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A clinical researcher expects that a new cognitive training protocol will produce a real but very weak treatment effect on a patient's reaction time. Based on the criticisms of visual inspection, why should this researcher avoid relying solely on visual analysis to evaluate this specific intervention?
Question: A clinical researcher expects that a new cognitive training protocol will produce a real but very weak treatment effect on a patient's reaction time. Based on the criticisms of visual inspection, why should this researcher avoid relying solely on visual analysis to evaluate this specific intervention?
Sample answer: The researcher should avoid relying solely on visual inspection because critics argue it lacks the sensitivity needed to detect weak treatment effects. Since the expected change in reaction time is very weak, visual analysis might fail to detect it, leading the researcher to mistakenly conclude the intervention was ineffective.
Key points:
- Visual inspection may lack the sensitivity needed to detect weak treatment effects.
- Relying solely on visual inspection for a weak effect might lead to missing a real treatment change.
Rubric: Full credit is awarded if the student applies the sensitivity criticism to the scenario by explaining that visual inspection is not sensitive enough to detect weak effects, meaning the researcher might miss the subtle change in reaction time.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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A clinical researcher expects that a new cognitive training protocol will produce a real but very weak treatment effect on a patient's reaction time. Based on the criticisms of visual inspection, why should this researcher avoid relying solely on visual analysis to evaluate this specific intervention?