Chapter 10: Research Designs for Special Circumstances

Question 1

Program evaluation

Answer 1

research designed to evaluate programs (e.g. social reforms, innovations) that are designed to produce changes or certain outcomes in a target population

Question 2

Questions that guide program evaluations

Answer 2

needs assessment, program theory assessment, process evaluation, outcome evaluation, efficiency assessment

Question 3

2 key elements of a good/true experiment

Answer 3

manipulation (IV) and random assignment

Question 4

Quasi-experimental designs

Answer 4

study design that has many features of an experiment, but lacks some aspects of a true experimental design due to necessity e.g. control conditions and random assignment (and can’t support causal inferences)

Question 5

Types of quasi-experimental designs

Answer 5

one-group posttest only, one-group pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group (posttest only), non-equivalent control group (pretest-posttest), interrupted time series, control series

Question 6

One-group posttest only deisgn

Answer 6

has no control group and no pretest comparison; very poor in terms of internal validity

Question 7

One-group pretest-posttest design

Answer 7

the effect of an independent variable is inferred from the pretest-posttest difference in a single group; fail to consider alternative explanations

Question 8

Threats to internal validity

Answer 8

history, maturation, testing, instrument decay, regression toward the mean, attrition, selection effects, cohort effects

Question 9

History effects

Answer 9

outside events not part of the manipulation (that occur after/around it) influence the DV, providing an alternative explanation for results

Question 10

Maturation effects

Answer 10

any naturally occurring change within individuals that occurs over time could provide an alternative explanation for results

Question 11

Testing effects

Answer 11

simply taking the pretest changes behavior, without any effect of the IV

Question 12

Instrument decay

Answer 12

characteristics of the measurement instrument changes over time, providing an alternative explanation for results

Question 13

Regression toward the mean

Answer 13

statistical phenomenon where extreme scores on a variable tend to be closer to the mean when a measurement is repeated

Question 14

Non-equivalent control group design

Answer 14

groups of participants in the different conditions are not equivalent (e.g. naturally occurring/pre-existing groups) and there is no pretest

Question 15

Seelection differences

Answer 15

pre-existing differences in the type of participants who make up each group in a between-subjects experimental design; happens when there is no random assignment

Question 16

Non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design

Answer 16

non-equivalent groups are used, but a pretest allows assessment of equivalency and pretest-posttest changes

Question 17

Interrupted time series design

Answer 17

a treatment (often a natural manipulation) is investigated by examining a series of measurements made over an extended time period, both before and after the treatment is introduced

Question 18

Control series design

Answer 18

an extension of the interrupted time series design in which there is a non-equivalent comparison or control group

Question 19

Single case experimental design

Answer 19

the effect of the IV is assessed using data from a single participant

Question 20

Baseline

Answer 20

form of control condition in which participant behavior is measured during a control period before introduction of the manipulation; used in single case experimental design

Question 21

Reversal design

Answer 21

treatment is introduced after a baseline period then withdrawn during a second baseline period; to increase certainty in the effect of an intervention

Question 22

Multiple baseline design

Answer 22

observing behavior before and after a manipulation under multiple circumstances (across different individuals, behaviors, or settings)

Question 23

Developmental research

Answer 23

study the way people change as a function of age; good internal validity but expensive and high attrition

Question 24

Longitudinal method

Answer 24

the same people are observed repeatedly as they grow older; similar to within-subjects design

Question 25

Developmental research methods

Answer 25

longitudinal method, cross-sectional method, sequential method

Question 26

Cross-sectional method

Answer 26

people of different ages are studied at a single point in time; similar to between-subjects design

Question 27

Cohort

Answer 27

group of people born around the same time

Question 28

Cohort effects

Answer 28

attitudes and beliefs influenced by popular discourse at formative times in people’s lives; confounded with age in cross-sectional study

Question 29

Sequential method

Answer 29

combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs to study developmental research

Question 30

Potential outcomes of sequential design

Answer 30

(1) All cohorts show the same pattern no matter their current age (2) All ages show the same pattern in a particular year no matter what cohort