Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research

This survey originally appeared in N.L. Gage (Editor), Handbook of Research on Teaching, published by Rand McNally and Company in 1963 under the longer title "Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research on Teaching." As a result, the introductory pages and many of the illustrations come from educational research. But as a study of the references will indicate, the survey draws from the social sciences in general, and the methodological recommendations are correspondingly broadly appropriate. For the convenience of the user we have added a table of contents, a list of supplementary references, a name index and a subject index. --- from book's Preface

While my copy is the 1963 version published by Rand McNally, it still sits on my bookshelf. It was a required text for a course in experimental design for my graduate program. Yes, it's expensive--and it was expensive when I bought it in 1974. But it's a one-stop source of quick, valuable information. It's especially useful when working with a twenty-something marketer who's trying to cut corners in a formative evaluation, or when working with an executive who's trying to fault a project on the wrong factors.

Now I understand why this book is regarded as a classic. It's because the authors did such a great job of covering their subject (designs for research) when they wrote this book in the mid-1960s. But don't be put off by the fact that it's old. What they write is no less applicable to the 21st century reader than it was to readers of the 1960s. This is a great resource for anyone who's interested in designing an experiment - especially in the social sciences. Most of the examples that the authors use are drawn from the fields of education and psychology, but the reader will find their words readily applicable to other fields of inquiry.This is a book written in the "old school" style. It's comprehensive AND relatively concise. I'm sure there are contemporary books written on this subject in more colloquial language, but I bet they are a pale imitation of this classic text.

The most important book on research designs to have, I use it weekly. It's brief, to the point, and 100% sound. I used it while in academics; now I find it particularly good for real-world (versus only laboratory) studies that need to be done quickly and on a budget. Though I've read it front to back, and have dog-earred lots of pages, it's value is that of a quick refresher and quick reference. A brief, inexpensive paperback.

Covers numerous true experimental designs along with inadequate designs. Based mostly in educational and social sciences research. A must have for the social sciences graduate student