ASSIGNMENT

ON
ADVANCE RESEARCH METHODS AND STATISTICS IN
EDUCATION
(M.ED./3/CC/302)

TOPIC

CHARACTERISTICS OF PRE- EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

DESIGN

Submitted by:

Laltanpuii

M. Ed 3rd Semester

Roll No. 32
INTRODUCTION

Experimental research is the most familiar type of research design for individuals in
the physical sciences and a host of other fields. This is mainly because experimental research
is a classical scientific experiment, similar to those performed in high school science classes.

Experimental research is conducted with a scientific approach using two sets of

variables. Mostly related to a laboratory test procedure, experimental research designs involve
collecting quantitative data and performing statistical analysis on them during research.
Therefore, making it an example of quantitative research method.

WHAT IS PRE-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH?

Pre-experimental designs or within subject designs are so named because they follow
basic experimental steps but fail to include a control group. In other words, a single group is
often studied but no comparison between an equivalent non-treatment group is made. In pre-
experimental research design, either a group or various dependent groups are observed for the
effect of the application of an independent variable which is presumed to cause change. It is
the simplest form of experimental research design and is treated with no control group.

In pre-experimental design, a group, or various groups, are kept under observation

after implementing factors of cause and effect. They conduct this research to understand
whether further investigation is necessary for these particular groups.

TYPES OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

1. One-shot case study design

2. One-group pretest-posttest design
3. Static-group comparison
One-shot case study design

A single group is studied at a single point in time after some treatment that is
presumed to have caused change. The carefully studied single instance is compared to general
expectations of what the case would have looked like had the treatment not occurred and to

other events casually observed. No control or comparison group is employed. The one-shot
case study compares the post-test results to the expected results. It makes clear what the result
is and how the case would have looked if the treatment wasn’t done. 

Example: A teacher using a new instructional method for their class. Their
class could be measured at the end of the term to see if the new instructional method
used by the teacher was effective. It was measured with the whole to see the result
class since there is no randomization.

One-group pretest-posttest design

A single case is observed at two time points, one before the treatment and one after the
treatment. Changes in the outcome of interest are presumed to be the result of the
intervention or treatment. No control or comparison group is employed. This design
presents a considerable improvement over the one-shot case study design by introducing
pretesting before introducing the treatment to the experimental group. As the name suggests,
it includes one group and conducts pre-test and post-test on it. The pre-test will tell how the
group was before they were put under treatment. Whereas post-test determines the changes
in the group after the treatment. 
Example: A teacher using the new instructional method gives their students a
pretest at the beginning of the term, teaches the new method throughout the term, and
then gives them a posttest at the end of the term. Again, there is no comparison group.
Static-group comparison

A group that has experienced some treatment is compared with one that has not.
Observed differences between the two groups are assumed to be a result of the treatment.
This design attempts to make up for the lack of a control group but falls short in relation
to showing if a change has occurred. In the static group comparison study, two groups are
chosen, one of which receives the treatment and the other does not. A posttest score is then
determined to measure the difference, after treatment, between the two groups. This study
does not include any pre-testing and therefore any differences between the two groups prior
to the study are unknown.

Example: There is one class who had been exposed to the new instructional
method and another class who had not been exposed and giving them both posttests at
the end of the term. The result will be unknown since both classes are not given the
pretest.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages

1. Cost-effective due to its easy process. 

2. Very simple to conduct.

3. Efficient to conduct in the natural environment. 

4. It is also suitable for beginners. 

5. Involves less human intervention. 

 6. Determines how your treatment is going to affect the true experiment. 

Disadvantages

1. It is a weak design to determine causal relationships between variables. 

2. Does not have any control over the research. 

3. Possess a high threat to internal validity. 

4. Researchers find it tough to examine the results’ integrity. 

5. The absence of a control group makes the results less reliable

CHARACTERISTICS OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Characteristics of pre-experimental design include its ability to determine the

significance of treatment even before the true experiment is performed.

1)Manipulation: In Pre-Experimental design, there is manipulation of independent

variables. It refers to evaluating the effect to find independent Variables on dependent
variables.

Example: A patient is having pain and is a dependent variable and we gave him a
pain killer to reduce the pain which is then an independent variable. Manipulation means
evaluating the effect of independent variable(painkiller) on dependent variable (patient with
pain) and using outside source on the dependent variable. So, it means that a researcher is
studying or evaluating the effect of pain killer on the patient.

2)Absence of randomization: Randomization means sudden election without any plan. We

assume that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group.
Randomization gives researchers an excellent tool to reduce or eliminate bias to maximum.
Absence of bias means there is more reliable to the results of study are and gives legitimacy
to both research and researchers as well. In Pre-Experimental research, there is absence of
randomization.
3)Threats to validity: Threats to validity refers to specific reasons for why we can be wrong
when we make an inference in an experiment because of covariance, causation constructs, or
whether the casual relationship holds over variations in persons, setting, treatment and
outcomes. (Shadish,Cook,&Campbell,2002).

An important drawback of pre-experimental designs is that they are subject to

numerous threats to their validity. One reason that it is often difficult to assess the validity of
studies that employ a pre-experimental design is that they often do not include any control or
comparison groups. Without something to compare it to, it is difficult to assess the
significance of an observed change in the case.

4)Lack of Control Group: A Control group is a group that does not receive an experimental
treatment and serves as a standard in comparing the effects of a treatment to the experimental
group. It is the group in a study that does not include the things being tested and issued as a
benchmark to measure the results of the other group.

A control group is an essential part of an experiment because it allows us to eliminate

and isolate variables are particularly important in social sciences, psychology etc. This is
because itis practically impossible to completely eliminate all of the bias and outside
influence that could alter the results of the experiment, but control groups can be used to
focus on the variable we are trying to test. Failure to provide evidence of strong control
groups can cause a study to be considered invalid.

Conclusion

The Pre-Experimental Design is considered as most simple stand basic among all
research designs. The suffix “experimental” affirms to the fact that the experimenter
manipulates an independent variable to see its impact up on a dependent variable. However,
the prefix “pre” affirms the fact that these designs fail to include a control group.

Although this design has sometimes been used in educational research, it is not
reliable because neither randomization nor even matching on a pretest is used and because of
this we cannot assume that the groups are equivalent prior to the experimental treatment.
References

Buedo, M. J. (2020). Pre-experimental designs. SAGE.

https://methods.sagepub.com/reference/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-educational-

research-measurement-and-evaluation/i16388.xml#:~:text=Pre%2Dexperimental

%20designs%20are%20research,the%20potential%20to%20cause%20change.

Experimental research designs: Types, examples & methods. (2022, July 27). Formplus.

https://www.formpl.us/blog/experimental-research

Mangal, S. K. (2012). Research methodology in behavioral sciences. In Pre- Experimental

Designs. Rhythm House.

Sharma. (2013). Pre-Experimental design. AlleyDog.com.

https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Pre-Experimental+Design

Thyer, AB. (2010). Pre- experimental research designs.