Question 1
The study is an example of a quasi-experiment; falling specifically into the pretest-posttest design. In such studies, the dependent variable is measured once before treatment implementation and once after treatment implementation ((Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 176). In this case, the dependent variable is the weight of the obese children which is measured before the 3-month active program and after the program. The weight of the obese children is the medical/psychological problem that needs treatment. The treatment (3-month active program) might be responsible for weight reduction but this may not only be the reason as there are other factors that might have contributed to better results. Such factors include regression to the mean, spontaneous remission, history and maturation.
Regression to the mean refers to the statistical fact that an individual who scores extremely well on one variable is less likely to produce a similar score on the next occasion ((Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 178). A participant’s score will tend to regress to his/her average score. An obese child who is less active in real life may not post the same scores as the ones observed after the 3-month program. The program guarantees there would be a reduction in the weight of the children. On normal life, the children may not experience a success rate in weight loss like the one in the program. Spontaneous remission refers to the tendency for many psychological and medical problems to improve over periods of time without any forms of treatment (Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 178). Over time, the obese children may become less obese without the undergoing any form of weight loss program. This fact may contribute to their weight loss. History relates to the other activities/things that may happen between the pretest and posttest that might have affected the final scores (Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 178). In this case, if the children might have been exposed to awareness programs on the dangers of obesity, such as advertisements, they would have worked harder to lose their weight. These factors could contribute to the better results at the end of the program. Maturation refers to the change that the participants might have undergone between the pretest and posttests in ways that they were going to anyway because of growth and learning. Over the 3-month period, the children (through learning and growth) might have become less impulsive or better thinkers which would have led to the success of the program (Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 178).
Question 2
A qualitative study of the girls would differ from a quantitative study of the topic in a number of ways. First, the qualitative study would have a less focused research questions as compared to the quantitative study that would have focused research questions (Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 184). The quantitative study may have a research question such as “What motivates girls to play youth baseball?” while the qualitative study may focus on general aspects such as reaction of the girls towards youth baseball. Second, the qualitative study would involve the collection of data from a relatively low number of girls who play youth basketball whereas the quantitative study would involve a large number of the girls (Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 184). Finally, there would be a difference in the analysis of data. Whereas in the qualitative study focus would be on one aspect such as the role of training in youth baseball, the quantitative study would go further to code the data and use differential and inferential statistics to find out whether those who worked hard in training performed better in the sport (Saylor Foundation, n.d., p. 187).
Works Cited
Saylor Foundation. Introduction to Psychology. , 2014. Internet resource.
