Painting I / Research Methods for Artists
Practice question · Select all that apply

Why does a material test need a control? Select every statement that is true of a controlled comparison.

Hints
  1. Three describe how a comparison is kept interpretable; one describes how it is destroyed.
  2. A larger effect is no use if nothing can be blamed for it.
Show the answer
  • A. The samples must be labelled before they dry, not afterwards from memory
  • B. Only one variable may change between the samples being compared
  • C. The same illumination and camera settings must be used for every photograph
Why

The fourth confuses the size of an effect with the ability to attribute it. Change three things and something will certainly happen, and nothing in the result will say which change did it, so the test produces an observation and no finding at all.

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