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Experimental Design Paper

Decent Essays

Assignment One

Introduction

There are numerous research designs that a researcher can choose. Therefore, it is essential that the researcher chooses a research design that fits the purpose of the study. The purpose of this paper is to explore the logic of experimental design.
Jackson (2012) Even-Numbered Chapter Exercise Problems
One confound identified in this study is the attrition or mortality effect, which is the dropout of subjects from fifty to twenty-nine subjects (Jackson, 2012). Another, possible confound in this study is the maturation effect since the depression study lasted nine months. In addition, a testing effect may be a possible confound if the subjects were tested multiple times during the nine month study. Finally, …show more content…

As a result, an experimental research design requires strong internal validity (Jackson, 2012). Overall, the internal validity is the approximate truth regarding a cause and effect relationship (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). Therefore, strong internal validity allows the researcher to claim what they did in the study caused the outcome (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). Consequently, an educational setting may decrease the internal validity because it is done in a laboratory or other staged setting. In addition, an experimental design in an educational setting will decrease the external validity of the study. As a result, the study will not easily be reproduced in another setting or generalized to include other participants or location (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). Furthermore, depending on the educational setting the random selection and/or assignment of participants may be difficult since the participants may encounter long classroom hours or multiple trips to the testing site. Overall, an experiment design conducted in an educational setting will need to be aware of numerous confounds that could influence the study …show more content…

What is the Purpose of a Control Group? Of Single or Multiple Comparison Groups?
Control in an experiment is one of the most critical elements (Jackson, 2012). Therefore, control in an experiment is variables that the researcher must control so they do not lead to confounds (Jackson, 2012). As a result, the control group is the group that does not get changed or it serves as the standard condition (Jackson, 2012). Therefore, the purpose of the control group is to prove the cause and effect relationship exists by comparing the outcomes of the experimental group.
Single groups are used in experiment studies that have only a single treatment or program group and no control or comparison group (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). In addition, the multiple comparison groups are used in studies that use multiple groups, such as a control and a treatment group (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). The purpose of single groups are for designs that only have one group of participants that receive the treatment and are tested afterwards (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). However, there are numerous threats to internal validity with only single group designs. As a result, the purpose of multiple groups is to have a control group and a treatment group in order, to compare the outcomes to ensure one causes the other (Trochim & Donnelly,

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