A Researcher Conducts a Quasi-Experimental Study to Determine Whether There

question 17

Multiple Choice

A researcher conducts a quasi-experimental study to determine whether there is improved weight gain among premature infants who are fed according to cue-based protocols.The researcher trained neonatal intensive care nurses to apply cue-based feeding to orally fed infants and notes a statistical difference in weight gain between infants fed according to cue-based protocols and those fed according to standard protocols.Which might be a threat to internal validity in this study?

• A) The concept of cue-based feeding is not well defined.
• B) The study sample is homogeneous.
• C) Some infants developed gastroenteritis.
• D) Not all nurses received cue-based protocol education.

---

Definitions:

Eliminate

To completely remove or get rid of something.

Rosenthal Effect

Also known as the Pygmalion effect, the phenomenon by which higher expectations lead to an increase in performance.

Masked Design

A research strategy where the participants do not know which treatment or control condition they are receiving to prevent bias.

Random Assignment

A method used in research studies to assign participants to different groups in an experiment by chance, minimizing pre-existing differences between those assigned to each group.