Final answer:
The experimenter's study about the relationship between sugar intake and attention span in children requires careful design to control confounding variables and obtain accurate data. Employing a control group, longitudinal data tracking, and objective measures can help to ensure the study's validity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The experimenter is interested in studying the relationship between sugar intake in small children and attention span. To explore this relationship, the researcher could conduct an experiment similar to the strategies used in existing studies considering sugar consumption and behavioral aspects in children, such as the study by Wolraich et al. (1995), which looked into the effect of sugar on behavior or cognition in children. Another relevant method would be to use a control group, similar to the observational study designs, to compare children who have different levels of sugar intake and monitor their attention spans.
To ensure accurate data on sugar consumption, any confounding factors need to be controlled. This mirrors the approach for studies on soda consumption and diabetes, where subjects with diabetes are matched to controls to minimize the influence of variables outside the primary interest. Factors that could influence the accuracy of soda consumption data include recall bias or social desirability bias, where subjects may not accurately report their consumption due to faulty memory or the desire to provide socially acceptable answers.