The Solomon four group test is a standard pretest-posttest two-group design and the posttest

only control design. The various combinations of tested and untested groups with treatment and
control groups allows the researcher to ensure that confounding variables and extraneous
factors have not influenced the results.

In the Solomon four-group design, the researcher uses four groups. Two groups are
treated as they would be in a classic experiment—pretest, experimental group
intervention, and post-test. The other two groups do not receive the pretest, though
one receives the intervention. All groups are given the post-test. Table 8.1 illustrates
the features of each of the four groups in the Solomon four-group design. By having
one set of experimental and control groups that complete the pretest (Groups 1 and 2)
and another set that does not complete the pretest (Groups 3 and 4), researchers using
the Solomon four-group design can account for testing effects in their analysis.

Table 8.1 Solomon four-group design

Pretest Stimulus Posttest

Group
X X X
1

Group
X X
2

Group
X X
3

Group
X
4

cause they are time- and resource-intensive. Researchers must recruit enough
participants to create four groups and implement interventions in two of them.

Overall, true experimental designs are sometimes difficult to implement in a real-

world practice environment. It may be impossible to withhold treatment from a
control group or randomly assign participants in a study. In these cases, pre-
experimental and quasi-experimental designs–which we will discuss in the next
section–can be used. However, the differences in rigor from true experimental
designs leave their conclusions more open to critique.

Comprehensive detail of Solomon group design

Solomon Four-Group Design: An Introduction
The Solomon four-group design is a type of experiment where
participants get randomly assigned to either 1 of 4 groups that differ in
whether the participants receive the treatment or not, and whether the
outcome of interest is measured once or twice in each group.
The four groups in this design are (see figure below):

1. A treatment group with both pre-intervention and post-

intervention measurements (a.k.a. pretest and posttest)
2. A control group with both pretest and posttest measurements
3. A treatment group with only a posttest measurement
4. A control group with only a posttest measurement
The objective is to assess the efficacy of the treatment (or intervention).
 Important notes regarding the Solomon four-group design:

1. The assignment of participants is done at random.

2. The outcome of interest is measured simultaneously across groups.
3. The design is asymmetric: Only participants in groups 1 and 2
receive pretest measurements (1A and 2A in the figure above),
however, all participants receive posttest measurements (1B, 2B, 3B
and 4B).

Glossary
 Classic experimental design- uses random assignment, an experimental and control
group, as well as pre- and posttesting
 Control group- the group in an experiment that does not receive the intervention
 Experiment- a method of data collection designed to test hypotheses under
controlled conditions
 Experimental group- the group in an experiment that receives the intervention
 Posttest- a measurement taken after the intervention
 Posttest-only control group design- a type of experimental design that uses random
assignment, and an experimental and control group, but does not use a pretest
 Pretest- a measurement taken prior to the intervention
 Random assignment-using a random process to assign people into experimental and
control groups
 Solomon four-group design- uses random assignment, two experimental and two
control groups, pretests for half of the groups, and posttests for all
 Testing effects- when a participant’s scores on a measure change because they have
already been exposed to it
 True experiments- a group of experimental designs that contain independent and
dependent variables, pretesting and post testing, and experimental and control
groups

What makes the Solomon four-group design better than a standard two-group design?

The Solomon four-group design was developed to:

1. Control threats to internal validity: Such as bias and confounding. Something that a
standard (two-group) experimental design can control.
2. Control threats to external validity: Such as pretest sensitization. Something that a
standard (two-group) experimental design cannot control.
Limitations of the Solomon four-group design

The Solomon four-group design is not used a lot in practice because of its high cost, since
compared to a standard design with 2 groups it requires twice the sample size, time, materials,
resources, and personnel/work.

Example of a study that used the Solomon four-group design

Dehghan et al. investigated VR (Virtual Reality) technology as a method to reduce anxiety in

children undergoing surgery.
Design details; A Solomon four-group design was used in order to control any pretest
sensitization. The pretest and posttest measured the anxiety score by using a standardized
questionnaire. The intervention used was a VR technique that simulates step-by-step going into
an operation room.

Results
The study concluded that VR technology reduced pre-operative anxiety in children by acting as a
distraction method.

Limitations

While the treatment allocation was done at random, participants included in the study were
sampled in a non-random way from the population of all children undergoing surgery.

This means that the study participants may not represent well the population of interest, therefore
causing a problem of generalizability of the study results.

Note however, that this external validity issue is not specific to the Solomon four-group design,
instead it is a consequence of the sampling method used.