Quasi-experimental research, or a quasi-experiment, is a type of study that aims to determine cause-and-effect relationships, much like a classic experiment. However, unlike a classic experiment, researchers don’t randomly assign study subjects to groups. Instead, they work with groups that are already formed—in this case, their classroom of students.
For example, a Teacher as Researcher participant (the researcher) might want to study the effects of a new math teaching method on their students’ quiz scores. They introduce the new teaching method to one classroom, but another classroom continues to receive the normal style of math instruction. Then the researcher compares the two sets of quiz scores. However, since the groups weren’t randomly assigned, it’s possible for other factors to be in play that might affect results. The researcher will need to keep these potential factors in mind when analyzing the data and drawing conclusions.
Quasi-experiments are often used in educational settings because it is impractical or impossible to do a true randomized control trial for several reasons: convenience, avoiding disruption to learning and school operations, and eliminating burdensome expense that would be incurred by extra staffing and coordination required to set up a true randomized experiment.
While quasi-experiments have some limitations compared to classic experiments, they allow researchers to study educational interventions in authentic school environments while working within the logistical and practical constraints of a classroom setting.