Posted: May 22nd, 2023

validity is controlled in that the independent variables are kept uniform for all subjects

It is established that random assignment of subjects helps in reducing experimental bias (Nancy & Grove, p. 245). This is attained in this study among the treatment groups but it is lacking in the comparison groups. It is also important to note that experimental research design ensures that internal validity is controlled in that the independent variables are kept uniform for all subjects. As such, the experimental design in this study maintained internal validity which is not guaranteed in the comparison group even though the selection criteria maximizes on a similarity of characteristics. It is, therefore, no wonder that the findings of this study establish propensity-score methods as highly unlikely to replicate the experimental impacts on school dropout programs. By using secondary data, the study may not be reliable for making comparisons even for the experimental design since the possibility of manipulating the independent variables is highly limited (Calmorin & Calmorin, p. 74). The use of primary data is therefore advisable to enable the manipulation of variables and effective comparison.