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Alternative Designs

This document discusses alternative research designs such as quasi-experiments, single group designs, and case studies. Quasi-experiments are used when true experiments cannot be conducted due to limited control or participant pools. Single group designs include reversal and multiple baseline designs that examine behavior changes within a single group. Case studies are useful for understanding individuals but cannot be generalized to populations. Overall, alternative designs provide valuable information but have limitations, so researchers should use the strongest possible designs.

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34 views

Alternative Designs

This document discusses alternative research designs such as quasi-experiments, single group designs, and case studies. Quasi-experiments are used when true experiments cannot be conducted due to limited control or participant pools. Single group designs include reversal and multiple baseline designs that examine behavior changes within a single group. Case studies are useful for understanding individuals but cannot be generalized to populations. Overall, alternative designs provide valuable information but have limitations, so researchers should use the strongest possible designs.

Uploaded by

somebodyme
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Alternative Research Designs

When the usual crap just isnt good isn enough.

Alternative Research Designs


I. Quasi-Experiments II. Single Group Designs III. Case Studies

I. Quasi-Experiments
A. When true experiments cannot be conducted - naturally occurring events - limited pool of participants B. When possible use true experimental designs to prevent threats to validity: e.g., pre-test, post-test with a control group Solomon-four groups design

C. The trade-off between internal and external validity

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High Internal Validity

High External Validity

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D. Quasi-Experimental Designs
(in increasing levels of internal validity)
1. Single Pretest-Posttest design: OXO O= Observation X= Experimental Manipulation Example: Quaker Oatmeal Worst possible design

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D. Quasi-Experimental Designs
(in increasing levels of internal validity)
2. Interrupted Time Series: 00000X00000 00000X Use this when you dont have complete control don over when the manipulation occurs. Example: boxing and homicide rates

D. Quasi-Experimental Designs
(in increasing levels of internal validity)
3. Random time series
Time of manipulation randomly determined

OOOOOOXOOOOOO OOOOOOX Example: Diet and Cholesterol

Diet Example
250 230 210

Start Program

Cholesterol 190 Level


170 150 130 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Week

D. Quasi-Experimental Designs
(in increasing levels of internal validity)
4. Nonequivalent Control Group (before-after)
Difference

Experimental: Control:

O1 O1

X O2 O2

O1-O2 O1-O2

Example: Diet and Cholesterol

Example: Nonequivalent Control Group (before-after)


Hygge, Evans, & Bullinger (2002) Hygge, Investigating cognitive abilities in children (n= 326) before and after the opening of the new Munich Airport. Experimental Group: children who were (old airport), Group: or would be (new airport) exposed to aircraft noise noise (p. 469). Control Group: matched with their respective Group: experimental groups on the basis of sociodemographic characteristics.

Number of errors on the reading word list in each of the groups before and after the airport opened

II. Single Group Designs


A. Reversal Designs: ABAB A: baseline period B: treatment period
1) treatments must have local effects local 2) rules out history, maturation, testing, and instrumentation threats to validity.

Example: Kirby & Shields (1972)

Example: Kirby & Shields (1972)


Subject: 13 year old boy Design: ABAB A: worksheet collected, graded, and returned toe following day B: when student finished, he took his worksheet to the instructor who immediately graded it, and then praised his performance.

Example: Kirby & Shields (1972)

II. Single Group Designs


A. Reversal Designs (cont.) Modifications: ABAC AB ----

II. Single Group Designs


B. Multiple-Baseline Designs: use when the initial state cannot be recovered
1) Choose 2 or more: settings, behaviors, materials . . . 2) Insert manipulation in each setting at different times Example: structured lessons and contingent free time (Long & Williams, 1973)

(Long & Williams, 1973)


Compared the influence of structured lessons, and group contingent free time. Participants: n = 32 African Americans enrolled American in 7th grade in a metropolitan area of Tennessee Used two classes in a multiple baseline design first math, then geography.

III. Case Studies


A. Nomothetic vs. Ideographic Research vs. B. Case Study as Evidence C. Descriptive Uses of Case Studies

A. Nomothetic vs. Ideographic Research


Nomothetic research: goal: to determine general laws and principles goal: that apply to a population in general research strategy: sample systematically from strategy: the population, combine results across individuals.

Nomothetic research
drawbacks: drawbacks: 1) individual differences treated as error 2) grouped data may obscure psychological processes. Example: primary images in flashbulb memories Question: What is your most memorable image from the 9/11 attacks?

0.6

0.5
Percent Reported First

0.4

September November Only November\September

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
Planes Crashing Buildings Collapsing People Jumping Others

Image

These results suggests that people have remarkable stable memories for the events. But, what happens if we look at individual participants consistency in reporting over time?

Consistency in primary images across a two month delay.


Consistent More Specific More General Inconsistent 22% 15% 27% 33 %

Clearly, grouped data can be misleading!

Ideographic Research
Goal: to understand an individual Goal: Methods: case studies Methods: Emphasis on the uniqueness of the individual

Drawback: what can case studies tell us about Drawback: psychological processes in others? others? Shontz (1965, p. 236)

A chemist who wishes to study the properties of a compound or element need not concern himself with the number of samples of the substance on which his tests are run, as long as he is certain that he knows the identity of the particular material on which he is working and as long as his procedures are explicit and carefully followed . By the same token, a psychologist who wishes to study an important personality process, such as anxiety, need not concern himself greatly with the size of his sample, provided that his subject is appropriately selected and that he has procedures that enable him to recognize (that is, measure) anxiety when it occurs in the person he is investigating.

B. Case Study as Evidence


1) Confirmatory Evidence case study can provide confirmation of more systematic research, providing converging evidence. Example: H.M. and the role of the hippocampus in memory.

Milner et al. (1968):


subject H. M. temporal lobe and hippocampal damaged in treatment of epileptic seizures. normal I.Q normal digit span profound antrograde amnesia (failure to learn new information) Interpretation: No transfer from STS to LTS

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B. Case Study as Evidence


2. Disconfirmation of a General Law Necessary and/or Sufficient Causes Nature of the theory A sufficient cause of B A is necessary cause of B Contributory causes Disconfirmation A& not B B & not A
cannot be disconfirmed with case studies

Case studies and disconfirmation


Example 1: Motor Theory of speech perception
Speech Motor program syntax meaning

Motor Program (A) is necessary for deriving meaning (B)

Case studies and disconfirmation


Lenneberg (1962) case study of an 8 year old boy 1) lacked motor shills for speech (no motor program) 2) could understand and follow simple commands.

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Case studies and disconfirmation


Example 2: Flashbulb memory hypothesis Brown & Kulick (1977) unexpected events that trigger a strong emotional response evoke a special mechanism that leads to the mechanism storage of vivid and detailed recollections of the circumstances surrounding the experience. Strong emotion (A) is a sufficient cause of vivid and detailed recollections (B)

Example 2: Flashbulb memory hypothesis (cont) McCloskey, Wible, & Cohen (1988) Wible,
Flashbulb memory and the Challenger explosion Susan . . . Stated that she was eating lunch in the cafeteria with John, Beth, and Jennifer . . . However, Tim . . . Stated that he was eating with John when he learned of the explosion, but did not remember Susan, Beth, or Jennifer being there. Beth Beth recollected that she was elsewhere at lunch the day (p. 175). 175).

C. Descriptive Uses of Case Studies


1. Provide a prototypical example: e.g., The Three Faces of Eve Eve 2. Provide a detailed account of a rare or unusual phenomenon e.g., Lauria The Mind of the Mnemonist Mnemonist

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C. Descriptive Uses of Case Studies


3. Demonstrate important methods or procedures. e.g., description of a behavior modification treatment of an autistic child 4. As a source of hypotheses e.g., Jean Piagets work Piaget

Conclusions
1 Alternative research designs can provide important information quasi-experimental, small n, case studies 2. But, they have clear limitations 3. Researchers should use the best designs possible, minimizing alternative explanations

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