fractional factorial design

a type of experimental design in which some conditions are omitted, such that not all levels of one or more of the independent variables are combined with all other levels of the other variables. A Latin square is an example. Fractional factorial designs might be used because of a small overall sample available for study or because of difficulty obtaining participants or assigning them to some conditions. Additionally, there may simply be too many combinations to study (e.g., in a 3 × 4 × 2 × 5 design, there are 120 combinations of levels). Also called incomplete factorial design. Compare complete factorial design.

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Psychology term of the day

January 26th 2025

blind

adj.

1. denoting a lack of sight. See blindness.

2. denoting a lack of awareness. In research, a blind procedure may be employed deliberately to enhance experimental control: A single blind is a procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental conditions under which they are operating; a double blind is a procedure in which both the participants and the experimenters interacting with them are unaware of the particular experimental conditions; and a triple blind is a procedure in which the participants, experimenters, and data analysts are all unaware of the particular experimental conditions.