Question

Principles of experimental design were developed by:

• A. Wilcox
• B. R.A. Fisher
• C. Cox and Cochran
• D. WG Cochran

Hint:

For competitive exams, note that Cochran's 1957 work is considered the definitive formulation of experimental design principles.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

The complete principles of experimental design were formalized by:
William Gemmell Cochran (WG Cochran) in his 1957 work "Experimental Designs"
While R.A. Fisher pioneered key concepts, Cochran systematized the complete framework
The Cox
Cochran collaboration came later (1970s) for specialized designs

Answer 2

Distinguishing "originated" from "developed and formalised":
R.A. Fisher introduced the foundational ideas, randomization, replication and local control, at Rothamsted in the 1920s, but this was the origin of the concepts, not the complete, formalised system of principles.
The Cox and Cochran partnership is associated with later, more specialised design work from the 1970s, which postdates the core formalisation being asked about here.
It was William Gemmell Cochran who, notably through his own influential 1957 text "Experimental Designs", consolidated and systematised these principles into the coherent framework used today.
Ruling out Fisher, the originator rather than the systematiser, and Cox and Cochran, a distinct later joint work, leaves WG Cochran as the answer.