Random Selection Versus Random Assignment

“A researcher surveys a random sample of students from all high schools in a state about their favorite subject. Can the researcher generalize these results to the entire population of high school students in the state? Can the researcher claim that a student's favorite subject causes them to have higher grades? Explain why or why not for each. A company wants to test a new training program. They randomly assign half of their employees to participate in the program and the other half to continue with the existing training. Can the company conclude that any observed differences in performance are caused by the new training program? If the employees were not randomly selected from all similar companies, can the company generalize the results to all employees at similar companies? Explain why or why not for each. A university conducts a study on the effectiveness of online learning by surveying students enrolled in online courses. Students are not randomly assigned to online or in-person courses; they chose their preferred format. Can the university generalize the results to all university students? Can the university conclude that online learning causes a change in student performance? Explain why or why not for each.”