Randomized Trials Practice Questions

1. In the video, the treatment group is the group that is *

a. Allowed to use electronics in the classroom.

b. Not allowed to use electronics in the classroom.

c. Attending West Point.

d. Not attending West Point.

2. In large random samples, the sample mean is almost certain to be close to *

a. The standard deviation.

b. The population mean.

c. The standard mean.

d. The population deviation.

3. Based on the shortcut you learned in the video for gauging whether an effect has statistical significance, which treatment effect below would be considered statistically significant? *

a. Treatment effect: .3, standard error: .2

b. Treatment effect: 5, standard error: 4

c. Treatment effect: -2, standard error. .8

d. Treatment effect: -.4, standard error: .3

Questions 4 and 5 below deal with the following study: Many college students struggle to finish their degrees. Only about half of American public college and university students finish in 6 years or less. In an effort to boost completion rates and reduce time to completion, many schools offer a variety of support services. One, called Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), was piloted at the City University of New York (CUNY). ASAP provides additional support services like a dedicated adviser and financial aid. A recent randomized study evaluates ASAP effectiveness. Specifically, some portion of 896 eligible CUNY freshmen were assigned to receive ASAP services. Researchers estimated the causal effects of the opportunity to participate in ASAP.

4. Many colleges and universities offer support services. Why do we need a randomized trial to study this? We can simply compare graduation rates for students who do and don’t use these services. What’s wrong with this reasoning? *

a. The ASAP program has not been around long enough to adequately estimate its effect on graduation rates.

b. More determined students might enroll in the program, producing a selection bias.

c. No data is available for four-year colleges to compare.

d. If someone does not graduate, we do not have any information about them.

5. Which of the following best describes a randomized research design? *

a. Students chose to participate in ASAP (treatment group) or not to participate in ASAP (control group) and reported their choice to the researchers.

b. Researchers assigned students to ASAP (treatment group) based upon their need. Remaining students were placed in the control group.

c. Researchers randomly assigned students to the ASAP program (treatment group) or the control group.

d. Researchers randomly assigned students to the ASAP program (treatment group) or the control group initially, but students were allowed to switch groups after assignment to meet their needs.

Practice Questions

Randomized Trials Practice Questions

Introduction

Think Like a Master

The Furious Five

Bonus: Q&A with Master Joshway

Advanced Material: AEA Lecture Videos