Exam 10: Quasi-Experimental Designs and Program Evaluation

Social policy research (such as the research done by Ellen Langer on mindfulness and the effects of living in a nursing home)serves the purpose(s)of

Even when controlled,scientific research studies established the effectiveness of a home healthcare program for Medicare recipients,decision makers eliminated the program.The best explanation for this decision lies in

The one-group pretest-posttest design is

A student used a nonequivalent control group design to examine the effectiveness of a video application the library uses to introduce first year students to the library's resources.Which potential threat to internal validity would she examine by comparing the pretest scores for both groups?

Which of the following threats to internal validity is controlled in the nonequivalent control group design?

When it comes to control over the conditions in the experiment or over the assignment of participants to groups in the experiment,a researcher in a natural setting is likely to have

The major threat to internal validity in the simple interrupted time series design is

In a study of the effectiveness of a treatment for depression,a psychologist assessed patients' symptoms of depression using a reliable questionnaire both before and for several months after treatment.The results indicated that the patients experienced a decrease in their symptoms over the 8-month time period of the study.One threat to internal validity the researcher should consider is

If the residents,staff,and facilities of a nursing home where a quasi-experiment was done are likely to be different from those in other nursing homes,the ______________ of the findings may be questioned.

The hallmark of a quasi-experiment is

The difference between a true experiment conducted in a natural setting and a quasi-experiment conducted in a natural setting is that the

The external validity of research done in natural settings is likely to be emphasized more when the research represents

Program evaluation represents perhaps the extreme case of

Research done in natural settings,as compared to research done in laboratory settings,is more likely to emphasize

Researchers analyzed records of hospitalization for heart disease in two Ohio cities,Bowling Green and Kent.A city ordinance enacted in Bowling Green banned smoking in public areas.Results indicated that hospitalization rates for the two cities were similar before the smoking ban,but hospitalization rates decreased in Bowling Green compared to Kent following the smoking ban.A potential threat to internal validity that will need to be ruled out is

An argument for the internal validity of quasi-experiments

When two groups in a nonequivalent control group design do not differ on the pretest,the researcher can conclude that

Experiments in natural settings are likely to differ from laboratory experiments on four critical dimensions: goals,control,external validity,and consequences.Briefly describe the nature of the difference for each of these four dimensions.

A high school teacher conducted a test of a new approach to teaching math.Students were given a pretest when their math class began and a posttest at the end of the semester.The students' math performance improved.The teacher learned near the end of the semester,however,that in their science classes the students were using new computer software that included much of the math the teacher covered in his course.Which of the following threats to internal validity does the new computer software represent?

The Sports Illustrated jinx refers to the idea that athletes who are featured on the cover of the magazine after exceptional performances typically perform worse in subsequent competitions.The most likely statistical explanation of this phenomenon is