experimental method

Question 1

experimental method

Answer 1

the method used to carry out an experiment

Question 2

4 experimental method types

Answer 2

• lab
• field
• quasi
• natural

Question 3

lab experiment

Answer 3

an experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV

Question 4

what do you do to manipulate a lab experiment

Answer 4

IV

Question 5

what do you record in a lab experiment

Answer 5

DV

Question 6

where does a lab experiment take place

Answer 6

in a controlled environment

Question 7

advantages of a lab experiment

Answer 7

• it has high internal validity as it has a high level of control over extraneous variables
• it has high replicability as it used operationalised variables

Question 8

disadvantages of a lab experiment

Answer 8

• it may lack generalisability and mundane realism as artificial tasks
• environments may be used which reduces the ecological validity and it may give rise to demand characteristic.

Question 9

field experiment

Answer 9

an experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV

Question 10

what do you manipulate in a field experiment

Answer 10

IV

Question 11

what do you record in a field experiment

Answer 11

DV

Question 12

where does a field experiment take place

Answer 12

natural setting

Question 13

advantages of a field experiment

Answer 13

• it has higher mundane realism and ecological validity as the task
• environment are natural and there is a lower chance of demand characteristics

Question 14

disadvantages of a field experiment

Answer 14

• it has low internal validity as there is less control over extraneous variables so it may be harder to replicate findings (low replicability)
• there is a problem with ethics as participants may not consent to being in the study if using a covert observation

Question 15

natural experiment

Answer 15

an experiment where the change in the IV is not brought about by the researcher (would have occurred anyway) and change in the DV in recorded

Question 16

what is recorded in a natural experiment

Answer 16

DV

Question 17

how is the change in the IV brought about in a natural experiment

Answer 17

it is naturally occurring (not manipulated by the experimenter)

Question 18

advantages of a natural experiment

Answer 18

• it provides a chance to collect research on things that would not be ethically to conduct an field or lab experiment on
• it has high ecological validity as it normally has no artificial task or environment

Question 19

disadvantages of a natural experiment

Answer 19

• it may be a very rare event so may lack generalisability
• it has low internal validity as you can’t randomly allocate participants to each experimental condition so it may be harder to establish cause and effect due to confounding variables

Question 20

quasi experiment

Answer 20

a ‘experiment’ where the IV is a pre-determined variable such as age of gender and its effect on the DV is recorded

Question 21

advantages of quasi experiment

Answer 21

allows us to measure the effect of the pre-determined variable in different settings or tasks

Question 22

disadvantages of quasi experiment

Answer 22

• it has low internal validity as you can’t randomly allocate participants to each experimental condition so it may be harder to establish cause and effect due to confounding variables