An intervention or treatment introduced by the researcher in an experimental study

What are the main types of qualitative approaches to research?

While there are many different investigations that can be done, a study with a qualitative approach generally can be described with the characteristics of one of the following three types:

Historical research describes past events, problems, issues and facts.  Data are gathered from written or oral descriptions of past events, artifacts, etc.  It describes “what was” in an attempt to recreate the past.  It is different from a report in that it involves interpretation of events and its influence on the present.  It answers the question: “What was the situation?” 

Examples of Historical Research:

  • A study of the factors leading to the historical development and growth of cooperative learning
  • A study of the effects of the historical decisions of the United States Supreme Court on American prisons
  • A study of the evolution of print journalism in the United States through a study of collections of newspapers
  • A study of the historical trends in public laws by looking recorded at a local courthouse

Ethnographic research develops in-depth analytical descriptions of current systems, processes, and phenomena and/or understandings of the shared beliefs and practices of a particular group or culture.  This type of design collects extensive narrative data (non-numerical data) based on many variables over an extended period of time in a natural setting within a specific context. The background, development, current conditions, and environmental interaction of one or more individuals, groups, communities, businesses or institutions is observed, recorded, and analyzed for patterns in relation to internal and external influences.  It is a complete description of present phenomena.

One specific form of ethnographic research is called a case study.  It is a detailed examination of a single group, individual, situation, or site. 

A meta-analysis is another specific form.  It is a statistical method which accumulates experimental and correlational results across independent studies.  It is an analysis of analyses.

Examples of Ethnographic Research:

  • A case study of parental involvement at a specific magnet school
  • A multi-case study of children of drug addicts who excel despite early childhoods in poor environments
  • The study of the nature of problems teachers encounter when they begin to use a constructivist approach to instruction after having taught using a very traditional approach for ten years
  • A psychological case study with extensive notes based on observations of and interviews with immigrant workers
  • A study of primate behavior in the wild measuring the amount of time an animal engaged in a specific behavior

Narrative research focuses on studying a single person and gathering data through the collection of stories that are used to construct a narrative about the individual’s experience and the meanings he/she attributes to them.

Examples of Narrative Research:

  • A study of the experiences of an autistic student who has moved from a self-contained program to an inclusion setting
  • A study of the experiences of a high school track star who has been moved on to a championship-winning university track team

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Treatment(s)

The word treatment appears many times in the typical text on statistics and/or research design. It appears frequently in the indices of such texts. It is rarely defined. It is defined here, and how the term is used by researchers is shown.

Treatments, Treatment Effects, Independent Variables, and Experimental Research

Researchers are most likely to use the word treatment when referring to experimental research, especially when the data from that research were analyzed via analysis of variance (ANOVA). In experimental research, the researcher manipulates the independent or treatment variable(s) and then observes whether the treatment groups differ on one or more dependent or outcome variables.

Multiple-Case Research

In multiple-case research, the scores of two or more groups of cases (which might be the same research units or might be ...

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What is experimental treatment in experimental design?

1. in research, the conditions applied to one or more groups that are expected to cause change in some outcome or dependent variable. 2.

What is the treatment in experimental research?

The treatment is any independent variable manipulated by the experimenters, and its exact form depends on the type of research being performed. In a medical trial, it might be a new drug or therapy. In public policy studies, it could be a new social policy that some receive and not others.

Which variable is the treatment or intervention in a study?

A manipulated independent variable exists when any type of treatment or intervention is used in a research study, be it a massage modality, an instructional method, a drug dosage, a medical procedure, or a psychotherapeutic intervention.

What is introduction in experimental research?

Introduction. The introduction in an experimental article should follow a general to specific pattern, where you first introduce the problem generally and then provide a short overview of your own study. The introduction includes three parts: opening statements, literature review, and study overview.