The Solomon four-group design is a
research method
Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
developed by
Richard Solomon Richard Solomon may refer to:
* Richard Solomon (psychologist) (1918–1995), American psychologist
* Richard Solomon (barrister)
Sir Richard Solomon, (18 October 1850 – 10 November 1913) was a South African attorney and legislator. He was a ...
in 1949. It is sometimes used in
social science
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and medicine. It can be used if there are concerns that the treatment might be sensitized by the
pre-test. In addition of the usual two groups (treatment and control), it has a second pair of groups who do not receive a pre-intervention evaluation.
Structure
The structure of the trial is shown in the table :
The first two groups receive the evaluation test before and after the study, as in a normal two-group trial. The second groups receive the evaluation only after the study.
The effectiveness of the treatment can be evaluated by comparisons between groups 1 and 3 and between groups 2 and 4.. In addition, the effect of the pre-treatment evaluation can be calculated by comparing the control group who received the pre-treatment evaluation with those who did not (groups 2 and 4).
Various statistical treatments for the Solomon four-group design have been put forward, including
Stouffer's Z and
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
.
References
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Design of experiments
Clinical research
Scientific method