Final answer:
Alternating treatments designs in clinical studies avoid problems such as lurking variables through random assignment, reduce the need for large sample sizes, and diminish the necessity for complex statistical tests.
Step-by-step explanation:
The three problems avoided by alternating treatments designs are commonly associated with clinical studies. The alternating treatments design refers to a type of experimental research where different interventions are alternated in quick succession to determine their effectiveness. In such designs, all subjects experience both treatments, and the order of treatments is randomly assigned to ensure no differences between the treatment groups. With this approach, a few specific problems are mitigated:
- Lurking variables are diminished because of random assignment. This ensures that any observed effects are more likely due to the treatment itself and not to other external factors.
- The need for large sample sizes is reduced because the within-subject comparison is emphasized rather than between-subject designs which require many participants to achieve significant results.
- It reduces the need for complex statistical tests, since the effects of each treatment can be directly observed and compared within individual subjects.
These advantages of alternating treatments design make it a valuable method in clinical and psychological research, as it increases the internal validity of the experiment and allows for a more flexible and direct assessment of treatment effects.