Chapter 3: Quasi-Experimental Design

Charles S. Reichardt

Quasi-experimental design Estimating the effect of a treatment or intervention is a common task in psychological research. For example, estimating the effect of a treatment or intervention is common in both basic and applied researchin psychology, as well as in the other social sciences. The purpose most often in basic research is to test theories. A theory is put to the test by deriving its empirical implications and seeing if they hold true. In many cases, a theory's most telling implications entail predictions about the effects of treatments or interventions. In contrast, the immediate concern in applied research is improving the human condition, with less concern for theoretical implications. Nonetheless, estimating effects is still of great importance in applied research because of the need to know if the ameliorative interventions that are being proposed actually have the desired beneficial effect. Estimating the effect of a treatment or intervention requires a ...

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