Quasi-Experimental Research Designs

Abstract

Quasi-experimental research designs are the most widely used research approach employed to evaluate the outcomes of social work programs and policies. This new volume describes the logic, design, and conduct of the range of such designs, encompassing pre-experiments, quasi-experiments making use of a control or comparison group, and time-series designs. An introductory chapter describes the valuable role these types of studies have played in social work, going back to the 1930s, and continuing to the present. Subsequent chapters describe the major features of individual quasi-experimental designs, the types of questions they are capable of answering, and their strengths and limitations. Each discussion of these designs presented in the abstract is subsequently illustrated with descriptions of real examples of their use as published in the social work literature and related fields. By linking the discussion of quasi-experimental designs in the abstract to actual applications to evaluate the outcomes of social services, the usefulness and vitality of these research methods comes alive to the reader. While this volume could be used as a research textbook, it will also have great value to practitioners seeking a greater conceptual understanding of the quasi-experimental studies they frequently read about in the social work literature. Human service professionals planning to undertake a program evaluation of their own agency's services will find this book of immense help in understanding the steps and actions needed to adopt a quasi-experimental strategy. It is usually the case that ethical and pragmatic considerations preclude the use of randomly assigning social work clients to experimental and comparative treatment conditions, and in such instances, the practicality of employing a quasi-experimental method becomes an excellent alternative.

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