research method

1.

attrition

the loss of participants in the course of a study when they fail to complete it

2.

contamination

occurs when knowledge, services, or other experiences intended for one group are unintentionally received by another group (when future participants learn information from previous participants that they are not supposed to know until after data collected is completed)

3.

efficiency assessment

in program evaluation, the process of weighing the program’s benefits and effectiveness in relation to its costs to determine whether it is an efficient method for addressing the problem at hand

4.

history

events that occur while a study is being conducted and that are not a part of the experimental manipulation or treatment

5.

instrumentation

changes that occur in a measuring instrument during the course of data collection

6.

maturation

the ways in which people naturally change over time, independent of their participation in a study

7.

needs assessment

the process of determining whether there is a need for a social program and the general steps required to meet that need

8.

one-group posttest-only design

a design in which a treatment occurs and afterward the dependent variable is measured once

9.

one-group pretest-posttest design

a design in which a dependent variable is measured once before and once after a treatment occurs

10.

outcome evaluation

a type of program evaluation that assess a program’s effectiveness in achieving its goals

11.

posttest-only design with a nonequivalent control group

a design in which participants in one condition are exposed to a treatment, a nonequivalent group is not exposed to the treatment, and scores from both groups are obtained after the treatment ends

12.

pretest-posttest design with nonequivalent control group

a design in which pre- and posttreatment scores are obtained for a treatment group and a nonequivalent control group

13.

process evaluation

a type of program evaluation that determines whether a program is being implemented as intended

14.

program diffusion

the process of implementing a maintaining effective programs in other setting or other groups

15.

program evaluation

the use of research methods to assess the need for, and the design, implementation, and effectiveness of, a social intervention

16.

program theory and design assessment

a type of program evaluation that examines the rationale for why a program has been, or will be, designed in a particular way

17.

quasi-experiment

a study that has some features of an experiment but lacks key aspects of experimental control

18.

regression to the mean

when a group is selected because of their above- or below-average score on a measure, the group’s average score on a retest will tend to regress toward the mean score of the overall population

19.

selection

a potential threat to internal validity in which at the start of a study participants in the various conditions already differ on a characteristics that can partly or fully account for the eventual results

20.

selection interactions

the interaction of selection with another threat to internal validity

21.

simple interrupted time-series design

a design in which a dependent variable is repeatedly measured at periodic intervals before and after a treatment

22.

simple interrupted time-series design with a nonequivalent control group

a design in which a series of pre- and posttreatment scores are obtained for a treatment group and a nonequivalent control group

23.

switching replication design

a design in which one group receives a treatment and a nonequivalent group initially does no receive the treatment but is then exposed to it at a later point in time

24.

testing

a potential threat to internal validity in which the act of measuring participants’ responses affects how they respond on subsequent measures

1.

ABAB design

a type of single-case design that involves a sequence of phases in which a treatment is either absent or present

2.

applied behavior analysis

the application of principles from the experiment analysis of behavior to socially significant problems.

3.

baseline phase

a phase of an experiment during which the treatment or intervention is not presented; often refers to an initial phase in which data are recorded prior to introducing a treatment.

4.

changing-criterion design

a single-case experimental design in which an initial phase is followed by a treatment phase that lasts until the target behavior reaches a criterion level and becomes stable; treatment then continues in a series of additional phases, with a new (and typically more demanding) performance criterion set in each phase.

5.

experimental analysis of behavior

the intensive study, under controlled conditions, of how environmental stimuli and consequences regulate an individual organism’s behavior.

6.

multiple-baseline design

a type of single-case design which (1) behavior is repeatedly measured, first during a baseline period and then during a treatment period; (2) this procedure is replicated with at least one other participant or behavior, or in one other setting; and (3) the time at which the treatment is introduced (and thus, typically, the length of the baseline period) varies across the different participants, behaviors, or settings.

7.

multiple-baseline design across behaviors

a type of single-case design in which the same treatment is applied to two or more distinct behaviors of the same participant, and the switch from baseline to treatment periods is staggered across settings.

8.

multiple-baseline design across settings

a type of single-case design in which the same treatment is applied to the same target behavior in two or more settings and the switch from baseline to treatment is staggered across settings.

9.

multiple-baseline design across subjects

a type of single-case design in which two or more participants are exposed to the same treatment and the switch from baseline to treatment periods is staggered across participants.

10.

pschophysics

a subfield of the study of sensation and perception that examines the relation between physical properties of stimuli (such as their intensity) and sensory-perceptual responses.

11.

single-case experimental designs

an approach to experimentation that allows researchers to systematically examine how an independent variable influence the behavior of an individual case.

12.

target behavior

the behavior that a treatment is designed to change.

13.

treatment phase (intervention phase)

in applied research, the condition that involves the presentation of a specific treatment or other intervention; the experimental condition

14.

withdrawal design (reversal design)

a type of single-case design in which, after the initial A phase, the subsequent A phases involve a “withdrawal” of the treatment or a “reversal” of the procedures.