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SELECTION OF A NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH METHOD FOR

PROPOSED RESEARCH

BY
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DISCUSSION TOPIC: NON-EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

Many forms or researches are non-experimental. Where experimental research

requires that the researcher manipulate the independent (predictor) variable, non-

experimental research involves the researcher simply assessing the variables as they are,

with no intervention on the part of the researcher. There are many types of non-

experimental research designs i.e. naturalistic observation, ethnography, sociometry, the

case history, archival research, and content analysis, etc. (Bordens & Abbott, 2018 p. 228).

Which method should be chosen for the research depends on the research question which

we have formulated for our research.

Research Question

How can use ABA therapy to reduce anxiety in the classroom settings with children

with autism?

Research Design: Archival research design.

Archival Research

Archival research is a non-experimental design that involves studying already

existing records. These records could be in any form like historical account of events,

census data, published research articles, school records, students’ academic reports,

medical reports, social media information or any other archived information. A new

archival technique is ‘archival review’ in which you extract specific type of data that serve

your purpose i.e. any medical history or any school record (Bordens & Abbott, 2018 p.

250).
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Whenever you are planning to do archival research, you should have a specific

research question in your mind. Because in this type of research you would have bulk of

information and it depends on you what kind of information you want to extract from

(Bordens & Abbott, 2018 p. 250).

Reason for the selection of Archival Research

Whenever, we apply any therapy or treatment to any specific group. We have to

check its effect on that particular group. For that purpose, we have to do observation before

the treatment, but in some cases that is not possible (Bordens & Abbott, 2018 p. 251). In

those cases, we use already existing data to compare it with the after results of the therapy

or treatment as a research was done Huefner and Ringle (2012). So, for the proposed

research, different methods would be selected to apply ABA therapy to reduce the anxiety

in autistic children. For that purpose, we need to have two type of data i.e. before the

therapy and after the therapy. Different researches would also be reviewed to check the

different results.

Procedure to use Archival Research

First of all, data from the particular institutes would be collected through their

records of the autistic children. By using archival review technique, information related to

their anxiety (triggers, situation, and stimulus) would be extracted from that record. After

that, different methods to apply different techniques of the ABA therapy would be selected

and then a comparison would be done by comparing the archival data and the data collected

after the application of different techniques.

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Advantages

There are many advantages of using archival design for the proposed research. One

advantage of this study is that researcher won’t have to worry about introducing changes

in participant’s behavior that would affect the outcome of the study. This method is cost-

effective than other research methods. It can provide bulk of information needed for the

research.

Disadvantages

The main point to consider in using this method is, sometimes the particular

information is not available publically. We have to gain access or to get permission to use

the records. Here, we need informed consent from the particular institutes which is not an

easy task. Another problem is that sometimes, information is incomplete or we don’t find

what we are looking for (Bordens & Abbott, 2018 p. 250). In those cases, using this method

would be problematic and we may switch towards other research designs.

Differences between Archival Research and True-Experiment

In any true experiment, there is always manipulation of independent variable to

check its effect on dependent variable. It demands high level of control and random

assignment. True experiment always used to find the causes of a relationship. But in the

case of archival research method, there is no manipulation of independent variables. It

doesn’t demand that level of control as well. Archival records fail to find any causal

relationship between the variables (Bordens & Abbott, 2018 p. 250).

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REFERENCES

Bordens, K. S., & Abbott, B. B. (2018). Research design and methods: A process

approach. McGraw-Hill.

Huefner, J. C., & Ringle, J. L. (2012). Examination of negative peer contagion in a

residential care setting. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21(5), 807-815.