Yoked-control group designs are a type of quasi-experimental research design that involve the comparison of two (or more) groups that are matched on a variety of characteristics. The goal is to compare the effects of different interventions on the outcomes of the two groups. This type of design has become increasingly common in the field of psychology, as it allows researchers to compare the effects of treatment while controlling for differences in the baseline characteristics of the groups.
The two groups in a yoked-control group design are typically matched on demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and socio-economic status. The groups may also be matched on relevant clinical characteristics such as initial symptom severity or diagnosis. This matching ensures that the two groups are as similar as possible before the intervention is introduced, allowing for a more valid comparison of the effects of the intervention.
Once the groups have been matched, one group serves as the experimental group and receives the intervention, while the other group serves as the control group and does not receive the intervention. The results of the experimental group are then compared to the results of the control group to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.
The primary advantage of a yoked-control group design is that it allows the researcher to control for potential differences between the two groups that may affect the results of the study. This increases the validity of the results by reducing the chances that the differences between the groups are due to factors other than the intervention.
However, there are some potential drawbacks to the yoked-control group design. First, it can be difficult to find a group of participants that are sufficiently similar to one another, which can limit the number of participants available for the study. Second, it can be challenging to ensure that the two groups remain similar over the course of the study, as the intervention may lead to changes in the characteristics of the experimental group that are not present in the control group.
In summary, yoked-control group designs are a type of quasi-experimental research design that allow researchers to compare the effects of an intervention while controlling for differences in the baseline characteristics of the groups. The primary advantage of this type of design is that it reduces the chances that the results of the study are due to factors other than the intervention. However, there are some potential drawbacks to the design, including the difficulty of finding sufficiently similar groups and the challenge of ensuring that the groups remain similar over the course of the study.
References
Bryman, A. (2018). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Gross, D. R. (2014). Psychology: The science of mind and behavior (7th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Hoffman, C. (2019). Research methods in psychology (2nd ed.). Guilford Publications.