Essay

Describe the strategy of anticipating participant questions in the context of standardizing experimental procedures. Explain the primary goal of this strategy and outline the two distinct methods researchers use to address anticipated questions.

Question: Describe the strategy of anticipating participant questions in the context of standardizing experimental procedures. Explain the primary goal of this strategy and outline the two distinct methods researchers use to address anticipated questions.

Sample answer: Anticipating participant questions is a strategy used to standardize experimental procedures and prevent unintended variation in how experimenters interact with different participants. To implement this strategy, researchers proactively predict questions that participants might have during the study. They then address these questions in one of two ways: either by answering them directly within the standardized instructions (proactive), or by developing pre-scripted standard answers to use if the questions are asked during the study (reactive).

Key points:

  • The primary goal of the strategy is to prevent unintended variation in how experimenters interact with different participants.
  • Researchers proactively try to predict the questions participants might have during the study.
  • Method 1: Answer predicted questions within the standardized instructions.
  • Method 2: Develop pre-scripted standard answers to use if the questions are asked.

Rubric: A full-credit answer must identify the primary goal of preventing unintended variation in experimenter-participant interactions. It must also correctly describe the two methods: (1) answering questions within the standardized instructions and (2) developing pre-scripted standard answers to use if questions are asked.

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Updated 2026-05-26

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KPU

Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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