ABSTRACT
This chapter gives a brief description of some quality issues related to the major types of research from the point of view of potential for publication. Three approaches that are commonly used in psychology are experimental research, quasi-experimental research and correlational research. Nevertheless, well-planned quasi-experimental research can have many of the hallmarks of experimental research, by incorporating as many principles of scientific control as possible given the circumstances. Well-planned quasi-experimental research, for example, can allow for pre-post comparisons, some randomisation to groups, some matching, and various statistical controls over the data to eliminate variance due to extraneous features of the design and sample. In fact, in some cases, the distinction between true experimental and quasi-experimental research is tenuous. Both experimental and quasi-experimental research are concerned with demonstrating causal relationships.
