Experiments with context links to education

Question 1

two types of experiments:

Answer 1

field experiments and laboratory experiments

Question 2

Laboratory Experiments

Answer 2

• they allow sociologists to map trends and discover cause and effect relationships between variables
• they create quantitative date which is easy to analyse this can be presented visually in graphs and tables
• lab experiments follow a set of instruction and they can be repeated, this insures lab experiments are reliable allowing sociologists to draw patterns/trends

Question 3

EVALUATION (LAB EXPERIMENTS)

Answer 3

• interpretivists disapprove of the experimental method
• experiments to them lack validity as they fail to uncover meanings
• lab experiments take place in an artificial environment
• Human behaviour often changes when people know’s they’re being studied, to avoid the Hawthorne affect they can’t disclose the true purpose of their research
• lab experiments lack representatives as sample reached is often too small to form generalisations

Question 4

Field experiments

Answer 4

• they take place in natural settings aiming to gather a view of the ‘real world’
• they’re usually covert, so participants are unaware of the fact that they are being studied
• Rosenhan and his ‘pseudo patient’ experiment, Rosenhan turned up at 12 mental hospitals in california stating they’re hearing voices in their heads
• they claimed they stopped hearing voices prior to entering the hospital
• Rosenhan aimed to measure ‘labels’ and he discovered that participants’ behaviour had little impact on their diagnosis pf schizophrenia instead the diagnosis was based on labels that were originally attached
• Durkheim conducted a ‘thought experiment’, this allows the experiment allows the sociologist to compare 2 sets of data to find cause and effect relationships

Question 5

EVALUATION (FIELD EXPERIMENT)

Answer 5

• field experiments allow the sociologist less control over the variables that may impact on participants’ behaviour
• interpretivits suggest that field experiments simply measure behaviour rather than uncovering meanings behind behaviours of individuals
• no informed consent could lead to ethical issues
• comparative method allows the researcher to draw trends in statistics from evens. this can find pattern changes over time and measure the impact of key events

Question 6

Experiments in the context of education

Answer 6

• lab experiments pose ethical concerns as they often have a physical or psychological impact on the participant
• laboratory is an artificial experiment because it changes pupil behaviour because off difference in educational setting
• Rosenthal and Jacobson suggested to the school staff that these pupils would ‘spurt’ ahead on others. They found that labelling them positively lead to more progress