Research Ethics and Evaluating Quantitative Research Essay

Research Ethics and Evaluating Quantitative Research Essay

Research Ethics and Evaluating Quantitative Research Essay

            Research design is the overall strategy that a researcher would choose to organize and integrate different components of the study in a logical manner. The design ensures that research addresses the research issue effectively (Harding et al., 2021). The design affects the data analysis method, measurement, and the type of analysis that would be adopted for a study. The purpose of this write-up is to explore and provide examples of experimental and non-experimental research designs.

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            Experimental research design is a scientific approach to study where manipulation of one or two independent variables can be applied to another one or more dependent variables to measure the effect of the independent variables. The effect of the dependent or independent variables will be examined over time (Verma, 2019). The correlation analysis that the dependent and independent variables would depict is significant in drawing a conclusion on two different variables. This method is applied extensively in psychology, physical and social sciences. The method relies on comparing two or more groups using a direct logic that might be difficult to analyze.

            An example of this type of design is a study that aims to examine the effect of a new drug in treating foot ulcers. The independent variable in this example would be the new drug that could be manipulated to see how it affects the patient outcome on foot ulcers. The data manipulation in this study would be significant in determining the relationship between the variables and ensuring that it meets the desired outcome that a study could report (Verma, 2019).

            On the other hand, the non-experimental study design does not have independent variables. However, the research focuses more on observing the problem’s context and analyzing the problem to obtain the correct information (Verma, 2019). In this study design, the researcher cannot control, manipulate or alter the variables but rely on the interpretation to conclude a particular study. Such studies must not rely on surveys, case studies, or correlations to demonstrate the cause-and-effect association. Many studies adopting this design are events that had been discussed in the past and analyzed later. Again, it focuses on the phenomena as they occurred. Types of this design include cross-sectional research, observational and longitudinal studies.

            An example of this design is when a researcher may wish to investigate the crowd effect in a particular group of people (Verma, 2019). For instance, a situation where one bank employee receives a service request from many customers while other employees have no clients. The researcher would use an observational design approach to determine the underlying reason that the customers have for this one particular employee.

            While both experimental and non-experimental designs are important in the research study. The choice of these methods would depend on the topic of study, available data, and resources that would affect a particular study (Harding et al., 2021). Other scholars may use the two designs in one study and offer them a different reporting to conclude the research study. However, the main difference between the two variables is the attitude towards manipulation of the control variables. The experimental design allows the researcher to manipulate the variables, while the non-experimental design does not allow researchers to manipulate the variables.

Conclusion

            Many scholars always consider the difference between experimental and non-experimental design to determine the most effective design. A comprehensive understanding of the difference between the two designs would allow the researcher to make the best decision that would affect their study. While many would adopt the experimental design, others would use non-experimental depending on the intended study.

References

Harding, D. J., Sanbonmatsu, L., Duncan, G. J., Gennetian, L. A., Katz, L. F., Kessler, R. C., … & Ludwig, J. (2021). Evaluating Contradictory Experimental and Non-experimental Estimates of Neighborhood Effects on Economic Outcomes for Adults. Housing Policy Debate, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2021.1881985

Verma, J. P. (2019). Research Design in Psychology. In Statistics and Research Methods in Psychology with Excel (pp. 333-363). Springer, Singapore. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-3429-0_9  

 

Provide examples of experimental and nonexperimental research design. Contrast the levels of control applied to each.