Exam 10: Quasi-Experimental Designs

When one does not have the ability to_____ , one may consider using quasi-experimental designs.

The nonequivalent comparison group design can yield several possible outcomes. A possible outcome of the non-equivalent comparison group design is that the groups differ on the pretest and both groups improve on the posttest, but to different degrees. This could reflect the fact that the independent variable had an effect on the experimental group. It could also reflect

The_______ is to_____ as nonequivalent comparison group design is to posttest-only design with nonequivalent groups.

The most common reason for the use of quasi-experimental research designs is that

Dr. Toris wants to test an incentive program to increase attendance in her classes. For the first 8 weeks of the semester she does not use the program, and records attendance rates each week. Then she institutes the incentive program for the last 8 weeks and continues to record attendance rate each week. She detects an increase in attendance over the last 8 weeks. This is an example of which experimental design?

Dr. Johannsen wants to test whether recovering alcoholics perform worse on tests of motor coordination than a group of control participants. Unbeknownst to him, the control group meets at an amusement park three hours before testing and goes on as many rides as possible. They perform worse than the alcoholic group. This is an example of an)

Dr. Kaiser, a sports psychologist, wants to know if he can improve the cardiovascular endurance in elementary school children. He is allowed to study two physical education classes at a local school, one boys' class and one girls' class. On the pretest, the girls on average have slightly better cardiovascular endurance as measured on the step test. He administers the year- long aerobic program to the girls' class. The posttests revealed that the girls' cardiovascular endurance improved much more than the boys.' Dr. Kaiser must now decide if the program really worked or

Visual inspection of the pre- and post-treatment pattern of dependent measure scores is typical of which quasi-experimental design?

Of the major extraneous variables discussed in this chapter, which is most likely a source of confounding in an interrupted time-series design?

In using an interrupted time-series design, how does one determine whether the independent variable had an effect?

Which of the following threats to internal validity is most likely to be a problem in the nonequivalent comparison group design?

One "additive/interaction threat" to the nonequivalent comparison-group design might occur is one group of participants becomes more experienced, tired, or bored than those in the other group. What is this threat?

When using a quasi-experimental design, rival hypotheses can sometimes be ruled out by

You have been asked to evaluate the effectiveness of a new anti-smoking campaign in a local high school. You are able to collect pretest information on smoking rates before the campaign begins. You know that the entire school will be required to participate in the campaign and so random assignment is impossible.You are also aware that a reduction in smoking after the campaign could be caused by any number of other confounding variables.What can you do in this situation to enhance your ability to determine if the campaign was effective in reducing smoking?

In an attempt to reduce the use of gasoline, a city imposed a $2.50 per gallon tax on gasoline in 2005. A researcher working for the city, located data on annual gallons used for the 5 years leading up to the gas tax to provide a baseline) and located data for the 5 years after the start of the gasoline tax to show the consumption pattern after the tax). Which of the following best describes this study design?

The National Science Foundation has a policy of, each year, selecting the best young scientists and giving them a 5 year grant to allow them to work on their program of research. These scientists are selected based on the number of publications they have produced in the prior year. All scientists who have published 4 or more articles in the prior years receive these grants. The National Science Foundation wants to find out if this program is effective. The research design that could be used to best test the effect of this program is

One essential characteristic of quasi-experimental designs that distinguishes them from strongexperimental designs is a lack of

The internal validity threat known as "history" is a problem for which of the following designs?

Dr. Hunter is concerned about pre-test differences in her nonequivalent comparison group design. What could she do to minimize pre-test differences without changing to a strong experimental design?

In a study comparing two nonequivalent groups, a selection-history confound occurs when