Types of Experiment Flashcards
What is a laboratory experiment?
A special environment in which different variables can be carefully controlled.
What are strengths of lab experiments?
High degree of control
Replicable
What are limitations of lab exeperiments?
Low ecological validity/ artificial
Experimenter’s bias
Demand characteristics
What is a Field experiment?
Conducted in a more natural environment, not a lab, but variables still well controlled.
What are strengths of field experiments?
Naturalistic/ High ecological validity
Controlled IV
What are limitations of field experiments?
Ethical issues- lack of informed consent and right to withdraw
Loss of control over extraneous variables
Not replicable
What is a Quasi experiment?
An experiment where the IV has not been determined but instead naturally exists eg gender
What are strengths of Quasi experiments?
Contolled conditions/ high internal validity
What are limitations of Quasi experiments?
Cannot randomly allocate ppts so may be confounding variables.
Cause and effect hard to establish
What is a natural experiment?
The IV is not brought by the researcher and would have happened even if the researcher had not been there eg reactions to natural disasters.
What are strengths of natural experiments?
Provides oppotunities for research that would have otherwise been impossible due to ethics
High external validity- real life issues
What are limitations of natural experiments?
Naturally occurring events- hard to replicate and generalise
Very difficult to randomise ppts into groups so confounding and extraneous variables remain
