confounded comparison

a comparison of values obtained by different experimental groups on an outcome or dependent variable when two or more predictor or independent variables vary simultaneously across the groups. In such cases it is impossible to differentiate the effects of the independent variables. For example, consider a researcher studying how material presentation format (lecture vs. computer) and teacher sex (male vs. female) affect student learning. If the investigator were to examine data for only two groups of students (those who had a male teacher and lecture presentation format vs. those who had a female teacher and computer presentation format), he or she would have created a confounded comparison.

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Psychology term of the day

December 26th 2024

factor method

any means by which latent variables (factors) are extracted or identified in factor analysis. Widely used factor methods include principal components analysis, which seeks to find a set of linear combinations called components that help explain the correlations among variables; and principal-axis factor analysis, in which underlying dimensions or factors are sought to explain the correlations among variables after separating out communality and putting aside the error variance in a set of variables.