An experimental design is a plan that guides information gathering where variations are present. The plan shows how the experimenter will present or withhold the experimental event. The experimental design is important when conducting experiments because it has a direct effect on the results arrived at in the end. An effective experimental design should be able to rule out alternative explanations of the findings. Experiments are conducted in environments where several factors exist that can affect the impact of the treatment on the subjects. The design should allow the experimenter to confidently attribute the behavior change to the presence or absence of the treatment (Ilene and Donald 1991).
There are several diseases that are directly related to the individual's eating habits. The choice to eat healthy foods over fat filled diets is a based on the individuals tastes and preferences. An intervention can be carried out to get people to change their behavior and always go with healthier options. The treatment would include trainings to increase awareness and impart knowledge on the benefits of healthy eating. I would select a group of youths who are in an environment that can allow me to observe their eating habits over time. Then I would train them on the health risks of unhealthy eating habits and the benefits of good eating habits. I would observe for any difference in their eating choices as a final step in the comparison design.
The comparison design demonstrates experimental control in that it has the important aspects of an experiment, the baseline, treatment and the outcome. Observing the youths before the training will provide the baseline of their eating habits. Observing their eating habits after the training will provide the outcome that can be compared to the baseline. The design utilizes the same group of youths hence eliminates some alternative explanations of change that could be attributed to individual differences.
Work Cited:
- Ilene, S.,Donald,M. (1991). Social Validity Assessments: Is Current Practice State of the Art? Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.2(Summer 1991).
