Featuring engaging examples from diverse disciplines, this book explains
how to use modern approaches to quasi-experimentation to derive credible
estimates of treatment effects under the demanding constraints of field
settings. Foremost expert Charles S. Reichardt provides an in-depth
examination of the design and statistical analysis of pretest-posttest,
nonequivalent groups, regression discontinuity, and interrupted
time-series designs. He details their relative strengths and weaknesses
and offers practical advice about their use. Comparing quasi-experiments
to randomized experiments, Reichardt discusses when and why the former
might be a better choice than the latter in the face of the
contingencies that are likely to arise in practice. Modern methods for
elaborating a research design to remove bias from estimates of treatment
effects are described, as are tactics for dealing with missing data and
noncompliance with treatment assignment. Throughout, mathematical
equations are translated into words to enhance accessibility. Adding to
its discussion of prototypical quasi-experiments, the book also provides
a complete typology of quasi-experimental design options to help the
reader craft the best research design to fit the circumstances of a
given study.