below (the numbers represent mean test scores for each group).
$$\begin{array} { | l | c | c | } \hline & \text { Marning Testing } & \text { Afternoon Testirg } \\\hline \text { Older Adults } & \boldsymbol { M } = 15 & \boldsymbol { M } = \mathbf { 8 } \\\hline \text { Yourger Adults } & \boldsymbol { M } = 16 & \boldsymbol { M } = \mathbf { 2 0 } \\\hline\end{array}$$
-Name the dependent variable.

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Definitions:

SS(Total)

The total sum of squares in a dataset, representing the overall variation present within the data.

Factor A Levels

Factor A Levels refer to the different categories or values that an experimental factor, known as Factor A, can assume in an experiment.

Significance Level

A threshold in hypothesis testing that defines the probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis, commonly denoted by alpha (α).

Test Statistic

A numerical value calculated from a sample used in statistical hypothesis testing to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis.