A market research company wishes to find out which of two Internet search engines the population of students at a university prefers to use: Google or MSN Search.A random sample of students is selected,and each one is asked to search for a certain subject using Google and then MSN,or vice versa.The order of the two searches was determined at random.They then indicated which Internet search engine they preferred.What type of study is this?

A) An observational study that is not a sample survey
B) An observational study that is a sample survey
C) An experiment but not a double-blind experiment
D) A double-blind experiment
E) None of the above

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Tracy Manzueta · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : C, Explanation :  This is an experiment because the researchers are actively imposing a treatment (the use of Google and MSN Search in a random order) and observing the effect of that treatment (preference). It is not a double-blind experiment because the participants are aware of which search engine they are using, and potentially, the researchers are too.

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