The Brigham Young University statistics department is performing randomized comparative experiments to compare teaching methods. Response variables include students' final-exam scores and a measure of their attitude toward statistics. One study compares two levels of technology for large lectures: standard (overhead projectors and chalk) and multimedia. The individuals in the study are the eight lectures in a basic statistics course. There are four instructors, each of whom teaches two lectures. Because the lecturers differ, their lectures form four blocks. Suppose the lectures and lecturers are as given in the table.Which outline describes an appropriate matched pairs design?

In a matched pairs design, each pair of subjects (in this case, lectures) is matched based on certain characteristics, and each member of the pair receives a different treatment. The third outline matches the lectures taught by the same instructor and assigns one lecture to the standard treatment and the other to the multimedia treatment. This design controls for the variability between instructors, allowing for a more accurate comparison of the teaching methods.

Supplemental Knowledge

Matched pairs design is an experimental design method in which subjects are matched based on various characteristics, then each pair receives unique treatments to control for variables that could alter outcomes; it ensures any differences in response variables are more likely due to treatments rather than external influences.
Given this study's four instructors each teaching two lectures, using a matched pairs design would involve pairing lectures taught by each instructor together and assigning different teaching methods (standard vs multimedia) so as to compare effectiveness while controlling for instructor variability.

Real-Life Connections

Matched pairs designs are widely utilized in medical research studies to ensure any differences observed can more reliably be attributed to treatments rather than individual differences. By pairing patients based on similar characteristics (age, gender or health status) before giving each an individually prescribed therapy plan for evaluation purposes. With this methodology applied in this manner, any observed variations between outcomes of individual cases are more easily linked back to specific therapies rather than just individual differences between participants.
As one example of educational research using matched pairs can provide more reliable insight into which teaching method might be more successful for student performance by controlling for instructor differences and isolating its effect on performance. This approach offers more reliable data.

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