When conducting a study, it is vital for the researchers to define the extent to which they are willing to control their environment. According to the level of intervention defined, the researchers then decide on the study design: experimental or non-experimental. Experimental studies are the ones where the researchers are able to modify their samples in order to achieve the most accurate results. For example, in a study conducted by Solami, Gianferrari, Alfieri, Artioli, and Taffurelli (2017), the researchers applied an experimental approach in order to define whether pet therapy was an efficient strategy in the context of elderly care.
To obtain a better perspective of the issue, the authors divided the sample into the intervention group and the control group. Both groups were asked to fill in the questionnaires before and after the pet therapy sessions (Solami et al., 2017, p. 25). The results of the study demonstrate a positive correlation between pet therapy and the well-being of both elderly patients and health workers.
In a non-experimental study, for its part, the researchers are not willing to control their sample and observe the phenomena in a real-life setting. For example, in a study conducted by Gapira et al. (2020), the researchers aimed at defining the current levels of knowledge and management of chronic kidney disease among referral hospital nurses in Rwanda. One hundred twenty nurses participated in the study by filling in self-administered questionnaires, and the results were later interpreted using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (Gapira et al., 2020).
Hence, it may be concluded that the first example of an experimental study requires a direct researcher’s intervention in the process, whereas a non-experimental study is designed in such a way that the researchers do not engage in the process until they are required to analyze the primary data. Thus, compared to non-experimental studies, experimental studies demand high levels of control.
References
Gapira, B. E., Chironda, G., Ndahayo, D., Theos, M. P. M., Tuyisenge, M. J., & Rajeswaran, L. (2020). Knowledge related to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and perceptions on inpatient management practices among nurses at selected referral hospitals in Rwanda: A non-experimental descriptive correlational study. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 13. Web.
Sollami, A., Gianferrari, E., Alfieri, M., Artioli, G., & Taffurelli, C. (2017). Pet therapy: An effective strategy to care for the elderly? An experimental study in a nursing home. Acta Biomed, 88(1-S), 25-31.