Psychology -> Participation allocation: control and experimental groups


Participation allocation: control and experimental groups

Participant allocation involves the way in which subjects are assigned to the various conditions in a study.

Independent variable (IV)
This is the variable that is manipulated or varied by the experimenter. It is applied to the experimental group and is known as the cause of the results.

Dependent variable (DV)
This is the variable which is being observed in the experimental situation to see the effect of the independent variable. Think of it as the outcome or results of both the experimental and control groups.

Control group
The group of subjects which is matched in all ways possible with the subject characteristics and conditions of the experimental group except that it is not exposed to the independent variable. This group serves as a baseline measure for comparison with the experimental group. The control group helps the researcher to determine if the independent variable did, in fact, cause an effect on the dependent variable.

Experimental group
The group of subjects which is matched in all ways possible with the subject characteristics and conditions of the control group but is also exposed to the independent variable. The purpose of the experimental group is to provide a measure of the influence in the dependent variable produced by the intervention.