In experimental design, confounding is:

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Topic: confounding in experimental design. 
Option 1: 'inability to determine if the difference in response is due to the treatment or other factors.' This captures the essence of confounding: when a third variable is mixed with the treatment effect, making it unclear whether observed differences come from the treatment itself or from other factors. It is the core problem that confounding creates in causal interpretation. 
Option 2: 'None of the above' would be incorrect because there is a well-defined concept of confounding in experimental design, and option 1 describes it accurately. Choosing this would ignore a fundamental principle of internal validity. 
Option 3: 'A type of experimental design' misclassifies confounding. Confounding is not a design; it is a threat to internal validity that can occur in various designs. It refers to a bias, not a specific design structure like randomized blocks, factorial, or parallel designs. 
Option 4: 'Artificial inflation of replicates' describes a practice related to replication or sample size, not confounding. Confounding concerns the attribution of effects to the treatment rather than to other variables; inflating replicates speaks to precision or power, not the misattribution issue central to confounding. 
In summary, option 1 correctly identifies confounding as the difficulty in distinguishing whether observed effects are due to the treatment or other factors, while the other options describe related but distinct ideas or mischaracterize what confounding is.

ENVX2001 (ND) End of Week 5 Quiz

In experimental design, confounding is:

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

Why must researchers control for confounding variables?

Which of the following best describes confounding variables:

A confounding variable is a variable that varies along with the independent variable.

True or False: The improvements in mosquito nets are a confounding factor in this experiment.

Married people tend to live longer than unmarried people. It could be that they take better care of themselves when they have the responsibility of a family. It could also be that

Confounding variables are:

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler