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1.3 A researcher would like to evaluate the claim that large doses of vitamin C

ID: 3065679 • Letter: 1

Question

1.3 A researcher would like to evaluate the claim that large doses of vitamin C can help prevent the common cold. One group of participants is given a large dose of the vitamin (500 mg per day), and a second group is given a placebo (sugar pill). The researcher records the number of colds each individual experiences during the 3-month winter season a. Identify the dependent variable for this study. b. Is the dependent variable discrete or continuous? c. What scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, or interval ratio) is used to measure the dependent variable? d What is the independent variable? e. What research method is being used (experimental or correlational?

Explanation / Answer

a) A dependent variable is what you measure in the experiment and what is affected during the experiment.

Here the dependent variable is the Common cold

b)  A discrete random variable X has a countable number of possible values

A continuous variable is a variable whose value is obtained by measuring.

This is a discrete variable as the number of colds in 3- month season can be counted

c) Nominal scales are used for labeling variables, without any quantitative value. “Nominal” scales could simply be called “labels.”

With ordinal scales, it is the order of the values is what’s important and significant, but the differences between each one is not really known.

Ratio scales are the ultimate nirvana when it comes to measurement scales because they tell us about the order, they tell us the exact value of units, AND they also have an absolute zero

Hence we use interval/ratio as the scale of measurement for the dependent variable.

d)a variable (often denoted by x ) whose variation does not depend on that of another.

the dose of vitamins C is the independent variable here.

e) An experiment isolates and manipulates the independent variable to observe its effect on the dependent variable, and controls the environment in order that extraneous variables may be eliminated.Experiments establish cause and effect. A correlation identifies variables and looks for a relationship between them.

Here experimental method is being used

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