Question

Imagine that two professors decide to test the effect of giving daily quizzes on student performance in a statistics course. They decide that Professor A will give quizzes but Professor B will not.

They will then compare the performance of students in their two sections on a common final exam. List five other variables that might differ between the two sections that could affect the results.
You should explain why the variables you listed could effect the results and what you might do to control them.

Answer 1

Here are five variables that might differ between the two sections that could affect the results, along with their potential effects and possible control measures:

Teaching style: It is possible that Professor A and Professor B have different teaching styles, which could affect how students learn and perform on the final exam. To control for this, the professors could try to standardize their teaching methods as much as possible, such as using the same textbook, teaching materials, and lecture notes.

Student motivation: Students in one section may be more motivated than those in the other section, which could affect their performance on the final exam. To control for this, the professors could try to ensure that the students in each section are similar in terms of academic background, age, and other relevant factors that could impact their motivation.

Class size: If one section has significantly more students than the other, this could impact the ability of the professor to provide individual attention to each student, which could affect their performance on the final exam. To control for this, the professors could try to ensure that the class sizes are similar, or if this is not possible, they could try to standardize the amount of individual attention given to each student.

Exam difficulty: If one professor makes the final exam significantly more difficult than the other, this could bias the results in favor of the professor who did not give quizzes. To control for this, the professors could work together to develop a common final exam that is of similar difficulty and covers the same material.

Student prior knowledge: It is possible that students in one section have more prior knowledge of statistics than those in the other section, which could affect their ability to learn and perform on the final exam. To control for this, the professors could administer a pre-test at the beginning of the semester to assess students' prior knowledge, and then ensure that the two sections are similar in terms of their prior knowledge levels. Alternatively, the professors could randomize the assignment of students to each section to ensure that any differences in prior knowledge are evenly distributed between the two groups.