advantages and disadvantages of field experiments

Question 1

an advantage of a field experiment is high ecological validity- why?

Answer 1

higher than laboratory experiments- its conducted in a participants own environment- which could mean that the participants confidence is increased as they are acting as they normally would

Question 2

another advantage of a field experiment is less chance of demand characteristics-why?

Answer 2

unaware that they are taking part in a study- unlikely to change their behaviours to what they think the experimenter wants

Question 3

a disadvantage of a field experiment is less control over extraneous variable-why?

Answer 3

cause and effect relationship between independent and dependant variable- not as strong as in a laboratory experiment

Question 4

another disadvantage of a field experiment is potential ethical issues-why?

Answer 4

participants don’t know that they are taking part in a study- participants are meant to give consent to the researchers prior to the study