Experiments

Question 1

What is Lab experiment?

Answer 1

Are controlled setting and makes it artifical is able to manipulate and control all the variables.

Question 2

Advantages of Lab Experiment?

Answer 2

• Favoured by positivists because they can achieve their main goal of reliability
• they are easily replicated and so reliabilty to be established
• Lab experiments also involve detachment (No research bias) which would result in objective results being collected

Question 3

Disadvantages Lab Experiments?

Answer 3

• They occur on small scale therefore might not be representative
• Positivists also point out it is sometimes impossible or unethical to control the variables
• Interepretivists reject lab experiments because they fail to achieve their main goal of validity
• Its artifical situation which produces unatural behaviour
• A major flaw of Lab experiment is the Hawthorn effect refers to participants being aware therefore changing behaviour

Question 4

What is Field Experiment?

Answer 4

its not controlled an in a natural setting such as classroom or work palce

Question 5

Field Experiments Advantages?

Answer 5

• Interpretivists are in favour because they are more realistic therefore its valid and more natural and can have meaningful data

Question 6

Disadvantages of Field Experiments?

Answer 6

• Participants are unaware they are taking part in field experiment therefore is ethical issues
• Positivists argue the more realistic the situation the less control we have over field experiment

Question 7

Strength of Experiments?

Answer 7

• High in reliability
  *they can be replicated
• Quantitative data is useful for positivist sociologists

Question 8

Practical issue with experiments?

Answer 8

• Cost of materials and lab hire make it more costly than other research method
• Smaller in scale creates problem when obtaining a representative sample
• Field experience problem is control variables is if you don’t know much about the people you are studying

Question 9

Ethical issue with experiments?

Answer 9

• Deception in lab experiments often needed to fine the true aim from participants to find out the individual behaviour
• Field experiments often lack Consent because if they knew they were being researched they would change behaviour

Question 10

Theoretical issue with experiments?

Answer 10

• lack validity because behaviour in lab will not reflect in real life and present of researcher will result in Hawthorne effect because they are being observed
• Experiments may not provide a depth of understanding behind motivations of act whilst it will give research and idea but not why they behave that way
• While it’s objective researcher decides variable to manipulate which is reducing readership factor and not being objective but subjective