Selection x History

1. A study comparing the success of parka advertising campaign in Ithaca and Los Angeles in winter. Researchers found that advertisements in Ithaca were more successful than in LA in winter.

Diffusion of Treatment

2. Researchers test the impact of classroom noise on students' stress level. The classroom with a noise is the treatment group. The control classroom, without noise, is on the same floor, across the hall.

Selection x Maturation

3. A quasi-experimental study used third and sixth graders to study their vegetable eating habits over the course of 3 months. It was found that the sixth graders eat more vegetables than the third graders.

Regression to the Mean

4. Professor Blue wants to know if group study sessions improve performance in research methods.  He tells the 4 failing students to start attending group-study sessions. After 2 months, their grades have improved.  He concludes that study sessions improve performance.

Ambiguous Temporal Precedence

5. A study examining self-actualization related to job satisfaction found that job satisfaction increased as perception of self-actualization increased.

Ambiguous Temporal Precedence

6. Researchers found that children who engage in more physical activity have better relationships with friends.

Ambiguous Temporal Precedence

7. When testing the impact of cooking preference on budget habits, a researcher finds that people who enjoy cooking also save more money.

Compensatory Equalization

8. Two classrooms in a school are designed with two different wall materials. Students are randomly assigned to one of the two classrooms. After a month, parents of children in one room complain about classroom noise and have their children transferred to the other classroom.

Selection x Maturation

9. Researchers study the effect of an intervention program on language learning. They select 2 classes, one is predominantly bilingual students; one is mostly monolingual students. Bilingual class is given the treatment and mono lingual is not. Language test scores were higher after the intervention; researchers conclude that the intervention is effective.

Selection x History

10. A researcher uses a two-group quasi experiment to assess whether more hours spent on reading novels improves children's creativity. Children in one group attended the “Creative Reading of Shakespeare” festival, and this group scored higher on creativity with more hours spent on reading novels.

Diffusion of Treatment

11. A study is conducted on how sense of hunger affects reading scores. One group is provided with dinner before each experiment session. However, some participants from the control group (who do not receive food) would come get snacks from the room where dinner is served.

Regression to the Mean

12. A group of 1st grade children in a green school scored only on extremely high or extremely low ends of the creativity test. After one year, the school reduced their greeneries (i.e. gardens) to half, and most of the same group of children scored got middling or average scores that year.

Ambiguous Temporal Precedence

13. A study examining employees' fitness levels related to workplace design found that employees' physical activity was higher in workplaces with treadmills.

Compensatory Equalization

14. Researchers testing the effects of reading time on students’ performance tried increasing reading time to 1 hour in classroom A whereas classroom B stayed with the usual 10 minutes of reading time. 3 months into the study, students in classroom A scored 50% higher than classroom B on reading comprehension tests. At this time, parents in classroom B were worried that their children were getting unfair treatment, so they demanded that classroom B be given 1 hour of reading time too. Both classroom A and B read for 1 hour now.

Ambiguous Temporal Precedence

15. A study examining donation and aggression found that donation increased as aggression decreased.

Ambiguous Temporal Precedence

16. The researchers found that college students who exercise more have higher work efficiency

Attrition

17. Two groups at the old folks home are put into two different exercise classes: extreme skydiving and tai chi. People dropped out of the skydiving classes at high rates.

Compensatory Rivalry

18. One group of ice-hockey players get top of the line carbon-fiber hockey sticks to practice with, the other group with their old wooden sticks decides to hold extra practices in shooting drills.

Attrition

19. Patients with fibromyalgia were split into two treatment groups, where they were assigned to practice either tai chi or aerobic exercise. Participants assigned to aerobic exercise stopped attending after 2 weeks.

Selection x History

20. Two adjacent neighborhoods had sidewalks installed in the same week. Neighborhood 2 also had a block party to celebrate the new addition to their neighborhood. A research administered a pre and post-test (on Monday and Sunday) during same week of block party; they found that Neighborhood 2 had reported more walking, while Neighborhood 1’s walking habits remained unchanged.

Selection 

21. The results of a quasi-experiment study indicate that people who attended college eat more vegetables than people who did not attend college.

Selection x Maturation

22. A group of 2nd graders and a group of kindergarteners each received a reading tutor. Researchers found that reading score of the 2nd grade group improved more than the kindergarteners.

Attrition

23. A quasi experimental study examines the effect of a new tutoring technique at an after-school tutoring center. After 2 weeks, five students dropped out of the control group. At the end of the study, the researchers find that the treatment group increased their SAT scores more than the control group.

Regression to the Mean

24. A researcher is interested in the efficacy of new cleats on a football team’s performance over the course of a season. The team performs exceptionally poor during the last game played before the new cleats were used. The team started to play better after the players used the new cleats.

Regression to the Mean

25. A group of little league baseball players with an extremely high number of strikeouts in a single game were given extra practice time. In subsequent games, their performance at bat improved.

Compensatory Rivalry

26. A study with a quasi-experimental design tests the effects of a tutoring program on math scores. One group of students participated in an after school tutoring program. The students not in the tutoring program decided to study an extra 3 hours a night for the test.

Compensatory Demoralization

27. A study with a quasi-experimental design tests the effects of new sneakers and basketball hoops scored. One group was given new basketball sneakers. The group who did not receive the new sneakers did not try to make any baskets during the game.

Testing

28. A study with a pre and post-test, gave students a spelling test prior to reading A Tale of Two Cities. After reading the book, the students took another spelling test. The results revealed that scores were higher on the second spelling test after the students read the book.

Testing

29. A study with a one group before and after design, testing typing rates on a new computer with softer keys found that people typed faster in the post-test as compared to the pre-test.

Ambiguous Temporal Precedence

30. A study examining academic achievement related to students’ mental health found that depression increased as academic achievement decreased.

Compensatory Rivalry

31. A study with a quasi-experimental design tests the effects of new sneakers and basketball hoops scored. One group was given new basketball sneakers. The group who did not receive the new sneakers decided to practice an extra hour a day.

Selection

32. A quasi experiment revealed that teachers had a higher job satisfaction rating than investment bankers.

Selection x History

33. A researcher uses a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group, to test the effect of office communication on job satisfaction. One group had a seminar on the importance of communication privacy and office satisfaction.

Selection x History

34. A study comparing the success of ice cream trucks in Florida and Colorado in the winter found that trucks were successful in Florida than Colorado.

Attrition

35. In a neighborhood undergoing gentrification, a study examined the effects of family socioeconomic status on student grades. Over the course of two years, grades improved.

Selection x History

36. A cohort design study, that tests the effectiveness of an anti-bullying campaign, found that 6th graders in 2009 had lower reports of bullying than the 6th graders in 2008. The 6th graders in 2009 had an independent speaker series about the hazards of bullying in the beginning of the school year.

Selection x Maturation

37. A high school participated in an anti-bullying campaign, in which they showed a documentary at the start of each school year. The results of the study showed lower levels of bullying among 12th graders (who had seen the documentary four times) compared to 9th, 10th, and 11th graders.

Selection x History

38. Researchers were investigating the causes of aggression in major cities across the US. They found that violent assault increased as ice cream sales increased in most cities.

Regression to the Mean

39. A workplace strategist studied the effects of temperature control and workplace satisfaction. A workplace satisfaction survey distributed before workers were given temperature controls, found they were extremely unhappy with their office temperature. Controls were then placed in each office. Another survey was distributed and found that workers were more satisfied.

Regression to the Mean

40. A group of failing students are placed in a tutoring program. After 4 months, it is found that their grades improved.

Selection x Instrumentation

41. A study comparing weight loss differences between men and women found that women did not lose any weight throughout the program. The researchers found that the scale used in the study could not accurately read weight below 125 lbs.

Diffusion of Treatment

42. A research group wants to test the impact of apple pie scent on walking speed. The scent of 3000 apple pies was distributed in a large gym. Participants inside the gym were the experimental group, while participants just outside the gym were the control group. The doors were left open.

Compensatory Equalization

43. A group of researchers is interested in the effect of parking on physical activity. Only one group receives a free parking pass for the year. Finding indicate that the two groups are similar in physical activity after the other group complained about unfairness and got free passes too.  

Selection x History

44. A researcher uses a two-group quasi experiment to assess the relationship between hours spent in the office and personal satisfaction for two legal departments. One department had a seminar on how to make the most out of time spent home.

Compensatory Demoralization

45. A researcher sets up a quasi-experiment to test the effects of a tutoring program on math scores. One group of students participated in an after school-tutoring program. The students not in the tutoring program gave up and did not study for the test.

Maturation

46. After an intervention by librarians about the importance of reading to a fourth-grade class, researcher found that students read significantly more books than they did the year before.

History

47. A study accessing the popularity of luxury cars showed a decrease in popularity in 2009 as compared to 2007.

Instrumentation