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Quasi-natural Experiment
A quasi-experiment is a research design used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention. Quasi-experiments share similarities with experiments and randomized controlled trials, but specifically lack random assignment to treatment or control. Instead, quasi-experimental designs typically allow assignment to treatment condition to proceed how it would in the absence of an experiment. Quasi-experiments are subject to concerns regarding internal validity, because the treatment and control groups may not be comparable at baseline. In other words, it may not be possible to convincingly demonstrate a causal link between the treatment condition and observed outcomes. This is particularly true if there are confounding variables that cannot be controlled or accounted for. With random assignment, study participants have the same chance of being assigned to the intervention group or the comparison group. As a result, differences between groups on both observed and unobserved characteri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Research Design
Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to answer research questions. A research design typically outlines the theories and models underlying a project; the research question(s) of a project; a strategy for gathering data and information; and a strategy for producing answers from the data. A strong research design yields valid answers to research questions while weak designs yield unreliable, imprecise or irrelevant answers. Incorporated in the design of a research study will depend on the standpoint of the researcher over their beliefs in the nature of knowledge (see epistemology) and reality (see ontology), often shaped by the Academic discipline, disciplinary areas the researcher belongs to. The design of a study defines the study type (descriptive, correlational, semi-experimental, experimental, review, meta-analytic) and sub-type (e.g., descriptive-longitudinal case study), research problem, Hypothesis, hypotheses, Dependent and independent variables, indepen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interrupted Time Series Design
Interrupted time series analysis (ITS), sometimes known as quasi-experimental time series analysis, is a method of statistical analysis involving tracking a long-term period before and after a point of intervention to assess the intervention's effects. The time series refers to the data over the period, while the interruption is the intervention, which is a controlled external influence or set of influences. Effects of the intervention are evaluated by changes in the level and slope of the time series and statistical significance of the intervention parameters. Interrupted time series design is the design of experiments based on the interrupted time series approach. The method is used in various areas of research, such as: *political science: impact of changes in laws on the behavior of people; (e.g., Effectiveness of sex offender registration policies in the United States) *economics: impact of changes in credit controls on borrowing behavior; *sociology: impact of experiments in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecological Validity
In the behavioral sciences, ecological validity is often used to refer to the judgment of whether a given study's variables and conclusions (often collected in lab) are sufficiently relevant to its population (e.g. the "real world" context). Psychological studies are usually conducted in laboratories though the goal of these studies is to understand human behavior in the real-world. Ideally, an experiment would have generalizable results that predict behavior outside of the lab, thus having more ecological validity. Ecological validity can be considered a commentary on the relative strength of a study's implication(s) for policy, society, culture, etc. This term was originally coined by Egon Brunswik and held a specific meaning. He regarded ecological validity as the utility of a perceptual cue to predict a property (basically how informative the cue is). For example, high school grades have moderate ecological validity for predicting college grades. Hammond argued that the now co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randomization
Randomization is a statistical process in which a random mechanism is employed to select a sample from a population or assign subjects to different groups.Oxford English Dictionary "randomization" The process is crucial in ensuring the random allocation of experimental units or treatment protocols, thereby minimizing selection bias and enhancing the Validity (statistics), statistical validity. It facilitates the objective comparison of treatment effects in Design of experiments, experimental design, as it equates groups statistically by balancing both known and unknown factors at the outset of the study. In statistical terms, it underpins the principle of probabilistic equivalence among groups, allowing for the unbiased estimation of treatment effects and the generalizability of conclusions drawn from sample data to the broader population. Randomization is not haphazard; instead, a stochastic process, random process is a sequence of random variables describing a process whose outcom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Experiment
A natural experiment is a study in which individuals (or clusters of individuals) are exposed to the experimental and control conditions that are determined by nature or by other factors outside the control of the investigators. The process governing the exposures arguably resembles random assignment. Thus, natural experiments are ''observational studies'' and are not controlled in the traditional sense of a randomized experiment (an ''intervention study''). Natural experiments are most useful when there has been a clearly defined exposure involving a well defined subpopulation (and the absence of exposure in a similar subpopulation) such that changes in outcomes may be plausibly attributed to the exposure. In this sense, the difference between a natural experiment and a non-experimental observational study is that the former includes a comparison of conditions that pave the way for causal inference, but the latter does not. Natural experiments are employed as study designs whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Policy Analysis
Policy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials. People who regularly use policy analysis skills and techniques on the job, particularly those who use it as a major part of their job duties are generally known by the title ''policy analyst''. The process is also used in the administration of large organizations with complex policies. It has been defined as the process of "determining which of various policies will achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals." Policy analysis can be divided into two major fields: * Analysis existing policy, which is analytical and descriptive – it attempts to explain policies and their development * Analysis new policy, which is prescriptive – it is involved wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also follows a structured approach but occurs outside the formal schooling system, while informal education involves unstructured learning through daily experiences. Formal and non-formal education are categorized into levels, including early childhood education, primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education. Other classifications focus on teaching methods, such as teacher-centered and student-centered education, and on subjects, such as science education, language education, and physical education. Additionally, the term "education" can denote the mental states and qualities of educated individuals and the academic field studying educational phenomena. The precise definition of education is disputed, and there are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the determinants of health of a population and the threats it faces is the basis for public health. The ''public'' can be as small as a handful of people or as large as a village or an entire city; in the case of a pandemic it may encompass several continents. The concept of ''health'' takes into account physical, psychological, and Well-being, social well-being, among other factors.What is the WHO definition of health? from the Preamble to the Constitution of WHO as adopted by the Internationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Sciences
Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of society", established in the 18th century. It now encompasses a wide array of additional academic disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, linguistics, management, communication studies, psychology, culturology, and political science. The majority of Positivism, positivist social scientists use methods resembling those used in the natural sciences as tools for understanding societies, and so define science in its stricter Modern science, modern sense. Speculative social scientists, otherwise known as Antipositivism, interpretivist scientists, by contrast, may use social critique or symbolic interpretation rather than constructing Em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
True Experiment
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated. Experiments vary greatly in goal and scale but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results. There also exist natural experimental studies. A child may carry out basic experiments to understand how things fall to the ground, while teams of scientists may take years of systematic investigation to advance their understanding of a phenomenon. Experiments and other types of hands-on activities are very important to student learning in the science classroom. Experiments can raise test scores and help a student become more engaged and interested in the material they are learning, especially when used over time. Experiments can vary from personal and informal natural comparisons ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald T
Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the Gaelic pronunciation by English speakers. A short form of Donald is Don, and pet forms of Donald include Donnie and Donny. The feminine given name Donella is derived from Donald. ''Donald'' has cognates in other Celtic languages: Modern Irish ''Dónal'' (anglicised as ''Donal'' and ''Donall'');. Scottish Gaelic ''Dòmhnall'', ''Domhnull'' and ''Dòmhnull''; Welsh '' Dyfnwal'' and Cumbric ''Dumnagual''. Although the feminine given name '' Donna'' is sometimes used as a feminine form of ''Donald'', the names are not etymologically related. Variations Kings and noblemen Domnall or Domhnall is the name of many ancient and medieval Gaelic kings and noblemen: * Dyfnwal Moelmud (Dunvallo Molmutius), legendary ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panel Analysis
Panel (data) analysis is a statistical method, widely used in social science, epidemiology, and econometrics to analyze two-dimensional (typically cross sectional and longitudinal) panel data. The data are usually collected over time and over the same individuals and then a regression is run over these two dimensions. Multidimensional analysis is an econometric method in which data are collected over more than two dimensions (typically, time, individuals, and some third dimension). A common panel data regression model looks like y_=a+bx_+\varepsilon_, where y is the dependent variable, x is the independent variable, a and b are coefficients, i and t are indices for individuals and time. The error \varepsilon_ is very important in this analysis. Assumptions about the error term determine whether we speak of fixed effects or random effects. In a fixed effects model, \varepsilon_ is assumed to vary non-stochastically over i or t making the fixed effects model analogous to a dummy va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
