Chapter 3: Research Design: The Experimental Model and Its Variations

Flashcards covering key concepts from Chapter 3 on research design and experimentation in criminal justice and criminology.

Research Design

The plan or blueprint for a study that includes the who, what, where, when, why, and how of an investigation.

Experimental Design

A research design aimed at controlling for invalidity through the use of experimental procedures.

Equivalence

The selection and assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups in a way that they are as similar as possible.

Randomization

The random assignment of subjects from a similar population to either the experimental or control group.

Experimental Group

The group that is exposed to stimuli or experimental arrangements during a research study.

Control Group

The group that is not exposed to the treatment or stimuli in an experiment.

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated in an experiment to observe its effect on the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured in an experiment to see how it is affected by the independent variable.

Pre-experimental Designs

Research designs that lack one or two of the three major elements of experimental designs—equivalence or experimental and control groups.

Quasi-experimental Designs

Research designs that rely on matching groups but do not involve random assignment.

True/Classic Experimental Design

A type of experimental design that includes random assignment to treatment and control groups.

Validity Issues

Concerns regarding whether the conclusions drawn from experimental results accurately reflect the reality of the study.

Internal Validity

The extent to which the conclusions of an experiment accurately reflect what has occurred within the study itself.

External Validity

The extent to which the findings of an experiment can be generalized to real-world settings.

Spurious Relationship

A false relationship that can be explained away by the presence of other variables.

Causality Problem

The challenge in establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.

Conflict of Interest

A situation in which the person conducting the research has a vested interest in the outcome.

Deception in Research

The practice of misleading subjects about the true purpose or nature of the experiment, often used to prevent bias.

Matching

Assuming equivalence by selecting subjects on the basis of matching certain characteristics such as age, sex, and race

Three elements of Classic Experimental Design

Equivalence, pretests/initial observation and posttests/final observation, and experimental and control groups

field experiments

formal experiments conducted in a natural setting (and not in a lab)

natural experiments

experiments that occur outside controlled settings, often in the course of normal social events

quasi-experimental designs rely on matching groups

time series designs, multiple interrupted time series designs, counter-balanced designs

steps in evaluation research

problem formulation, design of instruments, research design, data collection, data analysis, findings & conclusions, utilization

to test a hypothesis

1 - specifcy variables you think are related

2 - specify measurement of variables

3 - hypothesize correlation, strength of relationship, statistical significance

4 - specify tests for spuriousness

resolution of the casuality problem

demonstrate that a relationship exists between the key variables

specify the time order of the relationship

eliminate rival casual factors

variables related to internal validity

history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, statistical regression, selection bias, experimental mortality selection

variables related to external validity

testing effects, selection bias, reactivity or awareness of being studied, multiple treatment interferences

statistical regression

The tendency for subjects in your study that over the course of time, regress towards the average score especially if high or low at pre-test

maturation

the biological or psychological changes in the respondents during the course of a study that are not due to the experimental variable

placebo effect

the tendency of control groups to react to believed treatment in a positive manner

rival causal factors

variables other than X (the treatment) that may be responsible for the outcome

cross sectional

involve studies of one group at one time