ABSTRACT
In Topic 5, you learned that the purpose of an experiment is to observe the effects of treatments on participants. A set of treatments (such as increasing the number of counselors in some high schools while not increasing them in others) constitutes the independent variable. The outcome (such as the number of violent acts per 100 students reported to the principal's office) is the dependent variable. Experiments are usually based on hypotheses (as opposed to research questions or purposes) because one would not ordinarily give treatments without expecting some type of response to them. This is a hypothesis that would naturally lead to an experiment:
• It is hypothesized that providing high school students with information sheets on the legal ramifications of substance abuse will result in fewer students reporting that they engage in substance abuse.
