Experiments

Question 1

Field experiment

Answer 1

Test carries out in controlled conditions in a natural setting e.g. school
Its aim is to establish a cause and effect relationship between two or more variables.

Question 2

Practical advantages field experiments (teacher expectations)

Answer 2

• High ecological validity - carried out in natural settings (classrooms) researchers are observing behaviour that naturally occurs - PYMALION EFFECT (teachers expectations influence students performance)
• Flexibility - allows researchers to make adjustments based on realities of school environment e.g. if ethical issues arise the experiment can be modifies.
• Generalisability - due to it taking place in authentic classroom settings, can be generalisable to other schools & educational context.

Question 3

Practical disadvantages field experiments (teacher expectations)

Answer 3

• Time consuming - often take place over weeks or months meaning it shard to repeat - reduce reliability.
• Risk of Hawthorne effect - if teachers know being studies may change behaviour reducing validity.
• Lack of control over variables - difficult to control variables that could cause teacher expectations such as class size, student behavior, reducing reliability as results may differ.

Question 4

Ethical advantages field experiments (teacher expectations)

Answer 4

• Minimal disruption - it can be done without disrupting students normal routine or learning and respects their rights without harming their academic experience.
• Maintain conifdentiality - can ensure teachers and students are to identified in published results protecting privacy.

Question 5

Ethical disadvantages field experiments (teacher expectations)

Answer 5

• Use of deception - Rosenthal & Jacobson had to deceive the teachers. If they knew the true purpose it would have been impossible to plant the expectations in their minds and experiment would have failed.
• Physcological harm - researchers full slate, labeling the students based on the teacher expectation impacts that self-esteem. This is harmful is it violates the ethical principle of avoiding home especially for younger people.
• Power imbalance - teachers and students may feel unable to withdraw due to authority raising coercion, especially when students may not feel empowered to say no.

Question 6

Theoretical advantages for field experiments (positivists)

Answer 6

• Scientific - it takes place in a real life setting so behavior can be more natural and realistic. (supports Rosenthal & Jacobson as is claims to show cause and effect relationship between teacher expectations and pupils performance)
• Generates empirical data - it’s measurable and observable data that can be recorded and analysed, making research objective such as quantitative data leading to generalisability.

Question 7

Theoretical disadvantages for field experiments (Interpretivists)

Answer 7

• Lack of verstehen - don’t get the Y and no depth understanding of meanings behind the teachers behavior leading to misinterpretation.
• Artificial manipulation - manipulating variables, such as falsely labeling, a teacher creates an unnatural condition, reducing the validity. e.g. teachers may respond to labels in ways that don’t reflect the usual practice especially if they sent something unusual happening.