Experimental research is a study that a researcher sets up to evaluate a given situation, such as a drug or treatment intervention. The expectations that researchers have on the outcome of the experiment are referred to as the hypothesis. Other cases of using experimental design may include the cause and effect relationship of an independent variable. Experimental studies often include a group of participants who are exposed to a certain external factor, which is an independent variable. Then, the effect of the external factor on certain characteristics is measured, and this is referred to as an independent variable. In case the independent variable has the expected effect on the dependent variable, the hypothesis of the study is proven. This paper provides an example of three experimental designs to the topics of my interest.
The first example of an experimental design is the effect of energy drinks on athletic performance. The hypothesis would be that energy drinks have no effect on the athletic performance of sprint runners. The independent variable in the study would be an energy drink beverage such as Red Bull 0.5 Sugar-Free. The study would include 15 male and 15 female participants of different athletic abilities aged 18-25. Each participant will first run the sprint of 50 m, and then the results will be compared to the sprint time after drinking Red Bull. The dependent variable in the study would be the time at which participants finish the sprint after drinking an energetic beverage. As a result, the effect of energy drinks on participants’ speed would prove the hypothesis.
The second experimental design will study the effect that reality TV shows have on the intelligence of adolescent girls. Parents and teachers often point out the obsession of teenage girls with reality TV, which often correlates with low academic scores. Hence, the hypothesis will state that excessive exposure to reality TV shows reduces the intellectual abilities of female teenagers. The levels of each independent variable will include the 12-hour day of watching reality TV shows such as Keeping Up with Kardashians and Love Island, and the control group will avoid watching TV for a whole day. Hence, the independent variable would be the exposure to the TV. Then, the dependent variable would be the results of an IQ test that participants will do at the end of the day. The results of the control and experimental groups will be compared against each other in order to prove the hypothesis.
The third experimental design is based on the matched pairs approach. In it, the effect of Calcium on the height of teenagers and the rate of growth will be studied. The hypothesis will be the effect of Calcium supplementation consumption on the growth of a teenager in height. The selected participants will include identical twins aged 12 to 16 years old. Twin groups would be divided into split categories, where one group of twins will be exposed to the independent variable (Calcium supplement), and the other control group of twins will not consume the supplement. The study will continue for two years to see the long-term effects of the independent variable. The height would be considered the dependent variable as it will be regularly measured during the experiment. In case the participants who consumed Calcium supplements will grow taller at the end of the study, the hypothesis of the experiment will be proven.