Deck 13: Experimental Research: Quasi and Single-Case Designs

Question 1

Recognize and understand the methodological issues in single-case research designs.

Answer 1

not answered

Question 2

Which series shows a potential maturation effect?

A) Series 1
B) Series 2
C) Series 3
D) None show a potential effect

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In an A-B-A single-case design, participants get which of the following sequences of treatment and baseline:

A) Baseline, Treatment
B) Treatment, Baseline, Treatment
C) Baseline, Treatment, Baseline
D) Baseline, Treatment, Treatment

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Explain the difference between strong experimental research designs and quasi-experimental research designs.

Question 5

A selection-maturation effect occurs when:

A) Participants are randomly assigned to groups
B) Participants in nonequivalent groups mature at different rates
C) Participants in nonequivalent groups get exposed to different historical events
D) Participants in nonequivalent groups are given multiple pretests and posttests

Question 6

A researcher is carrying out a quasi-experimental study. She has experimental groups in one school, and a control group in another. During the intervention phase of her study, the control school has a small fire that forces students to leave the school for one hour. She finds huge differences between the experimental and control groups after the study is completed. While there could be an effect of her intervention, a possible rival hypothesis might be:

A) There was a maturation effect
B) There was an instrumentation effect
C) There was a differential history or selection-history effect
D) There was a selection-maturation effect

Question 7

In a quasi-experimental study, when an event occurs during the study that affects the dependent variable scores of one group but not the other, this is called:

A) A selection-history effect
B) A selection-maturation effect
C) A maturation effect
D) A selection-instrumentation effect

Question 8

Explain how a treatment effect is demonstrated in single-case research designs.

Question 9

Explain how the regression discontinuity design assesses the effect of a treatment.

Question 10

Explain the characteristics of the nonequivalent comparison-group quasi-experimental design and how to search for rival hypotheses that might explain the obtained results.

Question 11

Which series seems indicative of no effect?

A) Series 1
B) Series 2
C) Series 3
D) All lines show an effect

Question 12

Explain the limitations of quasi-experimental designs in making causal inferences compared to strong designs.

Question 13

The design where the pattern of pretest responses is compared with the pattern of posttest responses is called:

A) Posttest-only control-group design
B) A nonequivalent comparison-group design
C) An interrupted time-series design
D) A structural equation model

Question 14

A statistical technique used to equate nonequivalent groups on their pretest scores in a nonequivalent comparison-groups design is:

A) ANCOVA
B) t-test
C) Reversal technique
D) Time-series analysis

Question 15

A key characteristic that differentiates quasi-experiments from strong experiments is:

A) The lack of a control group
B) The lack of a pretest
C) The lack of random assignment
D) The lack of a posttest

Question 16

A researcher does a study examining the effects of a preschool program. He uses a nonequivalent comparison-group design. He finds that the cognitive growth of his experimental group is greater than that of his control. Unfortunately, he later finds that in general children who live in the area where he drew his experimental group tend to grow faster cognitively than children who were from the area where he drew his control group. When he discovered this problem, he discovered what threat to the internal validity of his study?

A) Selection-maturation effect
B) History effect
C) Selection-instrumentation effect
D) Testing effect

Question 17

A researcher is interested in improving student attention in a classroom. She measures student attention during five preintervention sessions. Her measure is the number of students attending in the class (out of 25 students). She then introduces the program to increase the number of children paying attention. She then measures six more times the number of children attending. Which series would best show that the intervention had an effect?

A) Series 1
B) Series 2
C) Series 3
D) None show a potential effect

Question 18

Explain the characteristics of the interrupted time-series designs.

Question 19

Explain how time-series and single-case research designs attempt to rule out confounding variables.

Question 20

Explain the limitations of each of the single-case research designs.

Question 21

The most common reason for using a quasi-experimental research design is that:

A) The participants are maturing too fast
B) The dependent variable cannot be measured reliably
C) It is unethical to manipulate the independent variable
D) Participants cannot be randomly assigned to groups

Question 22

The nonequivalent comparison-group design is a quasi-experimental design in which, for reasons of practicality, we cannot insure that the control and experimental groups are equivalent to each other when the experiment begins. The major interpretational difficulty imposed by this design is:

A) Measuring whether the two groups are different from each other on the posttest
B) Deciding how much each group has gained
C) Determining when enough data points are collected
D) Being sure that any differences between groups at the end of the experiment are due to the independent variable's influence and not due to preexisting group differences

Question 23

What evidence in the graphs rules out history or maturation effects as causing the change in time on task?

A) The treatment leads to change for each child regardless when the session was started
B) All of the baselines are of the same length
C) All the participants were at the same mean level of attention during baseline
D) All of the participants started the treatment during the same session

Question 24

In a regression-discontinuity design the most likely validity threat is the:

A) random assignment
B) history effect
C) differential history effect
D) differential attrition

Question 25

An advantage of the A-B-A-B single-case design over the A-B-A design is that:

A) It ends the study on a more positive behavioral change
B) It ends on the baseline
C) It does not require reversal of the treatment effect
D) It ends on a reversal

Question 26

The baseline in a single-case study:

A) Represents the dependent variable before the treatment
B) Represents the dependent variable during the treatment
C) Can only represent one person at a time
D) Is represented by the letter B in A-B or A-B-A-B designs

Question 27

The changing-criterion design shows the effectiveness of a treatment when:

A) The change in behavior is a reversal of earlier behavior
B) The change in behavior always in an upward direction
C) The change in behavior moves with the change in the criterion
D) Behavior changes occur regardless of changing criterion

Question 28

For a treatment to be deemed effective when used in the context of an A-B single-case design, what has to occur?

A) Behavior should change as the treatment is implemented
B) Behavior should return to baseline levels when the treatment is removed
C) When the treatment is removed, behavior should stay at the level that was created by the treatment rather than revert back to the baseline
D) The line representing the A phase should intersect with the line representing the B phase

Question 29

In a changing-criterion design, changes in criterion are best done:

A) As soon as the prior criterion is met
B) When the previous criterion is met and the behavior has stabilized
C) Regardless of the previous criteria
D) After a fixed number of trials

Question 30

A researcher does a multiple-baseline study across individuals looking at the effect of a 15-minute nap on first grade children's attention to academic work. Four children are included in the study. Below are graphs of the results. The dependent measure is the number of minutes the child is on task. Child 1 gets the treatment after 5 baseline sessions. Child 2 gets the treatment after 10 baseline sessions, Child 3 after 15, and Child 4 after 20. Overall, the nap:

A) Was effective in increasing time on task
B) Was ineffective in increasing time on task
C) Was unrelated to time on task
D) Might have had an effect but impossible to tell from the graph

Question 31

In order to draw a causal conclusion from a multiple-baseline design, what must occur?

A) The treatment needs to change the behavior when it is implemented for the different people, behaviors, or settings
B) The treatment effect has to reverse upon return to baseline
C) The behaviors, settings, or people must be highly related or interdependent
D) Multiple groups need to participate in the study

Question 32

Compared to the results that would be obtained from a randomized or strong experimental design, the nonequivalent comparison-group design:

A) Produces biased results in almost all cases
B) Can give the same results if equally well designed and executed
C) Will usually give better and more valid results
D) Will always give inaccurate results

Question 33

A problem with the A-B-A and the A-B-A-B designs is that:

A) The treatment effect might not reverse upon removal of the treatment
B) They cannot be used in real world settings
C) The treatment effect often gets reversed in the second baseline phase
D) The control group is not randomly assigned

Question 34

A hypothesis that does not receive support in one single-case study:

A) Should be discarded
B) Should be tested on other individuals before it is discarded
C) Should be tested in a group design only
D) Is theoretically useless

Question 35

A researcher is interested in the effect of a late afternoon snack on attention to school work. She designs a single-case design to test the hypothesis that the snack will increase the number of minutes of attention. She uses one child and starts out by measuring his attention to school work during 10 baseline sessions. She then introduces the snack for 10 sessions. After those 10 sessions, she withdraws the snack and examines 10 sessions of baseline again. Finally, she then reintroduces the snack for 10 more sessions. What kind of design is this?

A) Multiple-baseline design across settings
B) ABAB design
C) Changing-Criterion Design
D) Multiple-baseline design across people

Question 36

When is the baseline trend opposite of the trend during treatment?

A) The effect is powerfully demonstrated
B) The trend obscures causal conclusions
C) Maturation effects threaten internal validity
D) It is impossible to find a treatment effect

Question 37

The primary way of determining whether a threat to the internal validity of the nonequivalent comparison-group design is plausible is to:

A) Look at the pattern produced by the results of the experiment and decide if the threat is plausible
B) Conduct an analysis of variance of the data
C) Determine if the experimental design included a control group
D) Consult with other researchers in the field

Question 38

In a multiple-baseline design across people:

A) The treatment is introduced at the same time to all participants
B) The treatment introduction is staggered in time across the participants
C) The first person receiving the treatment has no baseline data
D) Multiple people get an ABA design

Question 39

David is conducting a single-case study with one of his students. He has noticed that there is a great deal of variability in the data. To be prudent, he should

A) Increase the length of the study
B) Use only visual inspection to interpret the data
C) Do a statistical analysis of the data
D) Decrease the length of the study

Question 40

A single-case experimental design in which the response to the experimental treatment condition is compared to baseline responses taken before and after administering the treatment condition. What design is this?

A) Multiple-baseline design
B) A-B-A design
C) A-B-A-B design
D) Regression-discontinuity design

Question 41

Luke is conducting a changing-criterion design. In order for him to conclude that the treatment effected the target behavior, his data must:

A) Attain statistical significance
B) Show successive changes with changing criterion
C) Return to baseline within two weeks of the end of the treatment
D) Demonstrate a return to baseline following each change in the criterion

Question 42

Dr. English wants to test an incentive program to increase attendance in her classes. For the first eight weeks of the semester, she does not use the program and records attendance rates each week. Then she initiates the incentive program for the last eight weeks and continues to record attendance rate each week. She detects an increase in attendance over the last eight weeks. What design did Dr. English use?

A) Nonequivalent comparison-group design
B) Posttest-only design
C) Interrupted time-series design
D) One group pretest-posttest design

Question 43

What aspect of the A-B-A design helps us determine whether the treatment, as opposed to some other variable, was responsible for the observed change in behavior?

A) Seeing the target behavior return to baseline when the treatment is removed
B) Observing both a treated and a yoked control participant
C) Recording the baseline behavior only once prior to adding the treatment
D) Taking multiple measures of behavior during the treatment

Question 44

The regression-discontinuity design:

A) Is a relatively weak design for demonstrating a treatment effect
B) Is subject to many potential threats to internal validity
C) Is a type of pretest-posttest design
D) Is a very good design to use especially when certain criteria are met

Question 45

Justin is going through his own personal program of endurance training. In the first two weeks, he rewards himself with a quarter every day if he runs a complete mile. In the next two weeks, he gives himself a quarter for every two consecutive miles run. Next, he gives himself a quarter for every three consecutive mile run and so on until he can run eight consecutive miles a day. This program is very much like which single-case research design?

A) A-B-A
B) Multiple-baseline
C) Changing-criterion
D) Interaction

Question 46

What important assumption has to exist to rule out rival hypotheses in the A-B-A design?

A) Single participants will cooperate with long-term observations
B) The participant actually believes that the treatment has an effect
C) The observation of the behavior is fun
D) The effects of the treatment are reversible upon withdrawal

Question 47

All single-case designs are some form of:

A) A factorial design
B) A time-series design
C) A single-group pretest-posttest design
D) A repeated-measures design

Question 48

If you know that the targeted behavior will not reverse following administration of the treatment condition, which of the following would be a good choice for a single-case design?

A) The A-B-A design
B) The multiple baseline design
C) The A-B-A-B design
D) The A-B-A-B-A design

Question 49

The "B" in the A-B-A design represents the ________ condition:

A) Baseline
B) Behavioral
C) Treatment
D) Withdrawal

Question 50

Dr. Hand conducted a study with experimental and control groups who were given pretest and posttest measures. Before analyzing his data, Dr. Hand adjusted the participant's posttest scores based on their performance on the pretest. The procedure he used to adjust the scores is known as:

A) Analysis of variance
B) Analysis of covariance
C) Analysis of regression
D) Analysis of discontinuity

Question 51

A researcher compares the regression lines of an experimental and control group. This is an example of which type of nonexperimental design?

A) Nonequivalent comparison-group
B) Interrupted time-series
C) Regression-discontinuity
D) Single-case

Question 52

The design in which people are assigned to the experimental and control group based upon a cut-off score is the:

A) Nonequivalent comparison-group
B) Interrupted time-series
C) Regression-discontinuity
D) Single-case

Question 53

The most likely source of confounding in the interrupted time-series design is:

A) Attrition
B) Regression artifact
C) Differential selection
D) History

Question 54

A treatment effect is demonstrated in the regression-discontinuity design by:

A) A discontinuity in the regression line
B) A significant difference in the pretest and posttest scores
C) Multivariate analysis of covariance
D) The demonstration of an interaction

Question 55

Major considerations for the changing-criterion design include all the following EXCEPT:

A) The length of the baseline and treatment phases
B) The magnitude of the criterion changes
C) The number of treatment phases
D) Group pretest scores.

Question 56

In an attempt to reduce the use of gasoline, a city imposed a $2.50 per gallon tax on gasoline in 2010. A researcher working for the city located data on annual gallons used for the five years leading up to the gas tax (to provide a baseline) and located data for the five 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?

A) A-B-A-B design
B) Changing-criterion design
C) Interrupted time-series design
D) Regression-discontinuity design

Question 57

Single-case designs are used:

A) When you have nonequivalent groups
B) Only with single individuals
C) With intact groups that cannot be divided
D) In multiple settings every time

Question 58

When using the multiple-baseline design, the behaviors that are measured must be:

A) Really problematic behaviors
B) Unique or rarely reported in the literature
C) Independent of each other
D) The independent variable

Question 59

For the multiple-baseline design to demonstrate a treatment effect:

A) All behaviors should change, but only after the treatment is imposed
B) All behaviors should change in all individuals when the treatment is imposed on the first person
C) Some behaviors should increase and some should decrease in frequency
D) The treated behaviors should change from baseline immediately while the untreated behaviors should change more quickly

Question 60

Visual inspection of the data in an interrupted time-series design is not always sufficient. It is sometimes important to determine if the change in response pattern is statistically significant by analyzing the data using which of the following procedures?

A) A correlated t test
B) Analysis of covariance
C) An autoregressive moving average model
D) Correlational analysis

Question 61

A potential threat to the nonequivalent comparison-group design is the presence of a selection-history effect.

Question 62

Strong research designs infer causality _______________ quasi-experimental research designs.

A) Better than
B) About as well as
C) More poorly than
D) Half as well as

Question 63

In quasi-experimental designs there are different criteria for inferring causality than in strong research designs.

Question 64

A limitation of the A-B-A and A-B-A-B single-case designs is that:

A) All participants experience the treatment phase
B) Some variables do not return to baseline levels when treatment is withdrawn
C) Demonstrating causality is difficult
D) Baseline phases must be longer than treatment phases

Question 65

Carl is conducting a research study comparing the effectiveness of two tutoring programs. He has four schools willing to work with him on this project. However the schools are already using tutoring programs and will not allow Carl randomly assign students to the two programs. Which type of research design would be best for Carl to use?

A) A strong experimental design
B) A weak experimental design
C) A quasi-experimental design
D) A multiple-baseline design

Question 66

In an interrupted time-series designs pretest and posttest scores are compared.

Question 67

Dr. Thomas wanted to determine if the enrichment program that was implemented enhanced the achievement test scores of students. All students with an IQ of 120 or higher were placed in this program. He could use the regression-discontinuity design to test the effectiveness of this program.

Question 68

Strong experimental research designs differ from quasi-experimental research designs in that in quasi-experimental research designs:

A) There are more participants involved in the study.
B) Ruling out rival hypotheses is more difficult
C) Participants experience many more manipulations of the independent variable
D) Random assignment is always used

Question 69

Ms. Smith has decided to implement a changing-criterion design to improve students' behavior. Which of the following is an issue she should attend to in order to be successful?

A) Behavioral stability is not required in order to change the criterion
B) Treatment phases should all be of the same length
C) Treatment phases should always be longer than baseline phases
D) The criterion should only be changed 2-4 times

Question 70

A potential threat to the nonequivalent comparison-group design is the presence of a differential attrition effect.

Question 71

A student's behavior is observed throughout the school day. Then a behavior change intervention is implemented in her main classroom. After the intervention, her behavior is observed in art, music, and PE in addition to her main classroom. This is an example of a __________ design.

A) Multiple baseline across settings
B) Multiple baseline across participants
C) Interrupted time-series
D) Regression-discontinuity

Question 72

Unlike studies with strong research designs, studies with quasi-experimental research designs:

A) Cannot make inferences about causality
B) Rely on random assignment to control extraneous variables
C) Cannot demonstrate that causes precede effects
D) Must collect data that rule out alternative hypotheses for results

Question 73

In a regression-discontinuity design, both groups are exposed to the treatment to see if it equally impacts people who score above and below the cut-off score.

Question 74

When using a multiple-baseline design, a limitation is that:

A) History effects are often involved
B) Only two settings can be investigated
C) Behaviors and participants involved must be independent
D) Lack of reversal effects indicate treatment failure

Question 75

A limitation of the A-B-A design is that the researcher discontinues the study in the baseline rather than intervention phase.

Question 76

A stable baseline consists of a lack of trend and little variability.

Question 77

When using a quasi-experimental research design, inferring causation is often hampered by the design's ability to demonstrate that:

A) A cause covaried with an effect
B) A cause came before the effect
C) Rival hypotheses are not likely explanations
D) Manipulation of the independent variable preceded measurement of the dependent variable

Question 78

When compared to strong experimental research designs, quasi-experimental research designs:

A) Are more likely to be impacted by confounding variables
B) Are less likely to be impacted by confounding variables
C) Have an easier time meeting the conditions needed to infer causality
D) Are less optimal designs than weak experimental research designs

Question 79

If a researcher must conduct a research study using intact classrooms rather than randomly assigning participants to the classrooms, a quasi-experimental design will appropriate.

Question 80

Researchers can use quasi-experimental research designs to make inferences about causation by:

A) Ruling out threats to internal validity
B) Excluding participants who do not conform
C) Using statistical analyses
D) Using random assignment