A researcher designs an experiment to determine if German Shepherds prefer pet doors that opens from the side or from the top. He installs two pet doors side-by-side in the same wall. The pet door that opens from the top is designed for pets up to 15 pounds. The one that opens from the side is designed for animals up to 220 pounds. The German Shepherds in his study used the-side opening pet door. The researcher determine that German Shepherds prefer pet doors that open from the side. This situation is an example of:
Personal Bias
Cultural Bias
Experimental Bias**
Technological Bias
Yes
The situation described in the question is an example of experimental bias.
Experimental bias occurs when the design or execution of an experiment systematically favors one particular outcome over others. In this case, the researcher installed two pet doors side-by-side, but only provided a side opening pet door suitable for German Shepherds (animals up to 220 pounds). The pet door that opens from the top was designed for smaller pets (up to 15 pounds), which is not appropriate for German Shepherds. By not providing a suitable option for German Shepherds that opens from the top, the researcher is introducing a bias towards the side-opening pet door.
To determine whether German Shepherds prefer pet doors that open from the side or from the top, the experiment should have included both types of pet doors suitable for German Shepherds. By only offering one option, the researcher has limited the ability to draw accurate conclusions about the preference of German Shepherds. This bias in the design of the experiment could lead to misleading or invalid results.