the research question pertains to a non-causal statistical relationship between variables (e.g., is there a correlation between verbal intelligence and mathematical intelligence?). Using these designs researchers have discovered that men are more likely than women to suffer from substance abuse problems while women are more likely than men to suffer from depression. A college instructor gives weekly quizzes to students in one section of his course but no weekly quizzes to students in another section to see whether this has an effect on their test performance. Start studying experimental and non experimental research. Quasi-experimental research (which will be described in more detail in a subsequent chapter) is in the middle because it contains some, but not all, of the features of a true experiment. Glasofer, Amy DNP, RN, NE-BC; Townsend, Ann B. DrNP, RN, ANP-C, CNS-C. For this reason, longitudinal studies in which one group of people is followed as they age offer a superior means of studying the effects of aging. What makes this approach non-experimental is that there is no manipulation of an independent variable and no random assignment of participants to groups. is research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable, random assignment of participants to conditions or orders of conditions, or both. So, using this design it is unclear whether these differences are due to environmental factors like socialization or biological factors like hormones? More specifically, in correlational research, the researcher measures two continuous variables with little or no attempt to control extraneous variables and then assesses the relationship between them. Define nonexperimental research, distinguish it clearly from experimental research, and give several examples. Recall the three goals of science are to describe, to predict, and to explain. But the two approaches can also be used to address the same research question in complementary ways. . and education. Cross-sectional designs are commonly used by developmental psychologists who study aging and by researchers interested in sex differences. Non-experimental research is a broad term that covers “any study in which the researcher doesn’t have quite as much control as they do in an experiment”. Again, the choice between the experimental and non-experimental approaches is generally dictated by the nature of the research question. It includes a hypothesis, a variable that can be manipulated by the researcher, and variables that can be measured, calculated and compared. Non-experimental research falls into three broad categories: cross-sectional research, correlational research, and observational research. If it is about a causal relationship and involves an independent variable that can be manipulated, the experimental approach is typically preferred. There are many times in which non-experimental research is preferred, including when: Again, the choice between the experimental and non-experimental approaches is generally dictated by the nature of the research question. For example, do you like boxing, do you agree with boxing? If the goal is to explain and the research question pertains to causal relationships, then the experimental approach is typically preferred. Correlational research is very similar to cross-sectional research, and sometimes these terms are used interchangeably. It are often of the experimental style or of the non-experimental style. Similarly, after his original study, Milgram conducted experiments to explore the factors that affect obedience. If the average score on the dependent variable in an experiment differs across conditions, it is quite likely that the independent variable is responsible for that difference. Although this “feels” like a between-subjects experiment, it is a cross-sectional study because the researcher did not manipulate the students’ nationalities. For instance, differences between the groups may reflect the generation that people come from (a cohort effect) rather than a direct effect of age. In this particular study, nearly a third of the participants “remembered” at least one event. Could it even be higher? For instance, in cases of large groups responding to disasters. Figure 7.1 shows how experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational research vary in terms of internal validity. Imagine, for example, a group of research methods students interested in the relationship between children’s being the victim of bullying and the children’s self-esteem. Once again, cross-sectional designs are also commonly used to study sex differences. In fact, quasi-experimental research may lack any control group at all, making analysis of the subject more difficult. 6.1 Overview of Non-Experimental Research, 1.5 Experimental and Clinical Psychologists, 2.1 A Model of Scientific Research in Psychology, 2.7 Drawing Conclusions and Reporting the Results, 3.1 Moral Foundations of Ethical Research, 3.2 From Moral Principles to Ethics Codes, 4.1 Understanding Psychological Measurement, 4.2 Reliability and Validity of Measurement, 4.3 Practical Strategies for Psychological Measurement, 9.2 Interpreting the Results of a Factorial Experiment, 10.3 The Single-Subject Versus Group “Debate”, 11.1 American Psychological Association (APA) Style, 11.2 Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style, 12.2 Describing Statistical Relationships, 13.1 Understanding Null Hypothesis Testing, 13.4 From the “Replicability Crisis” to Open Science Practices, Paul C. Price, Rajiv Jhangiani, I-Chant A. Chiang, Dana C. 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