Quasi-Experimental Designs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Quasi-Experimental Designs - Essay Example S., (1992). Sex Differences in Performance on the Mathematics Section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test: A Bidirectional Validity Study. Harvard Educational Review. Vol. 62(3), pp. 323-337. Reason for choice: Studies like these are part of classic literature on abilities and on psychological testing. The study also provides support for the urban legend that boys (males) are better at mathematics as compared to girls (females). This study also provides a perfect example for understanding quasi-experimental designs, since the selection of subjects in each group can be randomised perfectly; but the actual manipulation of the Independent variable is impossible. Variables: The independent variable for this study is the sex of the participant, and the dependent variable is the score obtained by the participant on the mathematics section of the SAT. Alternate research design: The same study results would be more valuable if the effect of study background was removed. This can be done by using a measuring the extent to which the subject has studied mathematics or mathematics dependent subjects in the two years before giving the exam; and then removing the effect of this variable from the data by using an Analysis of Co-Variance.