Nursing Research Designs –

True Experimental Research

Design
 Types of Research Design
• The following discussion presents the
most practical and simplified
classification.
• Research design classification
• Quantitative Research design
• Qualitative Research design
 Types of Research Design
• Quantitative Research design

Formal objective systematic process used

to describe variables test relationships
between Them and examine cause and
effect interactions among variables.
 Types of Research Design
• Qualitative Research design

Systematic subjective methodological

approach used to describe life
experiences and give them meaning.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
I. Experimental Design
1. True experimental 2. Quasi experimental
design
 Post-test only control
design
 Pre-test – post test
control group design
 Solomon four group
design
 Factorial design
 Randomised block
design
 Crossover design
CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH DESIGN
QUALITITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
II. Nonexperimental Design III. Other Additional
research Design
1. Descriptive design
3. Pre-experimental 2. Correlational/Expost facto design
design design 3. Developmental research design
4. Epidemiological designs
5. Survey research design
 Nonrandomized control design
 Time-series design
1. Methodological studies
2. Meta-analysis
3. Secondary data analysis
 One-shot case design 4. Outcome research
 One-group Pre-test – post test 5. Evaluation studies
design 6. Operational research
 CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH DESIGN

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN QUALITITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

1. Phenomenological research
2. Ethnographic research
3. Grounded theory
4. Case studies
5. Historical research
6. Action research
 Experimentation is
It is defined as
the most
‘observation
scientifically
under controlled
sophisticated
conditions’.
research method.
Experimental
Research
Designs Experimental
research differs
The researcher
using an
from experimental
nonexperimental design is an active
research design in agent rather than
one important a passive
aspect. observer.
  Experimental research designs are
concerned with examination of the
effect of independent variable on the
Experimenta dependent variable where the
l Research independent variable is manipulated

Designs through treatment or interventions

and the effect of these interventions
is observed on the dependent
variable.
Experimental Research Designs
All the experimental researches have a common
characteristics - MANIPULATION of independent
variable

But a True experimental Research design also consist

of the principles of RANDOMIZATION and CONTROL

The application of control is difficult when studies are

conducted in natural settings on human subjects
Experimental Research Designs
Experimental Research Designs

So in nursing, True experimental research design

is not feasible to use

Quasi-experimental, Pre-experimental or Non-

experimental studies or more frequently
conducted.
 • It is a powerful research design for
Experiment
testing hypothesis of causal relationship
al Research
among variables.
Designs
• E.g. Smoking – lung cancer
• Yoga - Stress
Experiment • In experimental design, researcher
al Research applies the control and manipulating the
Designs independent variable and observes the
effect on dependent variable and also
minimising the effect of extraneous
variables.
 CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH DESIGN

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN QUALITITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

I. Experimental Design II. Nonexperimental Design III. Other Additional

research Design
1. Descriptive design
1. True experimental 2. Quasi experimental 3. Pre-experimental 2. Correlational/Expost facto design
design design design 3. Developmental research design
 Post-test only control 4. Epidemiological designs
design 5. Survey research design
 Nonrandomized
 Pre-test – post test  One-shot case design
control design
control group design  One-group Pre-test –
 Time-series
 Solomon four group post test design 1. Methodological studies
design
design 2. Meta-analysis
 Factorial design 3. Secondary data analysis
 Randomised block 4. Outcome research
design 5. Evaluation studies
 Crossover design 6. Operational research
 True
Experimental • Main feature is Manipulation of
Research
Designs independent variable, in the
presence of control group,
randomization.
 True • The researchers have complete
Experimental control over the extraneous variables
Research and can predict confidently that the
Designs
observed effect on the dependent
variable is only due to the
manipulation of the independent
variable.
 • The essential three characteristics
Essential
are
Characteristics of
True 1. Manipulation

Experimental 2. Control
Research Design 3. Randomization
 1. Manipulation

• Manipulation refers to conscious control of the independent

variable by the researcher through treatment or intervention(s)
to observe its effect on the dependent variable.
 1. Manipulation

• In other words, it is a conscious act by the researcher, where he

or she varies the independent variable & observes the effect that
manipulation has on the dependent variable of interest.
 1. Manipulation

• Example - a researcher is conducting a study on efficacy of

chlorhexidine mouthwash on the prevention of ventilator-associated
pneumonia (VAP) among patients admitted in ICUs.

• Chlorhexidine mouthwash - Independent variable - manipulated by the

researcher & intervention for the experimental group, while

• The control group is kept deprived of it to observe its effect on the

incidence of VAP.
2. Control

• Control is another essential element of true experimental

design.

• Control refers to use of control group & controlling the

effects of extraneous variables on the dependent variable in
which researcher is interested.
2. Control

• The subject in the control & experimental groups are

• Similar in number & characteristics,
• But the subject in the control group receive no experimental
treatment or any intervention at all.
2. Control

• The experimental group

• Receives the planned treatment or intervention &
• A comparison is made with the control group to observe the
effect of this treatment or intervention.
 2. Control

• Generally in health care & nursing research,

• It is not ethically feasible keep a control group deprived of
interventions; however, existing conventional method of
interventions may be compared with experimental interventions.
• Existing conventional method – Daily Injection of Anti-Psychotic medicine

• New/Experimental method – Depot preparation once in 15/30 days

• Finding the drug compliance/Adherence

 3. Randomization

• Randomization means that every subject has an equal chance of

being assigned to experimental or control group.

• Also known as random assignment of subjects – experimental or

control group - chances of systemic bias is eliminated.
 3. Randomization

• Randomization is used in true experimental research design

• to minimize the threat of internal validity of the study
• to eliminate the effect of extraneous variables on dependent
variables.
 3. Randomization

• Through randomization, on average

• characteristics of the subject in experimental & control groups
are similar, thus influence of extraneous variables on dependent
variable is eliminated by dispersing the variability of the subject
characteristics.
 3. Randomization

Methods of randomization

I. Simple flip of a coin for each subject

II. Draw of lots

III. Random table - computer-assisted random sequences

3. Randomization - Methods
I. Simple flip of a coin for each subject
coin ‘head’ - Experimental group & with ‘tail’ - control group.

II. Draw of lots - write the names of the subjects on slips of paper & draw lots.
The first designated numbers of subjects are placed in one group, & rest are assigned under
another group.

III. Random table: It facilitate the randomization process. Computer-assisted random sequences
also maybe used
 3. Randomization

SYMBOLIC PRESENTATIONS

• To facilitate the understanding of research designs some symbols are

used to present the different stages of experimentation in the literature.

• Some of the symbols used or as follows

 3. Randomization

SYMBOLIC PRESENTATIONS
R = Random assignment of the subjects to groups
O = Observation or measurement of dependent variable
X = Experimental treatment or intervention
 3. Randomization

SYMBOLIC PRESENTATIONS

• Subscript number appearing after X (X1, X2, X3…) indicates the

treatments such as first second and third and so on.

• Subscript number appearing after O (01, 02, 03) indicates the

observation or measurement such as first second and third and so on.
 CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH DESIGN

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN QUALITITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

I. Experimental Design II. Nonexperimental Design III. Other Additional

research Design
1. Descriptive design
1. True experimental 2. Quasi experimental 3. Pre-experimental 2. Correlational/Expost facto design
design design design 3. Developmental research design
 Post-test only control 4. Epidemiological designs
design 5. Survey research design
 Nonrandomized
 Pre-test – post test  One-shot case design
control design
control group design  One-group Pre-test –
 Time-series
 Solomon four group post test design 1. Methodological studies
design
design 2. Meta-analysis
 Factorial design 3. Secondary data analysis
 Randomised block 4. Outcome research
design 5. Evaluation studies
 Crossover design 6. Operational research
Types of True Experimental Research Design
True Experimental Designs
a. Post-test
f. Crossover
only control
design
design

b. Pre-test –
e. Randomised
post test control
block design
group design

c. Solomon
four group d. Factorial
design design
 True • Composed of two randomly assigned group,
Experimental i.e. experimental & control, but neither of
Designs
which is pretested before the implementation
a. Post-test only of treatment on the experimental group.
control design
 • In addition, while treatment is implemented
True
Experimental on the experimental group only, post-test
Designs observation is carried out on both the group
to assess the effect of manipulation.
a. Post-test only
control design
 True
• This design can be helpful in situations
Experimental
Designs where it is not possible to pretest the
subjects.
a. Post-test only
control design • For example, to study the effect of an
educational intervention related to urinary
incontinence on the subsequent help-
seeking behavior of older adults.
 True • Subjects are randomly assigned to either
Experimental the experimental or control group.
Designs
• The effect of the dependent variable on
b. Pre-test – post test
control group design both the groups is seen before the
treatment.
True Experimental • Later the treatment is carried out on
Designs
experimental group only, and after
b. Pre-test – post treatment observation of dependent variable
test control group
is made on both the groups to examine the
design
effect of the manipulation of independent
variable on the dependent variable.
True Experimental • For example, such a design can be used
Designs for ‘an experimental study to assess the

b. Pre-test – post effectiveness of cognitive behavioral

test control group therapy interventions for patients with
design
breast cancer.’
True Experimental • There are two experimental groups
Designs
(experimental group 1 and experimental
c. Solomon four group 2) and two control groups (control
group design
group 1 and control group 2).
 True • The investigator randomly assigns
Experimental
subjects to four groups.
Designs
• Out of the four groups, only experimental
c. Solomon four
group design group 1 and control group 1 receives the
pretest,

• Followed by the treatment to the

experimental group 1 and experimental
group 2.
 True
Experimental • Finally, all the four groups receive post-
Designs test, where the effects of the dependent

c. Solomon four variables of the study are observed and

group design comparison is made of the four groups to
assess the effect of independent variable
on dependent variable.
True Experimental • The solomon four group design is
Designs believed to be the most prestigious
c. Solomon four experimental research design because it
group design minimizes the threat to internal and
external validity. 
 True
• It requires large – sample & statistical
Experimental
Designs analysis – so not commonly used in
nursing & other health care researchers. 
c. Solomon four
group design
 • The researcher manipulates two or more
True Experimental
Designs independent variables simultaneously to
d. Factorial design observe their effects on the dependent
variables.

• This design is useful when there are

more than two independent variables,
called factors to be tested.
 True • For example, a researcher wants to
Experimental observe the effects of two different
Designs
protocols of mouth care prevention of
d. Factorial design
VAP when performed at different
frequencies in a day.
 • This design also facilitates the testing of
True Experimental
Designs several hypothesis at a single time.

d. Factorial design • Typical factorial design incorporates 2x2

or 2x3 factorial, but it can be any
combination.
 True • The first number (α) refers to the
Experimental independent variables or the types of
Designs experimental treatments,
d. Factorial design • The second number (β) refers to the level
or frequency of the treatment.
True Experimental
Designs
• Control of inherent/innate differences
e. Randomised block
design between experimental subjects &
differences in experimental conditions is
one of the difficult problems faced by
researcher in biological sciences.
True Experimental
Designs
• When there are a large number of
e. Randomised block
design experimental comparison groups, the
randomized block design is used to bring
homogeneity/similarity among selected
different groups.
True Experimental
Designs
• This is simple method to reduce the
e. Randomised block
design variability among the treatment groups by
a more homogeneous combination of the
subjects through randomized block
design.
 For example, a researcher wants to examine
True Experimental
Designs the effects of three different anti

e. Randomised block hypertensive drugs on patients with

design hypertension.
True Experimental
In this example, to ensure the homogeneity
Designs
among the subjects undertreatment,
e. Randomised block
design researcher randomly places the subjects in
homogeneous groups (blocks) like patients
with primary hypertension, diabetic
patients with hypertension, & renal patients
with hypertension
 True • In this design, subjects are exposed to
Experimental more than one treatment, where subjects
Designs
are randomly assigned to different orders
f. Crossover design of treatment.

• It is also known as ‘repeat measures

design’.
 True • This design is more efficient in
Experimental establishing the highest possible similarity
Designs among subjects exposed to different
f. Crossover design conditions, where groups compared
obviously have equal distribution of
characteristics.
 True
Experimental • Though crossover design is considered as
Designs an extremely powerful research design,
f. Crossover design sometimes it is not effective because
when subjects are exposed to two
different conditions, their responses of the
second condition maybe influenced by
their experience in the first condition.
 True
Experimental
Designs • For example, when we are comparing the

f. Crossover design effectiveness of the chlorhexidine mouth

care protocol on group I & saline mouth
care protocol on the subjects of group II.
 True
Experimental
Designs • Later, the treatment is swapped, where

f. Crossover design group I receives the saline mouth care &

group II receives chlorhexidine.

• In such studies, subjects serve as their

own control.
 Experimental research designs - most powerful
True designs to establish the causal relationship between
Experimental independent & dependent variables.
Designs

Advantages The purpose of research - explanation, causal

relationship may be established among the
variables by experimentation, especially in studies
involving physical objects, where the variables are
more easily controlled than in human studies.
 Conditions not found in a natural setting can be
True created in an experimental setting, where the
Experimentalindependent variable is manipulated by investigator.
Designs
In the experimental approach, we can often create
Advantages
conditions in a short period of time that may take
years to occur naturally. For example, in genetic
studies we can breed strains in very small time,
which would take a longtime in nature to occur..
 True
Experimental When the experiment is conducted in a
Designs laboratory, experimental unit, or other
specialized research setting, it is removed from
Advantages
the pressure & problems of real-life situations &
the researcher can pursue his or her studies in a
more leisurely, careful, & concentrated way..
 True • Most of the times, the results of experimental
Experimental
research designs cannot be replicated in
Designs
studies conducted on human beings due to
ethical problems.

• For certain research problems, because of the

danger to physical & psychological health of
Disadvantages the human subjects, it is not possible to
conduct experiments on human beings.
 True
Experimental
• Many of the human variables neither have
Designs
valid measurable criteria nor instruments to
measure them.
• For example, Pain scale patient welfare or
level of wellness cannot be measured on any
Disadvantages scale or by any instrument.
 True
Experimental
Designs
• In experimental studies conducted in
natural settings like hospitals or
community, it is not possible to impose
control over extraneous variables.
Disadvantages
 True • Another disadvantage of the experimental
Experimental research design is that it is very difficult to
Designs
get cooperation from the study
participants, because it may involve
medical or surgical treatment or
intervention, which may make the
Disadvantages prospective subjects reluctant to
participate in research study.