|
Pre-post design:
How to evaluate a pre-post design
When no comparison group is readily available, researchers sometimes
attempt to make each individual student his or her own "comparison"
point by giving students a pre-test before the implementation of
the technology intervention and a post-test afterward. The assumption
is that any change that takes place between the pre-test and post-test
measure can be attributed to the use of the technology.
The pre-post design is probably the most popular type of design
that you will encounter, but its usefulness for determining the
effectiveness of an intervention is limited. Although the design
is capable of measuring changes in student performance, you can
not be certain that any gains in achievement were caused by the
use of the technology. Gains in student performance might reflect
the rate at which students were learning new content before the
technology was introduced. In addition, other policies and programs
in the school or district might have been responsible for the improvements
in student performance.
Interrupted
time series design is an improvement on the pre-post design.
|
