Discriminate Quasi-Experimental Research

Quasi-Experimental Research

Quasi-experimental research is a type of research design that is frequently used in the real world. In other words, not within a controlled laboratory setting where there is an experimenter wearing a white coat and running tests on genetically identical white mice. With quasi-experimental research, the study is  almost, but not quite a true experiment. Quasi meaning ‘just about’ or ‘partly’ (Gravetter & Foranzo, 2018). Generally, scientists use quasi-experimental research when examining differences among groups that already exist in the real world. For example, if you wanted to explore the attitudes of individuals who are members of the Sierra Club (a club focused on the outdoors, nature, and hiking) to see if they differ from those who are non-members regarding their attitudes and beliefs about conservation and protecting the environment, you should use a quasi-experimental design.

With a quasi-experimental design, you cannot randomly assign subjects to the different experimental groups or treatment conditions. In this example, you are simply asking existing members of the Sierra Club to describe their attitudes, and then comparing them to non-members. You are unable to randomly assign participants to membership within the Sierra Club. This is why it is considered  quasi-experimental; the lack of the ability to randomly assign participants to being a member of the club or not is the issue.

As an additional example, if you wanted to explore men's leadership styles versus women within an organization, you would also need to use a quasi-experimental approach. With this type of design, you would simply interview the different leaders within the company who are either male or female. You would not be able to randomly reassign male and female employees to these different leadership roles within the company and then see how they lead. If this were a  true experiment, however, the researcher would need to do so. This ability to randomly assign subjects to the different experimental groups or conditions is the main difference between a quasi-experimental design and a true experiment. Since the groups are pre-existing in a quasi-experimental design, and random assignment to these different groups or conditions is impossible, you can  not say that the groups are equivalent before the study begins. In other words, there are probably non-random factors that are causing the individuals to be a part of the different groups, which can be the true cause of any effects observed (not the variable of interest to the researcher). Be sure to reach out with questions about this, and review the video as well for more understanding of this important point of distinction. 

References

Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L. B. (2018).  Research methods for the behavioral sciences (6th ed.). Cengage Learning. 

Instructions

You have been asked to help budding researchers understand the difference between quasi-experiments and true experiments. Prepare a tip sheet that could be shared with others that may also serve as a helpful tool for you as you continue your studies. You may include graphics, tables, or other visuals to support your work.

To begin, provide an example of a quasi-experimental research design where you are studying differences among individuals within pre-existing groups or conditions that occur naturally within the real world. Briefly describe the study, and then include the following in your tip sheet: 

· Explain the issue of random assignment, and detail why it would be necessary to conduct a quasi-experimental study and not a true experiment in this hypothetical study.

· Interpret how this group membership could be impactful in understanding the results.

· Conclude with a brief exploration of what you would need to do to convert this into a true experiment, theoretically speaking.

Length: 2-3 page tip sheet, not including title and reference pages

References: Include a minimum of 2 scholarly resources.

The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards.

Last assignment’s feedback:

In your assignment, you provide a well-detailed and accurate discussion of two descriptive/observational methods that could be used to answer your descriptive research question. You do a wonderful job of outlining limitations of each design and including thoughtful and appropriate ideas for addressing these limitations in your hypothetical study. You are correct that survey design is the best method to answer your research question.

A small point deduction occurred because you added a component to your descriptive question that does not align with developing strong research questions. Specifically, you added, "and how can we effectively study and compare these levels?" That part of the question cannot be answered by conducting a study; instead, you would answer it by studying research design and statistics to develop knowledge on the most effective methods.