Experimental Method (D)

Question 1

What is a Field Experiment?

Answer 1

An experiment where IV is changed in participants natural setting
eg: The affect of music on sleep where sleep occurs at ppts home and IV is listening to music.

Question 2

What are the PROS of a field experiment?

Answer 2

• higher ecological validity

Question 3

What are the CONS of a field experiment?

Answer 3

• Presence of EVs reduce internal validity
• harder to establish cause + effect relationship

Question 4

What is a Quasi experiment?

Answer 4

When the IV cannot be manipulated or allocated because it is a personal characteristic

eg gender

Question 5

What are the PROS of Quasi experiments?

Answer 5

• Enable researchers to study IV that cant be studied in lab/field

Question 6

What are the CONS of Quasi experiment?

Answer 6

Ppts cannot be randomly allocated to IVs
- Uncontrolled ppt variables can act as confounding variables
- Presence of EVs reduce internal validity
- harder to establish cause + effect relationship

ppt variables = ie characteristics of a person or their background that effect results, but isn’t being investigated

Question 7

What is a natural experiment?

Answer 7

The IV is an event that is unethical or impractical to manipulate

Question 8

What are the PROS of a natural experiment?

Answer 8

• ## allows researchers to investigate IVs that would be unethical to manipulate

Question 9

What are the CONS of a natural experiment?

Answer 9

• less control over EVs so lower internal validity
• Hard to establish cause and effect relationship

Question 10

What is a Lab experiment?

Answer 10

Where the IV is manipulated in an artificial, controlled environment

Question 11

What are the PROS of a lab experiment?

Answer 11

• high control over variables, this leads to high internal validity so can establish a cause and effect relationship

Question 12

What are the CONS of a lab experiment?

Answer 12

• Results will not generalise to every day life, there is low ecological validity