Final - Group Experimental Design

Question 1

Aggregate Matching

Answer 1

Two or more groups, sch as classes, are matched and then randomly assigned to the experimental and control conditions.

Question 2

Block Matching

Answer 2

A form of matching that groups individuals by their characteristics. Within each group, members are randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups.

Question 3

comparison groups

Answer 3

In an experiment, a group that has been exposed to a different treatment (or value of the independent variable) than the experimental group.

Question 4

Compensatory equalization of treatment

Answer 4

A threat to internal validity. When staff providing a treatment to a comparison group feel that it is unfair that the group is not getting the experimental treatment, the staff may work harder or do more more than if there were no experiment.

Question 5

Compensatory rivalry

Answer 5

A type of contamination in true experimental and quasi-experimental designs that occurs when control group members are aware that they are being denied some advantage and so increase their efforts by way of compensation.

Question 6

Control Group

Answer 6

In an experiment, a comparison group that receives no treatment.

Question 7

Debriefing

Answer 7

a researcher’s informing subjects after an experiment about the experiment’s purposes and methods and evaluating subjects’ personal reactions to the experiment.

Question 8

Diffusion of treatment

Answer 8

A type of contamination in experimental and quasi-experimental designs that occurs when treatment and comparison groups interact and the nature of the treatment becomes known to the comparison group.

Question 9

Double-blind procedures

Answer 9

An experimental method in which neither the subjects nor the staff delivering the experimental treatments know which subjects are getting the treatment and which are receiving a placebo.

Question 10

Endogenous Change

Answer 10

A source of causal invalidity that occurs when natural developments or changes in the subjects (independent of the experimental treatment itself) account for some or all of the observed change from pretest to posttest.

Question 11

Experimental Group

Answer 11

In an experiment, the group of subjects that receives the treatment or experimental manipulation.

Question 12

History

Answer 12

A sourche of causal invalidity that occurs when something other than the treatment inflences outcome scores; also called an effect of EXTERNAL EVENTS.

Question 13

insttrumentation

Answer 13

A problem that occurs in experimental designs when the measurement methods are not stable or equivalent.

Question 14

Internal Validitiy

Answer 14

Criterion necessary to demonstrate causality; it is the ability to rule out all other explanations for the finds.

Question 15

Matching

Answer 15

A procedure for equating the characteristics of individuals in different comparison groups in an experiment.

Question 16

Maturation

Answer 16

A threat to internal validity; changes that naturally occur with the passage of time.

Question 17

Mortality

Answer 17

A problem that occurs in experiments when groups become different because subjects are more likely to drop out o one of the groups for various reasons.

Question 18

Placebo Effect

Answer 18

A source of treatment misidentification that can occur when subjects who receive a tratment that they consider likely to be beneficial imporve because of that expectation rather than because of the treatment itself.

Question 19

Posttest

Answer 19

In experimental research, the measurement of an outcome (dependent variable) after an experimental intervention or after a presumed independent variable has changed for some other reason.

Question 20

Pretest

Answer 20

In experimental resarch, the measurement of an outcome (dependent variable) prior to an experimental intervention or change in a presumed independent variable.

Question 21

Random assignment

Answer 21

A procedure by which each experimental subject is randomly placed in a group.

Question 22

Randomization

Answer 22

Random assignment of cases, such as by the toss of a coin.

Question 23

Reactivity

Answer 23

Changes in an individual or group behavior due to the nature of the experimental conditions or process of measurement.

Question 24

Resentful demoralization

Answer 24

This proble for experimental designs occurs when comparison group members perform worse that they otherwise might have because they feel that they have been left out of a valuable treatment.

Question 25

Secular Drift

Answer 25

A type of contamination in true experimental and quasi-experimental designs that occurs when broader social or economic trends impact the findings of a study.

Question 26

Selection bias

Answer 26

A source of internal (causal) invalidity that occurs when characteristics of experimental and comparison groups differ in any way that influences that outcome.

Question 27

Statistical regression

Answer 27

People experience cyclical or episodic changes that result in different scores with repeated measurement.

Question 28

Treatment of fidelity

Answer 28

Delivering an intervention as it was designed to be provided.