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The classification of a factorial design as experimental or non-experimental depends entirely on the active manipulation of its independent variables. For example, a study that simply measures participants' pre-existing moods to predict sexual risk-taking is a non-experimental factorial design. In contrast, a similar study by MacDonald and Martineau (2002) is classified as a true experiment because the researchers actively manipulated the participants' moods, which allows for stronger causal inferences.

Comparison of Experimental and Non-Experimental Factorial Designs

A factorial design is classified as experimental rather than non-experimental based on whether the researcher actively manipulates the independent variables.

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