Design an experiment with one independent variable (with at least two levels) and one dependent variable. Additionally, what levels of measurement would you use when collecting your data?
Example: XYZ hospital wanted to increase compliance of staff using hand sanitizer after every interaction with a patient. In order to gain compliance, they set up a buzzer when staff exited the patient’s room. For the treatment group, a buzzer would ring for 1 second after exiting the room unless staff had pressed the hand sanitizer lever. The control group did not have the buzzer activated, so no sound would emit when exiting the patient’s room.
Independent Variable: Presence of a buzzer sound or not.
Dependent Variable: Number of times the hand sanitizer lever was pressed.
Level of Measurement: Ratio
In your responses to other students, identify a strength or weakness of another student’s example design.
Initial discussion question posts should be a minimum of 200 words and include at least two references cited using APA format. Responses to peers or faculty should be 100-150 words and include one reference. Refer to “HLT-362V Discussion Question Rubric” and “HLT-362V Participation Rubric,” located in Class Resources, to understand the expectations for initial discussion question posts and participation posts, respectively
Title: The Impact of Music Tempo on Employee Productivity
Introduction: Many people believe that music can affect an individual’s mood and productivity. In this experiment, we will investigate how the tempo of music influences employee productivity. The independent variable will be the tempo of the music, which will have two levels: fast tempo and slow tempo. The dependent variable will be the number of tasks completed by employees during a fixed time period. We will measure the productivity of employees by counting the tasks they complete.
Hypothesis: We hypothesize that employees exposed to fast-tempo music will complete more tasks in the same time frame compared to those exposed to slow-tempo music.
Methods:
- Participants: We will recruit 50 employees from a diverse range of job roles in an office setting.
- Random Assignment: Participants will be randomly assigned to either the fast-tempo music group or the slow-tempo music group.
- Music Intervention: Participants will listen to music with the designated tempo throughout their work shift.
- Task Count: The number of tasks completed by each participant will be recorded during a fixed 1-hour period.
- Data Collection: Data will be collected on different days to avoid carryover effects.
- Data Analysis: We will use inferential statistics to determine if there is a significant difference in productivity between the two groups.
Levels of Measurement:
- Independent Variable (Tempo of Music): Nominal (categorical) – since it has two categories (fast tempo and slow tempo).
- Dependent Variable (Number of Tasks Completed): Ratio – as it involves numerical values with a meaningful zero point.
Strengths: One strength of this experiment is the random assignment of participants to the two music tempo groups, which helps control for individual differences. Additionally, using a ratio level of measurement for the dependent variable allows for a more comprehensive analysis, including the calculation of means, medians, and various statistical tests.
Weaknesses: A potential weakness of this experiment is that music preference can vary among individuals. Some employees may perform better with their preferred tempo, and this experiment does not account for individual preferences. Additionally, the setting (an office environment) may not fully represent other workplace settings, and the results may not generalize to all work contexts.