Non-Experiemental Research Design Flashcards
Non-Experiemental
Design which researchers investigate existing conditions or differences without manipulating them
Typically include plans to observe and describe behaviors, to determine relationships among measures of different skills, or to compare persons with different characteristics.
Examples of non-experiemental research
descriptive studies such as surveys, opinion polls, case studies, and prevalence studies;
relationship studies involving correlation and prediction; case-control studies, and other
comparisons of existing groups to identify differences by presence of a disorder, age,
socioeconomic status, and so forth; and causal-comparative and cohort studies that examine the impact of possible causal factors over time
Types of survey questions
yes/no, categorical, rating, cumulative, and open-ended
Case Study
Rare disease - Interesting noise exposure scenario.
Researchers might complete an in-depth evaluation using speech, language, and hearing tests that yield numerical scores; and in addition, they could include interviews and direct observations.
Case studies features
“multiple sources of evidence”, and typical setting
Cohort study
longitudinal research that allows you to study emergence of disorders over time, log term effects of disorder or treatment.
Longitudinal research
Case study, cohort study
correlation
strength of relationship
regression
strength of the relationship and the predictive power.
correlation and regression studies
non-experimental type of study investigating the relationship between two variables
Case-control studies
group comparison
studies that involve a
comparison of individuals with a disorder and a control group that is free of the disorder.
When researchers design this type of study, they usually plan to test at least two different groups, such as persons with hearing loss and those with normal hearing, or children with
phonological delays and those with normal phonological development
cause and effect studies?
Experimental is the strongest for establishing cause and effect but It is UNETHICAL.
Causal-Comparitive study
similar to a comparison study because the researchers
investigate existing differences. However, one unique feature of causal-comparative studies is
that researchers try to obtain several pieces of information about each participant. This feature
is included in an attempt to identify possible “competing” causal factors in the participants’
background and thus to strengthen the evidence for the causal variable under study
Often
potential causal factors co-vary with other factors that also could cause speech, language, and
hearing disorders. For example, poor medical care, inadequate housing, and poor nutrition are
all factors associated with living in poverty. If researchers wanted to study poor nutrition as a
causal factor in developmental disorders, they would have to consider if these other variables,
poor medical care or inadequate housing, also could be causal factors. In a well-designed
causal-comparative study, researchers obtain information about many variables, not just the
variable under study, as a way to control for possible alternative explanations of their findings
retrospective causal-comparitive
researchers identify persons who vary on some condition (Patten, 2009). Usually, this
variable is the presence or absence of a medical or behavioral disorder, such as a speech,
language, or hearing disorder. After identifying their participants, they obtain an extensive
amount of information about their participants’ medical history and family and social
background (Patten, 2009). Usually, this information will include the variable that is the focus
of their study, as well as information about possible alternative causal explanations. For
example, if the variable under study was poor nutrition, the researchers would also obtain
information about other important factors such as medical complications at birth, number of
siblings, parent income and/or occupation, maternal and paternal education, and so forth.
prospective study
Researchers identify a potential causal factor, identify groups of persons who vary on this
factor, and then obtain an extensive amount of information about their participants. However,
the difference is that researchers in a prospective study identify their participants at the onset
of the potential causal factor, and then follow them in a longitudinal research study.
if the causal factor was employment in an occupation where workers were exposed
to environmental toxins, the researchers would identify the workers when they started their
employment. They also would recruit a similar group who worked in an environment that was
free of toxins. Over the course of their study, the researchers would periodically evaluate their
participants to determine if any had developed a medical disorder, or perhaps communication
disorder, and to determine if the occurrence of disorders was greater in the group exposed to
the environmental toxins.
