Experimental Designs and Procedures

Preparation for experimental research should be so meticulous that Murphy's law would become inoperative. If an experiment has gone astray, we can usually trace the cause to ill-preparation, faulty design, or possible mismanagement. If we have carried out all the preparatory tasks discussed in chapter 5, we need only be concerned with apparatus, sample size, subject selection, stimulus materials, administration, data processing, and analysis. Again, we may implement all these in a systematic manner (Fig. 13.1).