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Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2011 in the subject Medicine - Medical Frontiers and Special Areas, grade: 4 on 4 scale (A), , language: English, abstract: Factorial designs and analysis of variance are often used to test for differences among two, three or more means without increasing the risk of Type I errors. This paper explores the use of a 2 x 2 factorial design to test the performance abilities of coffee drinkers versus non-coffee drinkers, and to verify whether one's physical abilities (i.e., obesity) affects performance. The first chapter reviews the association between coffee consumption and performance abilities in a brief literature review. It further discusses the development of a database for entry of the data collected in the factorial study and covers details about the study design. The second chapter involves the use of SPSS to examine the assumptions of ANOVA and to determine whether coffee drinkers performed better near the end of the working day than non-coffee drinkers, as well as to examine whether body weight is a factor in their ability to negotiate the maze. In the third chapter, the obtained results are compared to those from previous studies, and the potential mechanisms contributing to performance-enhancing effects of caffeine are presented briefly, before considering the limitations of the study. The final chapter concludes the paper.
