PSY 2061 Assignment Research Studies
PSY 2061 Assignment Research Studies
Experimental studies are controlled so that the researcher manipulates one variable to determine its effect on other variables. Two primary types of experimental studies are used in intervention development and testing: randomized group design and single-case design.
PSY 2061 Assignment Research Studies
The first type includes experimental group designs in which participants are randomly assigned either to receive the intervention (the experimental group) or to a control group. The control group completes all the same steps as the experimental group, except they do not receive the intervention that is under investigation. Therefore, if the study is well controlled, it can be concluded that the differences between the experimental and control groups at the end of the study are due to the intervention.
A second type of experimental study frequently used in intervention research is single-case design (SCD). Many studies involving children with autism, particularly those examining behavioral and educational treatments, use single-case designs. Rather than examining differences across participant groups that do and do not receive an intervention, single-case designs involve individual participants or a small cluster of participants who provide their own control for comparison. For example, a researcher may be interested in determining whether a new communication intervention tool on tablet devices improves communication skills.
- The advantage of randomized experimental studies is that the research design allows researchers to examine cause-and-effect relationships.
- The disadvantage of a randomized experimental study is that the results cannot always be generalized to the real world. This is because this kind of study lacks “real-world” authenticity; that is, what occurs in a controlled environment of a study may be very different from what might occur in a real-life setting, such as a typical classroom.
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5. CLINICAL TRIAL STUDIES
Clinical trial studies are one specific type of randomized group experimental study. Clinical trial studies are most likely to be conducted in medical or other clinical settings. Similar to experimental group design studies, clinical trial studies employ an experimental/control group, in which participants are randomly assigned to receive the experimental treatment (e.g., a medication to treat autism symptoms) or a placebo (a sugar pill).
In both randomized experimental group and clinical trial studies, participants are not informed about their group assignment to guard against participant expectations about intervention or treatment. In addition, in well-designed studies, experimenters are not informed about group assignment either to guard against researcher expectations about intervention or treatment. That is, if participants expect to get better because they know they are receiving treatment, they may actually get better; similarly, if researchers expect an intervention to be successful, they may perceive it as so, regardless of whether or not the treatment is actually effective! This uninformed state is what researchers refer to as being blind to the conditions of the experiment. When both participants and experimenters are uninformed, it is referred to as a double-blind study, and is a means of ensuring objective results.
- The advantage of clinical trial studies is that they can determine the effectiveness of an intervention. This is because the intervention is compared with a placebo or control condition.
- The disadvantage of clinical trial studies is the same as for randomized experimental studies; that is, the results of the study cannot always be generalized to a real-life setting.