experimental methods Flashcards
what are the types of experiments
● lab experiments
● field experiments
● natural experiments
● quasi experiments
what are lab experiments?
● takes place in controlled environment
● independent variable manipulated
● dependant variable measured
what are strengths of a lab experiment?
● high control of extraneous variables -
increases internal validity of study
● standardised procedure used - study can be repeated and checked for reliability
what are the limitations of a lab experiment?
low ecological validity - findings may not be generalised to real world
how do you criticise a lab experiment?
point out something about the setting or task that is artificial
what are field experiments?
● takes place in natural environment
● independent variable manipulated
● dependant variable measured
what are the strengths of a field experiment?
high ecological validity - setting more natural and participants likely to behave naturally, increasing generalisability of results to real life
what are the limitations of a field experiment?
● difficult to control extraneous variables - natural environment
● difficult to maintain standardised procedure - study takes place in real world
what are natural experiments?
● takes place in natural environment
● independant variable changes naturally (natural event)
● dependant variable measured
what are the strengths of natural experiments?
● allows us to study events that would not be ethically or practically possible to manipulate
● high ecological validity - involves study of real world issues as they happen
what are the limitations of natural experiments?
● naturally occurring event may only happen very rarely - reducing opportunities for research, making it difficult to replicate and test for reliability
● difficult to control extraneous variables - natural environment
what are quasi experiments?
● takes place in controlled environment
● independent variable based on pre-existing difference between people
● dependant variable measured
what are the strengths of quasi experiments?
● high control of extraneous variables -
increases internal validity of study
● standardised procedure used - study can be repeated and checked for reliability
what are the limitations of quasi experiments?
participant variables - participants cannot be randomly allocated to conditions
what is ecological validity?
extent to which the findings can be generalised to real-life setting
