SINGLE-CASE, QUASI-EXPERIMENT,
AND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Describe single case experimental designs and
discuss reasons to use this design
Describe the five types of evaluations involved
in program evaluation research
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Needs assessment
Program assessment
Process evaluation
Outcome evaluation
Efficiency assessment
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Describe the one-group posttest-only design
Describe the one-group pretest-posttest design
and the associated threats to internal validity
that may occur
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History
Maturation
Testing
Instrument decay
Regression toward the mean
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Describe the nonequivalent control group
design and nonequivalent control group
pretest-posttest design, and discuss the
advantages of having a control group
Distinguish between the interrupted time series
design and control series design
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Describe cross-sectional, longitudinal, and
sequential research designs, including the
advantages and disadvantages of each design
Define cohort effect
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Single Case Experimental Designs (formerly
called single-subject designs)
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Measured from baseline period to treatment periods
Reversal or withdrawal design
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Called an ABA design
Baseline (A)  Treatment (B)  Baseline (A)
 The use of praise as a treatment to measure the
improvement of a child’s school performance
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Measure test scores  give regimen of praise for correct
homework problems  measure test scores
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Multiple Baseline Designs
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Change is observer under multiple circumstances
The manipulation is introduced at different times
Determines that the manipulation caused change
Replications in Single Case Designs
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
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PROGRAM THEORY ASSESSMENT
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PROCESS EVALUATION
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OUTCOME EVALUATION
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EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Used when control features of experimental
designs cannot be achieved
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For example, the independent variable cannot be
manipulated
Internal validity may be affected
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Threats to internal validity in quasiexperimental designs include:
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History
Maturation
Testing
Instrument Decay
Regression Toward the Mean
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
One-Group Posttest-Only Design
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Nonequivalent Control Group Design
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Nonequivalent Control Group Pretest-Posttest
Design
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Interrupted Time Series Design
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Examines the dependent variable over an extended period
of time, both before and after the IV is implemented
Interpretation problems (possible regression to the mean)
Control Series Design
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Improves interrupted time series design by finding an
appropriate “control group”
Involves finding a similar population that did not receive a
particular manipulation
Limited because this is not a true “control group”
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Cross-Sectional Method – persons of different
ages measured at the same point in time
Longitudinal Method – same group is observed
at different times (as they age)
Sequential Method – combination of 1 and 2
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Cross Sectional Method
Year of Birth (cohort)
Time 1: 2005
Group 1
1950
55 years old
Group 2
1945
60 years old
Group 3
1940
65 years old
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Longitudinal Method
Year of Birth
(cohort)
Group 1: 1950
Time 1:
2005
Time 2:
2010
Time 3:
2015
55 yr 
60 yr 
65 yr
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Sequential Method
Year of Birth
(cohort)
Group 1: 1950
Group 2: 1940
Time 1:
2005
Time 2:
2010
Time 3:
2015
55 yr 
65 yr 
60 yr 
70 yr 
65 yr
75 yr
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Comparison of Longitudinal and CrossSectional Methods
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Strengths:
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Can attribute changes to development
Can examine variables at a later time
Weaknesses:
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Expensive
Difficult
Morality
As a hybrid, the sequential method shares virtues of
both methods
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.