Discussion In Your Textbook About The Five Generations

W8 Discussionin Your Textbook You Have Read About Five General Catego

W8 Discussionin Your Textbook You Have Read About Five General Catego

W8 Discussionin Your Textbook You Have Read About Five General Catego

W8 Discussion In your textbook, you have read about five general categories of experimental, quasi-experimental, and ex-post facto designs. Pick two of those designs and discuss the practical research applications for those two categories. Which ones would be best, in your opinion, for establishing cause-and-effect relationships? Week 8 Assignment As we have asked you to do in your previous papers, pay close attention the the following criteria so your work will better represent you and the knowledge you have gained throughout this course. Select one of the major terrorist incidents presented in the Appendix of our textbook.

In a well-written paper: Explain the role media played in the incident. Make sure your discussion reflects themes in chapters 14 through 17 of our textbook. Papers must adhere to the following guidelines PRIOR to submission on or before the last day of Week 8: The first page of your paper will be a cover sheet correctly formatted according to APA guidelines. This paper will use 1-inch margins, Times New Roman 12-point font, and double spacing. The citations for each article MUST be correctly formatted according to APA guidelines.

Do NOT use an automated citation manager to perform this function. Do it manually for this assignment and check your formatting against available APA resources. Excluding the cover page and references, this paper must EXCEED 12 pages of written text. Only COMPLETE paragraphs consisting of an introductory sentence, a full explanation of key points supported with properly cited sources, and a concluding sentence may be used. Only use published articles from academic texts, such as those found at scholar.google.com or accessed through your Grantham University EBSCO host account.

The entire paper must be your original work. It may not include quotes, and at no time should text be copied and pasted. This paper DOES require an introductory paragraph, explicit thesis statement, concluding paragraph, and references page.

Paper For Above instruction

The field of social science research employs various experimental designs to understand causal relationships and practical applications across diverse contexts. Among these, experimental, quasi-experimental, and ex-post facto designs stand out for their unique advantages and limitations. This discussion focuses on two specific categories: experimental designs and quasi-experimental designs, examining their practical applications and relative effectiveness in establishing cause-and-effect relationships.

Experimental designs are considered the gold standard for establishing causality in research. They involve deliberate manipulation of an independent variable to observe its effect on a dependent variable, typically within a controlled environment. These designs are extensively used in fields like psychology, medicine, and education. For instance, in clinical trials assessing the efficacy of new pharmaceuticals, experimental designs enable researchers to randomly assign participants to treatment or control groups, thereby minimizing confounding variables (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002). This randomization and control facilitate a clearer identification of cause-and-effect relationships. The strength of experimental designs lies in their ability to control extraneous variables, which enhances internal validity. Therefore, they are best suited for investigations where establishing a direct causal link is imperative, such as testing the impact of educational interventions on student achievement or evaluating the effectiveness of medical treatments.

Quasi-experimental designs, on the other hand, are employed when random assignment is impractical or unethical. These designs retain some elements of experimental control but lack randomization, which introduces potential confounding variables. Quasi-experimental studies are common in applied research settings, such as policy evaluation, community-based interventions, and organizational studies (Cook & Campbell, 1979). For example, evaluating the impact of a new public health program implemented in certain communities but not others involves quasi-experimental approaches. Researchers might use matched control groups or statistical controls to account for baseline differences. While quasi-experiments are less robust than true experiments in establishing causality, they offer valuable insights in real-world settings where controlled experiments are impossible. They are particularly useful for preliminary investigations or program evaluations where practical constraints prevent randomization. In many cases, quasi-experimental designs are the most feasible method for approximating cause-and-effect relationships in naturalistic environments.

In determining which design is best for establishing cause-and-effect relationships, experimental designs are generally superior due to their rigorous control over extraneous variables and the ability to randomize participants. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), a form of experimental design, are often regarded as the most conclusive method for causal inference. However, in many applied contexts, ethical or logistical considerations may prevent the use of RCTs, making quasi-experimental designs indispensable despite their inherent limitations. Ultimately, the choice of design depends on the research question, ethical considerations, and the feasibility of randomization.

References

• Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design & analysis issues for field settings. Houghton Mifflin.
• Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin.
• Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Houghton Mifflin.
• Cook, T. D., & Rubinson, J. (1979). The logic of quasi-experiments. In T. D. Cook, M. T. Mathison, & H. C. Ochberg (Eds.), Qualitative and quantitative methods in program evaluation (pp. 57-72). Jossey-Bass.
• Shadish, W. R., et al. (2014). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Routledge.
• Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design & analysis issues for field settings. Houghton Mifflin.
• Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage publications.
• Neuman, W. L. (2014). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson.
• Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Routledge.
• Robson, C. (2011). Real world research. Wiley.