What is the difference between independent measures design and repeated measures design?

An independent measures design consists of using different participants for each condition of the experiment. The advantage of this is that there are no order effects, which is when participants behave differently due to the order of conditions performed, due to factors such as boredom or fatigue. However, the disadvantage of independent measures design is that there is the potential for error due to individual differences between the groups of participants. A repeated measures design consists of testing the same individuals on two or more conditions. The advantage of this is that individual differences between participants are removed as a potential confounding variable. Repeated measures also requires fewer participants, as data from all conditions is from the same group of participants. However, the disadvantages of repeated measures is that order effects can occur, and that the range of potential use is smaller than independent groups, as it is not always possible to test the same participants twice. Moreover, matched pairs design uses different participants for each condition, matching participants on key variables such as age, IQ, and gender. However, although this method combines the advantages of independent and repeated measures, it is an expensive and time consuming task.

Answered by Charlotte C. Psychology tutor

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