Worksheet 19: Randomized Experiments#
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Suppose we do lots of retrieval practice in STATS 60 and the average on the exam is 90%. Is this convincing evidence that retrieval practice works?
Suppose we use the students in STATS 60 last year, who didn’t do retrieval practice, as a control group. They took the same exam, and their average on the exam was 75%. So the group that did retrieval practice scored 15 percentage points higher than the group that didn’t. Are you convinced now that retrieval practice causes more learning?
What is problematic about trying to manually balance the treatment and control groups in such a way that they are comparable?
Given the results of the longitudinal marshmallow test study, Why should we be cautious to conclude that the ability to delay gratification at age 4 is causal for later success? What could possible confounding variables be?
Can we even be sure, based on the evidence from the failed-to-replicate follow-up study, that higher socioeconomic status in early childhood causes success later in life?
What lessons can we take from the Marshmallow test study?
Suppose you want to test whether the ability to delay gratification at age 4 is causal for success later in life. How would you design a randomized control trial?
Suppose you want to test whether high socioeconomic status at age 4 is causal for success later in life. How would you design a randomized control trial?