Experiments and Quasi

Experiments
Profesor Alexander Settles
 Types of Experiments
There are four kinds of experiments:
– True experiments
– Quasi-experiments
– Natural experiments
– Naturalistic experiments
 True Experiments

• Some true experiments are done

in the lab, others are done in the
field.

• There are five steps to follow in

conducting true experiments:
 True Experiments

1. Need at least two groups: an experimental

group and a control group. One groups
gets the intervention, the other group does
not.

2. Random assignment of individuals to the

groups. (The degree to which random
assignment ensures equivalence of the
groups is dependant upon the size of the
groups.)
 True Experiments
3. The groups are measured on one or more
dependent variables. This is called the
pretest.

4. The intervention (independent variable) is

introduced.

5. The dependent variables are measured

again. This is the post test.
 Quasi-Experiments
• Are experiments where the ability to
randomly assign individuals to the
experimental and control groups is limited
or nonexistent.

• Quasi-experiments are more commonly

used in evaluating management policy
 Quasi-Experiments
Example

In a study of the effectiveness of a new

management technique one branch office
is given a new TQM method to
implement another branch office retains
the traditional management policy
 Quasi-Experiments
Example (cont.)

At the end of the a year the branch with

TQM has higher quality of production
than the one that retained the traditional
management technique.

Is this a “quasi-experiment”? Why?

 Quasi-Experiments
Example (cont.)

Answer: Most likely -- YES

Random assignment to the two classes

was probably not made, hence, groups
may not be equivalent. Possibility of
results being confounded other factors
remains.
 Natural Experiments
Natural experiments are happening
around us all the time. They are not
conducted by researchers, but simply
evaluated by researchers. In other words,
the researcher does not have control over
the application of the treatment. This also
means that there is no control over what
groups receive the treatment and the
composition of those groups.
 Naturalistic Experiments

In naturalistic experiments, one

contrives to collect experimental
data under natural conditions. You
make the data happen out in the
natural world (not in the lab), and
you evaluate the results.
 Naturalistic Experiments

The difference between a natural

experiment and a naturalistic
experiment is that the first just
happens, the second must be
contrived to happen.
 Naturalistic Experiments

Naturalistic experiments deviate

from true experiments because
group membership is not randomly
assigned, and exogenous factors
(confounding variables) are not
controlled.
 Naturalistic Experiments
Examples:

• Patience of drivers behind a car that did not move

soon after a red light turned green (independent
variables: newness of car and dress of driver)

• Matched pair testing to uncover discrimination in

hiring practices

• Determining a manager’s fulfillment of new learning

organization policy by placing an employee in the
team with training and monitoring responsibility