A quasi-experiment is designed a lot like a true experiment except that in the quasi-experimental

design, the participants are not randomly assigned to experimental groups.

In a true experiment, research participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any
condition of the independent variable (the one being manipulated by the researcher) that is
involved in the study. So, for instance, if a researcher was examining the effects of caffeine on
reading comprehension, she might randomly assign participants to one of three independent
variable conditions: those who drink one cup of soda, two cups of soda, or no soda. She might
then assess each person's reading comprehension abilities following exposure to the independent
variable. In a true experiment, each participant who volunteered would have an equal chance of
being assigned to any of the three groups.

A quasi-experiment is simply defined as not a true experiment. Since the main component of a
true experiment is randomly assigned groups, this means a quasi-experiment does not have
randomly assigned groups. Why are randomly assigned groups so important since they are the
only difference between quasi-experimental and true experimental?

When performing an experiment, a researcher is attempting to demonstrate that variable A

influences or causes variable B to do something. They want to demonstrate cause and effect.
Random assignment helps ensure that there is no pre-existing condition that will influence the
variables and mess up the results.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/quasi-experimental-designs-definition-characteristics-types-
examples.html

https://study.com/academy/lesson/quasi-experiment-in-psychology-definition-example-quiz.html

The prefix quasi means “resembling.” Thus quasi-experimental research is

research that resembles experimental research but is not true experimental
research. Although the independent variable is manipulated, participants are
not randomly assigned to conditions or orders of conditions (Cook & Campbell,
1979)
https://opentextbc.ca/researchmethods/chapter/quasi-experimental-research/