Experimental Designs

Classifications:
Experimental Design

True Quasi-
Pre-experimental Statistical
Experimental Experimental
Definition of symbols

• X = the exposure of a group to an independent variable,

treatment, or event, the effects of which are to be
determined.

• O = the process of observation or measurement of the

dependent variable on the test units or group of units.

• R = the random assignments of test units or groups to

separate treatments
Cont...
In addition, the following conventions are adopted:
• Movement from left to right indicates movement
through time.

• Horizontal alignment of symbols implies that all those

symbols refers to specific treatment group.

• Vertical alignment of symbols implies that those symbols

refer to activities or event that occur simultaneously.
Illustrations:
• The symbolic arrangement
X O1 O2
means that a given group of test units was exposed to the
treatment variable (X) and the response was measured at two
different points in time, O1 and O2.
• Likewise, the symbolic arrangement
R1 X1 O1
R2 X2 O2
Means the two groups of test units were randomly assigned to
two different treatment groups at the same time, and the
development variable was measured in the two groups
simultaneously.
PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
• Pre-experimental designs are so named because they
follow basic experimental steps but fail to include a
control group.  In other words, a single group is often
studied but no comparison between an equivalent non-
treatment group is made.

• Design that do not control for extraneous factors by

randomization.
One-Shot Case Study
• A pre-experimental design in which a single group of test
units is exposed to a treatment X, and then a single
measurement on the dependent variable is taken.
• Also known as after-only design, the one-shot case study
may be symbolically represented as:
X O1
A single group of test units is exposed to treatment X, and then
a single measurement on the dependent variable is taken (O1).
There is no random assignment of test units.
Note: Symbol R is not used, because the test units are self-
selected by the researcher.
* It does not provide a basis of comparing the level of O1 to what would happen when
X was absent.
One-Group Pre-test & Post-test Design
• A pre-experimental design in which a group of test units is
measured twice
• The one-group pre-test & post-test design may be symbolize
as:
O1X O2
In this design, a group of test units measured twice. There is no
control group. First, a pre-treatment measure is taken (O1),
then the group is exposed to the treatment (X). Finally, a post-
treatment measure is taken (O2). The treatment effect is
computed as (O2 – O1), but the validity of this conclusion is
questionable because extraneous variable are largely
uncontrollable.
Static Group
• A pre-experimental design in which there are two groups: the
experimental group (EG), which is exposed to the treatment
and the control group (CG). Measurements on both groups
are made only after the treatment, and test units are not
assigned at random.
This design may be symbolically described as:
EG: X O1
CG: O2
The treatment effect would be measured as O1 – O2. note that
this difference could also be attributed to at least two
extraneous variables. Because test units are not randomly
assigned, the two groups (EG & CG) may differ before the
treatment, and selection bias may be present.
TRUE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
• Experimental designs distinguished by the fact that the
researcher can randomly assign test units to experimental
groups and also randomly assign treatments to control group.
• True experimental design is regarded as the most accurate
form of experimental research, in that it tries to prove or
disprove a hypothesis mathematically, with statistical analysis.
For an experiment to be classed as a true experimental design,
it must fit all of the following criteria.
• The sample groups must be assigned randomly.
• There must be a viable control group.
• The tested subjects must be randomly assigned to either
control or experimental groups.
Pre-test & Post-test Control Group Design
• In this, test units are randomly assigned to either the
experimental or the control group, and a pre-treatment
measure is taken on each group. Then, the experimental
group is exposed to the treatment (X). Finally a post-
treatment measure is taken on each of the experimental &
control groups. This design is symbolized as:
EG: R O1 X O2
CG: R O3 O4
The treatment effect (TE) is measured as
(O2 – O1) – (O4 – O3)
Post-test Only Control Group Design
• The post-test only control group design is a true experimental
design in which the experimental group is exposed to the
treatment but the control group is not and no pre-test
measure is taken. It may be symbolized as:

EG: R X O1
CG: R O2

The treatment effect is obtained by

TE = O1 – O2
Solomon Four Group Design
• The Solomon four group design overcomes the limitations of
the pre-test & post-test control group & post-test only control
group design in that it explicitly controls for interactive
testing effect, in addition to controlling for all the other
extraneous variables.

• However, this design has practical implementation: it is

expensive and time consuming to implement. Hence it is not
considered further.

* Interactive testing effect (IT)

Quasi Experimental Design
A quasi-experimental design results under the following
conditions.
1. The researcher can control when measurements are taken
and on whom they are taken.
2. The researcher lacks control over the scheduling of the
treatments and also is unable to expose test units to the
treatment randomly.

Quai experimental designs are useful because they can be used in

cases when true experimental cannot, and because they are
quicker and less expensive.
Time Series Design
• It involves a series of periodic measurements on the
dependent variable for a group of test units. The treatment is
then administrated by the researcher or occurs naturally.
• After the treatment, periodic measurements are continued to
determine the treatment effect. A time series experiment may
be symbolized as:
O1 O2 O3 O4 X O5 O6 O7 O8
This is quasi-experiment, because there is no randomization
of test units to treatments, and the timing of treatment
presentation, as well as which test units are exposed to the
treatment, may not be within the researcher’s control.
 Multiple Time Series Design
• The multiple time series design is similar to the time series design
expect that another group of test units is added to serve as a
control group. Symbolically, this design may be described as:

EG: O1 O2 O3 O4 X O5 O6 O7 O8
CG: O9 O10 O11 O12 O13 O14 O15 O16

If the control group is carefully selected, this design can be an

improvement over the simple time series experiment. The
improvement lies in the ability to test the treatment effect twice:
against the pre-treatment measurements in the experimental
group and against the control group.