EX POST FACTO

DEFINITION
Ex post facto design is a quasi-experimental study examining how an
independent variable, present prior to the study in the participants,
affects a dependent variable. A quasi-experimental study simply means
participants are not randomly assigned.
Also known as "after the fact" research, an ex post facto design is
considered quasi-experimental because the subjects are not randomly
assigned - they are grouped based on a particular characteristic or trait.
research that examines past occurrences in order to understand a
current state. Although this type of design involves both a dependent
variable and an independent variable, the investigator cannot manipulate
the latter.
Ex post facto study or after-the-fact research is a category of research
design in which the investigation starts after the fact has occurred
without interference from the researcher.

COMMON USE:
Commonly, an ex post facto design is used for health
psychology because, like gender, you can't assign obesity, organ defects
or brain damage. I mean, you could give someone brain damage, but it's
really unethical.
ex post facto research design is widely used in social as well as
behavioral and biomedical sciences. It has strong points that make it the
most appropriate research design in a number of circumstances as well
as limitations that make it weak from the point of view of its internal and
external validity.

Characteristics of Ex Post Facto Studies

There may be both “treatment” and “control” groups, however
these will be existing, not assigned by the researcher
There is no manipulation of conditions

Examples of Ex post facto

1. A researcher is interested in how weight influences self-esteem levels in

adults. So the participants would be separated into differing groups the
underweight, normal weight, and the overweight. Their self esteem levels
measured.

2.

Difference
Quasi Experimental examining how an independent variable, present prior to
the study, affects a dependent variable. The participants in quasi experimental
are not randomly assigned in a true experiment you have it is called random
assignment which where a participant has an equal chance of being in the
experimental or control group. But the ex post facto means that the researcher
investigates the causes after the effect has been observed on the dependent
variable. However, the researcher is not able to manipulate the independent
variable. It is similar to correlational survey in that both establishes
relationship. However, correlational establishes relationship between variables
in a single group while causal comparative establishes relationship between
groups. In non-equivalent group recall that when participants in a between-
subjects experiment are randomly assigned to conditions, the resulting groups
are likely to be quite similar. In fact, researchers consider them to be
equivalent.|