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The application of experimental & quasi-experimental methods to the study of environmental problems is recommended. Issues which must be taken into account in quasi-experimental studies are reviewed. Research possibilities in collective goods situations include investigation of demand for underpriced goods & of programs for changing usage of collective goods. Problems of causal analysis in time-series data reviews include determination of whether trends before & after a treatment fit the same or different patterns, & avoidance of spurious causal inferences. Outlined is a new causal interpretative procedure, the event-causing analysis, typical of historical analysis, which infers events from prior variables. Site selection procedures are problematic for both types of quasi-experimental research. New possible research techniques are discussed. 3 Figures. Modified HA.

AbstractSpecial problems arise when meta‐analysis is applied to quasi‐experiments. Careful consideration of threats to each study's validity may help the meta‐analyst to avoid these pitfalls.

Scholars who work with time series quasi‐experiments have identified "publicity" as a problem in the interpretation of such research designs. The present study utilizes three examples of the role of publicity in three social interventions: the Romanian abortion restriction of 1966; the British breathalyzer crackdown; and, the 1978 Georgia Status Offender Act. The authors conclude that publicity is most likely to be a problem in internal validity when (1) the intervention is not truly abrupt and (2) a broad "policy" is evaluated as opposed to a "program."

The present research examined changes in motivational properties of jobs as measured in the theoretical context of Hackman and Oldham's [19761 job characteristics model through a quasi-experimental design. In an effort to reduce utility costs, a manufacturing organization underwent a planned change from a 5-to a 4-day work week. Changes in characteristics ofjobs in the organization which resulted from the shortened work week were introduced without regard for the motivational consequences of the new schedule. Neither "expectation levels" (King, 1974) nor organizational policies pertaining to the reward system were changed when the 4-day work week was implemented. The overall design of the planned change resembled that of a quasi-experiment, permitting examination of the causal impact of changes in core job dimensions on employee attitudinal outcomes. Measures of core job dimensions and outcome variables were collected before and after the change. Results showed that the group characterized by an increase in the motivational properties of their jobs experienced corresponding changes in theory-specific attitudinal outcomes. While there was no effect on employee growth need strength (GNS) as a result of the changes in motivational properties of jobs per se, high GNS employees did respond more sensitively and predictably to changes in their jobs than did low GNS employees.

A team development intervention with a squadron at the U.S. Air Force Academy is reported. A six-month follow-up involving comparisons with an equivalent control squadron indicated that the intervention positively influ enced both climate and performance variables in the target organization. Results are discussed in the context of current skepticism about the utility of process interventions for effecting lasting improvement in organizational effectiveness.

This article considers team policing as a method of deploying police manpower and examines the impact of an experiment in one neighborhood in a medium‐sized American city. The first section reviews team policing in light of earlier police reforms and sets forth the basic tenets and expectations of team policing as a deployment strategy. Next the design of the quasi‐experiment is discussed. The program is evaluated in terms of its impact upon a number of criteria, including attitudes toward the police, the evaluation of police services, clearance rates, and crime rates. While no reduction in crime rates was detected, a favorable impact was made in most other areas.

AbstractThis paper is concerned with a method for the assessment of utility functions of multi‐numeraire consequences. It is proven that given von Neumann and Morgenstern's axioms of "rational behavior" and two additional assumptions, the utility function for (x, y) consequences can be written as U(x, y) = Ux(x) + Uy(y) + KUx(x) Uy(y).K is a constant that must be evaluated empirically. This form shall be designated as a quasi‐separable utility function. It is more general than the separable utility function and is shown to be nearly as easy to use.Implications and ramifications of such a utility function and its requisite assumptions are discussed. A technique for practical application of this work is presented.