Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Complex Mixed Design: Two
Between-Subjects Factors and One
Within-Subjects Factor
14.1 COMBINING BETWEEN- ANDWITHIN-SUBJECTS FACTORS
As discussed in Chapter 13, a mixed design is one that contains at least one
between-subjects independent variable and at least one within-subjects
independent variable. Simple mixed designs have only two independent
variables and so, by definition, must have one of each type of variable.
Complex mixed designs contain at least three independent variables. The
three-way complex mixed designs presented in this chapter and in Chap-
ter 15 must (by definition) have two of one type and one of the other type
of factor. In this chapter, we will focus on the design with two between-
subjects factors and one within-subjects factor; Chapter 15 will present
the design with one between-subjects factor and two within-subjects
factors.
14.2 A NUMERICAL EXAMPLE OF A COMPLEXMIXED DESIGN
College students who signed up for a research study read vignettes in
which their romantic partner was described as being attracted to another
person; this attraction was depicted as being either emotional attraction
with no physical component or physical attraction with no emotional
component. Because this type-of-attraction variable was intended to be
a within-subjects variable, students read both vignettes. After reading
each vignette, the students completed a short inventory evaluating their
feelings of jealousy; the response to this inventory served as the dependent
variable. For the purposes of this hypothetical example, assume that no
effects concerning the order of reading these vignettes was obtained; thus,
we will present the results without considering the vignette ordering factor.
This within-subjects type of attraction variable was factorially com-
bined with the following two between-subjects factors: (a) the students
were either teenagers (either eighteen or nineteen years of age) or were in
their middle twenties (either twenty-five or twenty-six years of age); (b)
the students were either female or male.
Data from this hypothetical study of jealousy serving as our exam-
ple are shown in Figure 14.1. Students with identification code numbers
391
