Quantitive Research: background - Research designs in the empirical-analytical tradition - The experiment

8 important questions on Quantitive Research: background - Research designs in the empirical-analytical tradition - The experiment

What are the 6 most important disrupting factors?

1. Selection
2. History; external circumstanced that can influence the outcome of an experiment.
3. Maturation; the dependent variable can change due to other contextual reasons besides the independent variable.
4. Testing; pre measurement affects score in post measurement.
5. Instrumentation; changing the measurements between the pre and post measurement.
6. Mortality; if someone drops from the experiment.

How can disrupting factors affect the internal and external validity of a research?

Validity; do I measure what I want to measure?

Internal validity;   What conclusions can be drawn based on the design? Is there a logical consistency of the design?

External validity; the generalization of results.

What is the most important difference between a pre-test-post-test design and non-equivalent control group design?

Within a pre-test-post-test design all measurements are made at two specific points in time with 1 group.

Within a non-equivalent control group design, the experimental group experiences the change and the control group doesn't experience the change.
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What is the difference between pretest-posttest control group design and solomon four group design?

Pretest-posttest control group design; assign departments/groups at random to the experiment. This can prevent most disrupting factors.

Solomon four group design; in which 2 extra control groups are added to the experiment compared to randomization. Good to avoid the first 4 disrupting factors of experiments.

What are quasi experiments?

Experiment design without randomization. This is mainly used for time series.

What is the difference between laboratory and field experiments

Laboratory experiments; research takes place in laboratory meaning that the researcher can manipulate the independent variable and can try to exclude the disrupting factors. Greater internal validity.

Field experiments; carried out an experiment but in a natural environment to test subjects. They have less control over the situation. Greater external validity.

Why would you choose to use randomization within experiments?

Because there can always be other factors that influence the dependent or independent variable. Using randomization you can avoid most of the disturbances, except instrumentation and motality.

Criticism of laboratory and field experiment

are the same results found outside the artificial environment of the laboratory?

In a field experiment, the study is conducted in the subjects' natural environment. There is much less control over the research.


The laboratory experiment generally has greater internal validity, the field experiment generally has
greater external validity.


While internal validity relates to how well a study is conducted (its structure), external validity relates to how applicable the findings are to the real world.      

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