Question

Use the following information to answer. The paper "Turning to Learn: Screen Orientation and Reasoning from Small Devices" (Computers in Human Behavior [2011]: \(793-797\) ) describes a study that investigated whether cell phones with small screens are useful for gathering information. The researchers wondered if the ability to reason using information read on a small screen was affected by the screen orientation. The researchers assigned 33 undergraduate students who were enrolled in a psychology course at a large public university to one of two groups at random. One group read material that was displayed on a small screen in portrait orientation, and the other group read material on the same size screen but turned to display the information in landscape orientation (see the following figure). Did the study use random selection from some population?

Short answer

No, the study did not use random selection from some population. The researchers selected students from a psychology course, not from the larger population of all students or individuals. However, within this specific group, they used random assignment to their two study groups.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the scenario

Here, the researchers assigned 33 undergraduate students who were enrolled in a psychology course at a large public university to one of two groups at random.

Define random selection

Random selection refers to a process where subjects are selected randomly from a larger population, giving each individual an equal chance of being selected.

Analyze the method of selection in the study

The description explains that students from a psychology course were selected for the study and randomly assigned to groups. This indicates that while assignment to groups was random, the selection of students from a larger population (i.e., all students, not just those in a psychology course) was not random.