Ninth Edition CoverGraziano & Raulin
Research Methods (9th edition)

How "Quasi" is the Experiment?

Quasi-experimental designs are close to being experiments, but lack some of the usual controls found in an experiments. For each of the situations listed below, judge how close each is to a true experiment. In addition, offer suggestions about how each might be improved to more closely approximate an experiment.

  1. A researcher wants to see what effects the closing of a major plant in a small community has on the community. The plan was to use a time-series analysis to monitor such factors as mental and physical health usage, property values, crime, and retail sales. (answer)

  2. A chemical waste dump has recently been discovered under a community of middle class homes. The community of 244 homes has been there for nearly 20 years, with virtually everyone living there unaware of what was buried under their property. Your task is to evaluate the health risks in these families relative to what the expected level of health risk for such families. (answer)

  3. A retail firm wants to evaluate the impact of a particularly severe winter on their sales in their Midwest and Northeast stores. (answer)

  4. A category 4 hurricane devastates several Gulf Coast communities. As a coordinator of your state's emergency reaction team, you want to evaluate how effectively the new procedures for emergency and recovery address the needs of your citizens. (answer)