Field Experiments Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

what is a field experiment?

A
  • they take place in real social world and sociologists either create a situation to adapt to an existing real life situation
  • participants are unaware of the experiment (no hawthorne effect)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

the aim of field experiment

A

to obtain some control while avoiding the artificiality of the laboratory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

example of field experiment

A

Rosenhan’s ‘being sane in insane places’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

practical

A

(-) less control over variables because they don’t meet the rigorous scientific criteria of the lab experiment since sociologists cant control all variables.

(-) only few situations that can be adapted to become a field experiment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

ethical

A

(-) researchers don’t usually gain informed consent from participants because it would ‘give the game away’ (hawthorne effect)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

validity

A

(+) less artificiality because it is set in real world situations
(+) people are often unaware of the experimental situation so they will act normally so their reactions are genuine

(-) only measure what people don’t know why they do it which might compromise their validity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

reliability

A

(-) created/adapted from a real life setting so it lack of control meaning its difficult to replicate.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

representativeness

A

(-) involve smaller samples of participants which makes it difficult to generalise the results to the wider population.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

why do Interpretivists prefer field experiments?

A
  • they favour naturalistic field experiments as they see them as more valid
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

why do Positivists criticise field experiments?

A
  • gives them less control over variables so it is a less scientific method than lab experiments
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly