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15 - Non-equivalent Control Group Pretest–Posttest Design in Social and Behavioral Research

from Part III - Data Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

By
Margaret Denny ,
Suzanne Denieffe  and
Kathleen O’Sullivan
Edited by
Austin Lee Nichols  and
John Edlund
Austin Lee Nichols
Affiliation:
Central European University, Vienna
John Edlund
Affiliation:
Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
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Summary

Experimental research designs feature two essential ingredients: manipulation of an independent variable and random assignment of subjects. However, in a quasi-experimental design, subjects are assigned to groups based on non-random criteria. This design allows for manipulation of the independent variable with the aim of examining causality between an intervention and an outcome. In social and behavioral research, this design is useful when it may not be logistically or ethically feasible to use a randomized control design – the “gold standard.” Although not as strong as an experiment, non-equivalent control group pretest–posttest designs are usually higher in internal validity than correlation designs. Overcoming possible threats to internal and external validity in a non-equivalent control group pretest–posttest design, such as cofounding variables, are discussed in relation to sample selection, power, effect size, and specific methods of data analyses.

Keywords

Quasi-experimental DesignNon-equivalent GroupPowerEffect SizeData Analysis
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods and Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Volume 1: Building a Program of Research
 , pp. 314 - 332
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

Further Reading

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