Question

You are a researcher who is interested in understanding how comfort affects reading comprehension. You devise and run an experiment where students will sit on a comfortable or uncomfortable couch while they read a short blurb. After 10 minutes they are given a 10 question reading comprehension test. All students will undergo each condition, and they will each see the conditions in a random order. Also, there are 2 blurbs, so they should not have testing effects from the blub itself. Assess the findings. Follow the entire process from stating your hypothesis to drawing your conclusion. The data follow. Note that the data is in order from participant one through participant 7 (so participant 1 scored 6 on the uncomfortable couch and 6 on the comfortable couch; participant 2 scored 4 on the uncomfortable couch and 7 on the comfortable couch, etc.)

Uncomfortable couch (x): 6, 4, 2, 6, 5, 4, 5
Comfortable couch (y): 6, 7, 9, 4, 7, 6, 8

Answer 1

Mean(x) = 4.57, Mean(y) = 6.43

Hypothesis:

The hypothesis for this experiment could be framed based on the expectation that comfort has a positive impact on reading comprehension. In other words, students who read on a comfortable couch are expected to perform better on the reading comprehension test compared to when they read on an uncomfortable couch.

Experimental Design:

Independent Variable: Type of couch (Comfortable or Uncomfortable)

Dependent Variable: Reading comprehension test scores

Procedure:

Randomly assign participants to two groups.

Each participant experiences both conditions (comfortable and uncomfortable couch) in a random order.

Participants read a short blurb for 10 minutes on each type of couch.

After each reading session, participants take a 10-question reading comprehension test.

Record the scores for each participant in each condition.

Data Analysis:

Let's examine the data:

Uncomfortable couch (x): 6, 4, 2, 6, 5, 4, 5

Comfortable couch (y): 6, 7, 9, 4, 7, 6, 8

Statistical Analysis:

Calculate the mean and standard deviation for each condition.

Mean(x): (6 + 4 + 2 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 5) / 7 = 4.57

Mean(y): (6 + 7 + 9 + 4 + 7 + 6 + 8) / 7 = 6.43