With research the independent variables, dependent variables, and extraneous variables each play distinct roles. Independent variables are the cause in a cause-effect scenario. Where as dependent variables are the outcome of the situation. Extraneous variables are all the other influences that have and effect on the outcome (Falkner et al).
While researchers us a multitude of different techniques to control outcomes, two of the used methods are randomization and standardization. Randomization is where you randomly place people of different demographics and place them in a control group hopefully minimizing any biases. Standardization is when the researcher uses the same environment for all the individuals participating.
In 2021 the was a study performed on nursing students to determine which method of teaching clinical skill assessments was more effective (Smith). Researchers controlled this by allowing the students to chose their groups and method of instruction, but gave each group the same set of instructions to follow (Smith). The study isolated the effect of the different methods of instruction of clinical skills, and minimized the surrounding influences that could skew the results.
Falkner, A., Green, S.Z., Helbig, J., Johnson, J., McNiff, P., Petric, M., & Schmidt, M. (2022). Nursing Research: Understanding Methods for Best Practice (2nd ed.). Grand Canyon University.
Smith, J., Brown, L., & Davis, K. (2021). The impact of innovative educational strategies on nursing students’ clinical skills: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nursing Education, 60(3), 120-127.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2020). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
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