Using a random sample of Year 12 students would primarily improve which aspect of the cognitive-interview study?

Using a random sample of Year 12 students would primarily improve which aspect of the cognitive-interview study?

• A. Investigator effects
• B. Demand characteristics
• C. Reliability
• D. Representativeness of the sample

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how sampling affects external validity by making the sample representative of the population. Using a random sample of Year 12 students means every student in that population has an equal chance of being included, which reduces bias and brings in diverse backgrounds and experiences. This helps ensure the findings from the cognitive interview about memory retrieval or elicitation techniques are generalizable to Year 12 students as a whole, not just the particular individuals tested. Investigator effects and demand characteristics stem from how the study is conducted and how participants react to it, and aren’t primarily addressed by who is chosen to participate. Reliability concerns the consistency of measurements across trials or interviewers, which depends more on standardized procedures and repeated measures rather than how the sample was selected.

The main idea here is how sampling affects external validity by making the sample representative of the population. Using a random sample of Year 12 students means every student in that population has an equal chance of being included, which reduces bias and brings in diverse backgrounds and experiences. This helps ensure the findings from the cognitive interview about memory retrieval or elicitation techniques are generalizable to Year 12 students as a whole, not just the particular individuals tested.

Investigator effects and demand characteristics stem from how the study is conducted and how participants react to it, and aren’t primarily addressed by who is chosen to participate. Reliability concerns the consistency of measurements across trials or interviewers, which depends more on standardized procedures and repeated measures rather than how the sample was selected.