Repeated Measures

Repeated measures designs can provide a more complete understanding of how phenomena of interest change over time. In this type of experimental design, each unit (person or item) is assigned to all treatments of at least one fixed factor, and several observations are recorded. In other words, the same individuals are measured on a number (as few as two) of occasions. Repeated measures designs are also sometimes referred to as randomized block designs, in which each individual is designated as a “block.” As a simple example, if researchers were interested in determining whether students’ levels of communication apprehension changed after a class activity designed to alleviate public speaking anxiety, they could utilize a repeated measures design. These researchers could survey students regarding their ...