Experimental Design in Research

The experimental design in research in which the subjects’ performance is compared with their own performance i.e., only one group of subjects is used. Before-After No Control Group Design in Research Methods and Data Analysis

Experimental Designs
i. Within- Subjects
ii. Between- Subjects

Within Subject
Varieties of Before-after no control group designs:
ABABA and ABABABBA designs

Between Subjects
The experimental design in which two or more groups of subjects are used and their performance is compared with each other: i. Classical   ii. After- Only

Problems associated:
• Artificiality of behavior is a possibility
• Subjects may be under stress or pressure
• Time consuming and expensive
• Ethical issues: can we tell all about the nature of experiment to the subjects??? BUT…the very element of control gives edge to this approach, as this is what makes psychology a science.

Applied Research:
• Kind of research that fits into the experimental framework, although it is not planned, initiated or controlled by the experimenter: it is “sort of experimentation”.
• It is the experimentation in which the independent variable occurs, or has occurred, naturally and the researcher studies its impact the way it is done in a laboratory experiment