Blind experiment

High school (ages 12+)
Thinking & Learning

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/blind-experiment

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the types of bias mitigated?Participant bias (placebo effect), observer bias, and experimenter expectancy effects
2. Why do scientists use a single-blind design?In a single-blind design the people taking part don’t know if they are getting the real medicine or a fake one. This stops the placebo effect from making them feel better just because they think they are being treated.
3. How does a double-blind study work?In a double-blind study, neither the participants nor the researchers who give the medicine and collect the data know who is getting the real treatment. A separate person keeps the key to the code until after the data are finished.

Observer Bias: Systematic error introduced into an observation based on the observer's expectations or beliefs.
Placebo Effect: A beneficial effect produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself.
Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT): A study design that randomly assigns participants to an intervention group or a control group to evaluate the effects of the intervention.