unbalanced design

an experimental design having multiple independent variables in which the number of measurements or observations obtained is different for each condition under study. Although balanced designs generally are preferred for their greater power in statistical analyses, unbalanced designs nonetheless may arise due to participant attrition or other unavoidable factors. For example, if a researcher is investigating how sleep and diet influence academic performance and only 35 of the 40 college undergraduates recruited to participate were able to do so through the full term of the project, certain data will be missing for the five people who left the study prematurely and the design will become unbalanced.

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Psychology term of the day

February 16th 2025

reasonable accommodations

adjustments made within an employment or educational setting that allow an individual with a physical, cognitive, or psychiatric disability to perform essential functions. These adjustments might include installing ramps in an office cafeteria for wheelchair accessibility, altering the format of a test for a person with learning disabilities, or providing a sign language interpreter for a person with hearing loss. Provisions for reasonable accommodations must be made by employers and educators according to the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. See undue hardship.