Question at position 14 Which of the following is NOT one of the major principles in the design of experiments?All of the given options are important principles of designing experimentsCare in observing without imposing changeRandomization in assigning subjects to different treatmentsControlling for other variablesReplication of the experiment using sufficient numbers of subjects

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Let’s break down the question and each choice to see which item does not belong to the major principles of designing experiments.
Option 1: "All of the given options are important principles of designing experiments". If all the listed items truly are major principles, this statement could be true. However, we have to evaluate the other options to determine if any one of them is not a core principle; therefore, this option hinges on the others being valid principles. It’s a meta-statement that can be true or false depending on the validity of the rest.
Option 2: "Care in observing without imposing change". This phrasing concerns how observations are conducted and whether the act of observing alters the system. In experimental design, this touches on measurement bias and the observer effect. While important in research hygiene, it is not typically listed as one of the core experimental design principles like randomization, replication, or controlling for variables. This makes it a plausible candidate for not being a primary design principle.
Option 3: "Randomization in assigning subjects to different treatments". Randomization is a foundational design principle: it aims to evenly distribute unknown confounders across treatment groups, enabling unbiased inference about treatment effects.
Option 4: "Controlling for other variables". Controlling (or blocking/holding) variables is a central practice in experiments to reduce confounding and isolate the effect of the treatment, a core design principle.
Option 5: "Replication of the experiment using sufficient numbers of subjects". Replication increases precision, reduces sampling error, and supports generalizability; it is a well-established core principle in experimental design.
Now, evaluating each choice: the two options about randomization (Option 3), controlling for variables (Option 4), and replication (Option 5) are widely recognized as essential principles in experimental design. They are directly tied to internal validity and statistical reliability.
Option 2, focusing on observation without imposing change, while important for minimizing bias and preserving natural conditions, is more about measurement integrity and non-interference during data collection rather than a primary experimental design principle like randomization, replication, or controlling variables. Therefore, it stands out as not being a core principle of experimental design in the same sense as the others.
Returning to the meta-option (Option 1): if Option 2, Option 3, Option 4, and Option 5 are indeed major principles (and they typically are), then the statement that all given options are important may be justified. However, since Option 2 is not typically classified as a major design principle in the same category as the others, Option 1 is not universally correct.
In summary, most students would identify Option 2 as the item that does not belong among the major principles of experimental design, because the other three (randomization, controlling for variables, replication) are standard design principles, whereas observational non-interference is more about measurement practice than a core design principle.

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