Exam 8: Quasi-Experimental Designs Including Obervational Methods

Post-intervention treatment scores in a clinical trial of foot fungus cream were much better than the control group. Over time, those who received the cream continued to improve, while the control group continued their itchy existence. What do these results suggest?

Which of the following is a reason to use a quasi-experimental design over an experimental design?

A not-so-brilliant chemist is convinced that he has a drug that will make people smarter. To test his hypothesis he gives participants an IQ test before taking the drug and the same IQ test after taking the drug. Participants performed better on the second IQ test. Assuming the drug did not work, what might account for the improved IQ test performance?

Which of these examples is a potential drawback of time series non-equivalent control group designs study designs?

What is accounted for by using non-equivalent control group design?

Which design feature is unique to a quasi-experiment?

What is the threat to the internal validity of an experiment in which it is unclear whether natural changes and/or personal development led to a given experimental outcome?

A researcher begins a 3-year study on children's fear of flying. Following a well-publicised plane crash, the researcher abandons the study fearing ______ effects ruined the validity of the study.

A candy company wants to measure the effect of their newest creation, 'Fizzy-Bubble Tarts' on the hyperactivity of children. They recruit a group of children from one play group that receives 'Fizzy-Bubble Tarts' daily, and another from a play group that just receives a cup of fruit juice. Over a series of 5 weeks, experimenters collect behavioural data every day from the parents of children in both groups. What kind of design best describes this study's design?

What are the main disadvantages to using a time series with non-equivalent control group designs?

As it is with true experimental designs, in quasi-experimental studies sometimes it may be necessary to:

Potential problems with repeated measures design include:

Sample selection bias is a threat to internal validity that occurs when:

After conducting a study looking at test performance for an exam-taking preparation company, the researcher concludes mistakenly that its learning strategies helped students do better on a major exam when in reality students did better because they had studied the relevant material. Their study lacks:

Dr. Smithwick was determined to find a cure for alcoholism. A pill was developed that made the individual vomit if they consumed any alcohol, thereby curbing an alcoholic's desire to drink. He designed an experiment with one treatment group. Number of drinks consumed was used as a dependent variable. Individuals were first measured in a baseline phase, then a treatment phase, followed by another baseline phase. This is a classic example of a(n):

A psychologist wants to compare the effects of an improved forensic interview with the standard police interview (control group) on memory recall in abused and non-abused children. Memory for an event is pre-tested once in both groups before the interview and compared with information recalled during the interview in abused and non-abused groups. Which quasi-experimental design was used in this study?

A psychologist has an idea for an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of a mental health training programme for students. Before starting the main experiment the psychologist tries out a version of the training programme using his introduction to psychology class. This kind of study is also known as a:

Two groups of parents were given tests that asked about their children's eating habits. The pre-test was designed as a baseline before an educational seminar on the benefits of eating rutabagas was given to one group. Researchers were concerned that their post-test would be influenced by information in their pre-test, thus displaying an example of a:

When control group members compensate for not receiving treatment and subsequently trying harder during testing, this is called:

The following graph illustrates a study on the effects of a teaching intervention across teaching sessions. The graph illustrates that a ______ quasi-experimental design in which the intervention ______ math test scores compared to the control group. The graph shows the means for the groups on a math tests which can range from 0 to 10.