We are unable to randomly assign the children to either the experimental or control group, therefore all of our participants do not have the same chance of being in the control or experimental group. Our data will also not be blinded, although identifying information on standardized testing scores, absenteeism, suspension and expulsion will not be available to the research designer.
The design for this type of group would be diagrammed as follows:
The central idea behind this design is that the null case would not expect the treatment group (in this case our community) to differ at greater than chance levels. This allows consideration of a treatment effect when the post-test data of the treatment group varies from the control group regression line. The limitation is that one must always be aware that elements outside of the treatment may be the cause of treatment shift from the regression line, and careful attention to internal validity interference is important.
Threats to Internal Validity
By its nature, quasi-experimental design is weak in its ability to control threats to internal validity, but usually effective in controlling threats to external validity. Since our research is being done in a commonly encountered situation, it is likely to have wide applicability to similar settings if the threats to internal validity to be controlled. Possible threats to internal validity include:
Historical elements - are there elements within the community or within the individual which will effect the change in the variable? In this case, it is not possible to be sure that each population experienced the same events and come to the study with a similar background and experience.
Statistical regression - Do the subjects come from same or similar backgrounds? Both groups have been evaluated for socioeconomic status similarity, but are there other elements in the population that can confound the data?
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Promoting emotional competence in school-aged deaf children: The effects of the PATHS curriculum. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 117-136.
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Program Goals and Behavior Objectives Because arbitrary benchmarks such as standardized test scores will not be used in isolation of other student data, the goals of the action plan envisioned herein will be strictly considered in terms of achieving a positive academic outcome as defined as the student successfully graduating from high school with at least a "C" average; this goal would be applied across the board to all students, with
Domestic violence poses serious mental and physical health risks. In fact, it is estimated that" more than 1.5 million women nationwide seek medical treatment for injuries related to abuse each year" (Stark, 2001, p. 347(Tomison, 2003)). Those who are abused can experience mental health issues, such as anxiety attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic depression, acute stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts and ideation (Tomison, 2003)." Domestic violence in America comes with an
Violence in Public Schools The recent violence on school grounds (including elementary, middle school and high school violence) has created a climate of fear in American public schools, and the literature presented in this review relates to that fear and to the difficulty schools face in determining what students might be capable of mass killings on campus. Television coverage of school shootings leave the impression that there is more violence on
School Violence Violence in schools is increasing at an alarming rate as more teenagers gain access to weapons. It is important to devise a plan which could reduce this violence and make schools safer for future generations. Facts about School Violence Although fears concerning school violence have increased in the last several years, recent studies show that "most children are safer in school than out of it. Fatal incidents of school violence remained
School uniforms for students are becoming more and more popular across the country. Research suggest that schools with a mandatory school-wide uniform policy have better attendance, better behavior, fewer discipline referrals, and more school spirit. Children seem to become more focused on academics. They are also easily identified on campus, in the community, and on field trips, making general safety another benefit of wearing uniforms. It is hypothesized that behavior in
The researchers omitted the public sector data which had a positive correlation, and drew their conclusion from only the Catholic and private school sectors which had a negative correlation. Including the omitted data would have changed the overall conclusions. The authors warn against citing and using research that has methodological flaws. School Uniform Relation to Attendance A school uniform policy has been strongly suggested as a way to curb school violence
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