Research Methods: EXPERIMENTS

Research Methods: EXPERIMENTS

1. LAB EXPERIMENTS

   • THEORETICAL
     • POSITIVISTS FAVOR THE LAB EXPERIMENT
       • it achieves their main goal of reliability
         • careful control over experimental conditions and experimenter detachment produce reliable data because other researchers can replicate it
           • allows the researcher to identify and measure behaviour patterns quantitatively
       • ADVANTAGES
     • DISADVANTAGES
       • lacks validity
         • INTERPRETIVISTS REJECT LAB EXPERIMENTS
           • it is an artifical situation producing unnatural behaviour
         • they are not valid in terms of what you set out to investigate therefore we cannot always fully trust the results
   • PRACTICAL
     • ADVANTAGES
       • RELIABILITY: highly reliable, as produces the same results each time someone new replicates it
         • CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS: easily identify these as the same results are produced we can identify that the IV caused the DV
           • RESULTS ARE EASILY COMPARABLE: therefore can identify patterns easily alongside trends
             • REPRESENTATIVE: they are based on real life situations and about real issues so are representative to real life and target population
     • DISADVANTAGES
       • SUBJECT MATTER: because socitey is complext it determines what we study on and how we do it. it would be impossible to identify and control all the possible variables that might occur
         • CANNOT BE USED TO STUDY THE PAST: they have a narrow focus and can only examine one specific topic or feature
           • SMALL SAMPLES: lab experiments usually only study small samples which makes it difficult to expand and experiment on larger samples.
             • REPRESENTIVENESS: only being able to study small scale samples reduces their representiveness of lab experiments as we cannot guarntee we will get the same results on a larger sample.
               • THEY ARE ARTIFICAL: this means people may act differently to if it was natural
   • ETHICAL
     • DISADVANTAGES
       • LACK OF INFORMED CONSENT: this may be difficult to obtain from certain groups who are unable to understad the nature and purpose of the experiment which leaves them with no consent to take part,
         • DECEPTION: misleading people is wrong. the experimenter must tell the participants the real purpose of the experiment so they are not mislead
           • HARM: the experiment can harm participants depending on the context
   • lab experiments allow the researcher to control all important variables and establish cause and effect relationships

2. FIELD EXPERIMENTS

   • THEORETICAL
     • ADVANTAGES:
       • INTERPRETIVISTS FAVOR THE FIELD EXPERIMENT
         • it is more naturalistic than a lab experiment
           • can produce more certain results if the participants are acting naturally
             • no hawthorne effect because they are not aware they are in an experiment
     • DISADVANTAGES
       • POSITIVISTS CRITICISE THIS METHOD
         • it gives less control over variables as everything is done naturally
   • PRACTICAL
     • ADVANTAGES
       • RELIABILITY: they can be easily replicated however this does depend on the context
         • NO HAWTHORNE EFFECT: as participants are not told the subject and so cannot act according and is in a natural setting
           • VALIDITY: they are valid in which we can trust the results
     • DISADVANTAGES
       • FOCUS: not always a broad focus to investigate therefore subject matter is not broad
         • LOCATION: finidng a natural location to conduct the experiment may be a challenge
   • ETHICAL
     • DISADVANTAGES:
       • UNETHICAL: they involve carying out an experiment on their subjects without their knowledge or consent