types of experiments Flashcards
lab experiment
an experiment in a controlled environment. high control over participants and environment by using standardised procedures
field experiment
an experiment that takes place in a natural setting where participants are expected to behave naturally
natural experiment
the iv occurs naturally and the researches investigates the change in DV.
quasi experiment
participants cannot be randomly assigned between levels of iv as the iv is an innate characteristic of participants e.g gender, age
strengths of a lab experiment
- high control of extraneous and confounding variables (can assure the effect of the DV) meaning high internal validity
- easy to replicate
limitations of a lab experiment
- lack generalisability (artificial situation = low external validity)
- demand characteristics
- lacks mundane realism due to the artificial task
mundane realism
how similar experiments are to real life situations
strengths of a field experiment
- high mundane realism due to more natural environment
- high external validity
limitations of a field experiment
- lacks control of EV and CV
- ethical issues: participants cannot consent as unaware of the study, invasion of privacy
strengths of natural experiments
- allows research in areas that could not happen in controlled experiments due to ethics or cost
- high external validity: real behaviour
- no demand characteristics
limitations of natural experiments
- happen rarely meaning less opportunities for research
- participants cannot be randomly assigned to experimental conditions
strengths of quasi experiments
- only way to study co-existing participant characteristics
- replication (controlled conditions)
limitations of quasi experiments
- may be confounding variables
