Experimental research designs

Nidhi Malhotra
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
AIMS, Mohali
 Descriptive Analytic
studies studies

Cross Case series

sectional Observation Intervention
/Report

Cohort Case control Experimenta

Studies studies l study
 Pre-experimental Research Designs

“A single group or various dependent groups are observed for the

effect of the application of an independent variable which is presumed
to cause change”
One-shot case study research design

One-group pretest-posttest research design

Static-group comparison
 One-shot case study research design

One post intervention

measurement

Time
Before Intervention After
 One-group pretest-posttest research design

One pre intervention One post intervention

measurement measurement

Time
Before Intervention After
 Static-group comparison

One post intervention

measurement

Time
Before Intervention After

Time
 Quasi experimental Research Designs

• Quasi: Pseudo

• No randomization done

Time series design

Multiple time series design

 Time series design

Multiple pre intervention Multiple post intervention

measurements measurements

Time
Before Intervention After
 Multiple Time series design

Multiple pre intervention Multiple post intervention

measurements measurements

Time
Before Intervention After

Time
 True experimental Research Designs

• Must contain a control group

• A variable that can be manipulated

• Random Allocation

The posttest-only control group design

The pretest-posttest control group design

Solomon four-group Design

 Randomization
Randomization is a process which ensures that participants have an
equal chance to be assigned to one of two or more groups
• One group gets the new treatment being tested
• The other gets the most widely accepted treatment/placebo/no
treatment
 Randomization
Randomization provides the best way to prove the effectiveness of a
new agent or intervention by ensuring that
• All groups are as similar as possible
• Confounding, co-interventions and bias in outcome ascertainment is
minimized
 The posttest-only control group design

1 post intervention
Randomization measurement only

Time
Before Intervention After

Participants

Time
 The pretest-posttest control group design

1 pre intervention 1 post intervention

Randomization measurement measurement

Time
Before Intervention After
Participants

Time
 Solomon four-group Design

2 groups: pre intervention All groups: post intervention

Randomization measurements measurements

Time

Participants

Time
“

Image source: Google images

 Blinding
• Blinding in clinical trials helps in balancing groups during follow-up.

• Blinding can be at the level of

• Participants (Single blinding)
• Participants and investigators (Double blinding)
• Participants, investigators and analysts (Triple blinding)
 Blinding
Blinding helps to eliminate subjectivity in judgment of outcomes in

• Co-intervention: Participants use other therapy or change behaviour or

study staff, medical providers, family or friends treat participants differently.

• Biased outcome ascertainment: Participants may report symptoms or

outcomes differently or physicians or investigators may elicit symptoms or
outcomes differently.
 Bias

Attrition Bias:

• Error caused by unequal loss of participants from a RCT.

Volunteer Bias:

• Participants volunteering to take part in a study have different

characteristics from general population of interest
 Bias
Ascertainment Bias:

• Arise when data collection or analysis done such that some members
of target population are less likely to include in study/results.

• Addressed by blinding & allocation concealment

THANK-YOU