Types Of Experiment Flashcards
What are the types of experiment
- Laboratory experiment
- Field experiment
- Naturalistic experiment
- Quasi experiment
What is a laboratory experiment?
An experiment that takes place in a highly controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV
Strengths of a laboratory experiment
- high control over confounding and extraneous variables
- can establish cause & effect (high internal validity)
- easy to replicate because of the high level of control e.g. standardisation
weakness of a laboratory experiment
- high chance of demand characteristics
- lacks mundane realism (not like everyday experience)
- lacks generalisability (lab is artificial)
- low external validity
What is a field experiment?
An experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records effect on the DV
Strengths of a field experiment
-less chance of demand characteristics
-higher mundane realism
-high external validity (produces more valid and authentic behaviour)
Weaknesses of field experiments
- cause and effect difficult to establish due to loss of control of EVs and CVs (low internal validity)
- precise replication impossible
- ethical issues if participants are unaware they are being studied (cannot consent)
What is a naturalistic experiment?
An experiment where the change in IV is not brought about by the researcher
The IV is naturally occurring and researcher records effect on the DV
Occurs in a natural setting
Strengths of a natural experiment
- High ecological validity; people behave naturally.
-Can study things that would be unethical to manipulate (i.e. Romanian orphans) - Reduced demand characteristics – because the researcher doesn’t directly intervene in the experiment
- high external validity
Weaknesses of a naturalistic experiment
- Naturally occurring events may happen rarely reducing opportunities for research
- low control over the EVs and CVs, cause & effect hard to establish = - low internal validity
- cannot be replicated
What is a quasi experiment?
An experiment in which the IV is naturally occurring but is based on an existing difference between people (age, gender)
Strengths of a Quasi experiment
high ecological/external validity- due to lack of involvement of researcher
> findings can be generalized to real-life settings
Weakenesses of quasi experiment
- low internal validity - researcher cannot accurately assess affect on DV due to lack of control of EVs and DVs
- not replicable- due to researchers lack of control so reliability cannot be assessed
