Questions:

• What is the relationship between all the non-

experimental and quasi-experimental designs
and validity (internal and external)?
• Are non-experimental and quasi-experimental
strategies used very often? Are they viewed as
creditable and valid? Are these experiments
often repeated?
• How does a researcher determine how many
observations to take before and after a
treatment?
 More questions:
• Time series and interrupted time-series designs
seem to limit internal validity effects but will it
also increase participant attrition?
• How do you monitor environmental factors
(cohort effects) when observing two groups in an
experiment?
• When you are referring to levels of the
independent variable, if you have two groups of
participants – one that receives a drug and the
other that receives a placebo, does this mean
there are two levels of the independent variable?
If not, what are the levels and how many are
there?
Factorial Designs
Chapter 11

Dusana Rybarova
Psyc 290B
May 30 2006
 Outline

1. Introduction to factorial designs

2. Main effects and interactions
3. Types of factorial designs
 1. Introduction to factorial designs

• in real life variables rarely exist in isolation

• to examine these more complex, real-life
situations, researchers often design
research studies that include more than
one independent variable (e.g. caffeine
and alcohol)
1. Introduction to factorial designs

• in an experiment, an independent variable is

often called a factor, especially in experiments
that include two or more independent variables
• a research design that includes two or more
factors is called a factorial design
• this kind of design is often referred to by the
number of its factors, as a two-factor design or
a three-factor design
• a research study with only one independent
variable is often called a single-factor design
1. Introduction to factorial designs

• each factor is usually denoted by a letter (A, B,

C)
• factorial designs use a notation system that
identifies both the number of factors and the
number of values or levels that exist for each
factor
• e.g. caffeine (3 levels) and alcohol study (2
levels) would be described as 3 x 2 two factor
design
 2. Main effects and interactions
• the main differences among the levels of one
factor are called the main effect of that factor
• when the research study is represented as a
matrix with one factor defining rows and the
second factor defining the columns, then the
mean differences among the rows define the
main effect for one factor, an the mean
differences among the columns define the main
effect for the second factor
2. Main effects and interactions
• an interaction between factors occurs whenever the
mean differences between individual treatment
conditions, or cells, are different from what is predicted
from the overall main effect of the factors
• when the effects of one factor depend on the different
levels of a second factor, then there is an interaction
between the factors
• when the results of a two-factor study are graphed, the
existence of nonparallel lines (lines that cross or
converge) is an indication of an interaction between the
two factors
Main effects of caffeine and alcohol
no interaction
alcohol and caffeine no interaction

300
250
reaction time

200
no alcohol
150
alcohol
100
50
0
1 2 3
caffeine
Main effects of caffeine and alcohol
interaction
alcohol and caffeine interaction

300
250
reaction time

200
no alcohol
150
alcohol
100
50
0
1 2 3
caffeine
 3. Types of factorial designs
• between-subjects designs
– there is a separate group of participants for
each of the treatment conditions
– large number of participants – e.g. 20
participants in each condition for a 2 x 4
design means 160 participants
• within-subjects designs
– single group of individuals participates in all of
the separate treatment conditions
– only 20 participants for 2 x 4 factorial design
3. Types of factorial designs
• mixed-designs (with respect to factors)
– between subjects design can apply to one factor and
a within-subjects design is preferable for a second
factor (e.g. mood as between subjects factor and
memory as within subjects factor)
- a factorial study that combines two different research
designs is called a mixed design
- a common example of a mixed design is a factorial
study with one between-subjects factor and one
within-subjects factor
3. Types of factorial designs
• Experimental and nonexperimental or
quasi-experimental research strategies
– a factorial study that combines two different
research strategies
– a common example of a mixed design is a
factorial study with one experimental factor
and one nonexperimental factor (e.g. gender
differences in memory tests)
 3. Types of factorial designs
• Pretest-posttest control group designs
– Quasi-experimental (two factor mixed design)
• One factor between subjects – treatment type
• Second factor within subjects – pre-post test
O X O (treatment group)
O O (control group)
– Experimental version of the same design
ROXO
RO O
Where R symbolizes random assignment of subjects
into groups
3. Types of factorial designs
• Higher-order factorial designs
– Complex designs involving three or more
factors
– Example of a three factor design examining
two teaching methods (A), boys and girls (B)
and first and second grade classes (C)
– This three factor design can be summarized
as 2x2x2
– 2 (two teaching methods) x 2 (boys and girls)
x 2 (first and second grade)