RESEARCH METHODS

RESEARCH METHODS

1. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

   • null hypothesis- states something is due to chance and not IV
   • Hypothesis
     • Directional (one-tailed)
       • It predicts the directions in which change is expected to occur
         • E.G- bigger/ smaller, increase/decrase
     • Non-Directional ( two-tailed)
       • Simply predicts change and does not specify direction
         • E.G- effect, change, difference.

2. TYPES OF EXPERIMENTS

   • LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
     • highest level of control - controlled environment
       • DISADVANTAGES
         • loss of ecological validity
           • drawbacks of experimental design
         • demand charachteristics
         • sampling bias
         • ethics
     • controls situational variables
       • ADVANTAGES
         • Complete control over variables
           • quantitative data
             • able to use technical equiptment
         • forces pace of research
         • easy to replicate
           • internal validity
   • FIELD EXPERIMENT
     • carried out in an everyday environment
       • experimenter still manipulates the IV
   • NATURAL EXPERIMENT
   • QUASI EXPERIMENTS