Types of experiments

Question 1

What are lab experiments?

Answer 1

• in a carefully controlled environment so the researcher can ensure participants do the research in the same environment

Question 2

What are field experiments?

Answer 2

• in a natural environment, e.g. someones home, school or high street

Question 3

What are the strengths of a lab experiment?

Answer 3

• controlled environment
• participants do research in same environment

Question 4

What are the weaknesses of a lab experiment?

Answer 4

-artificial - asking participants to do something that is nothing like a day to day basis
- lacks ecological validity

Question 5

What are the strengths of a field experiment?

Answer 5

• natural environment
• high ecological validity

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of a field experiment?

Answer 6

• lacks control
• could lead to more extraneous variables

Question 7

What are control groups?

Answer 7

• the control group acts as a baseline or comparison to the experimental group ( the experiment being tested)

Question 8

What does randomisation mean?

Answer 8

randomly assigning participants into either the control or experimental group