vocabulary

Experiment: is a method of investigating causal relationships among variables.

Double-blind procedure: to prevent research outcomes from being influenced by either the placebo effect or the observer bias.

Placebo effect:The placebo effect is a phenomenon in which a physiologically inert treatment, or placebo, improves a patient's condition relative to similar patients who receive no treatment.

Experimental condition:the procedure that is varied in order to estimate a variable's effect by comparison with a control condition

Control condition:a standard against which other conditions can be compared in a scientific experiment; "the control condition was inappropriate for the conclusions he wished to draw"

Random assignment:Random assignment or random placement is an experimental technique for assigning subjects to different treatments (or no treatment). The thinking behind random assignment is that by randomizing treatment assignment,

Independent variable:The terms "dependent variable" and "independent variable" are used in similar but subtly different ways in mathematics and statistics as part of the standard terminology in those subjects.

Dependent variable:If every value of x is associated with exactly one value of y, then y is said to be a function of x. It is customary to use x for what is called the "independent variable," and y for what is called the "dependent variable" because its value depends on the value of x.