There are three types of experiment: 1. – usually in a specially designed room of a university, with full experimenter control 2. – conducted in the ‘real world’… 3. ‘real world’ again, using phenomena which would occur without experimenter manipulation, e.g. closure of a factory, introduction of TV Lab Field Natural
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There are three types of experiment:1. – usually in a specially designed
room of a university, with full experimenter control
2. – conducted in the ‘real world’…
3. ‘real world’ again, using phenomena which would occur without experimenter manipulation, e.g. closure of a factory, introduction of TV
Lab
Field
Natural
Non Experimental Research Methods
- Describe & Evaluate the
following research methods:
QuestionnairesInterviews
Case studiesCorrelations
Content analyses
Mr Oakes
In-depth and detailed study of an individual or particular group. Often used to gain an insight into unusual behaviors. Freud – Little Hans (Whole childhood)
Weaknesses Difficult to
Generalise Difficult to repeat –
lack reliability (memory recall)
Cant control variables to establish cause – effect
Time consuming
Strengths Rich, indepth real
detail – valid & mundane realism
High ecological validity
Used to investigate atypical instances, unethical or impractical
Precise measurement of naturally occurring in an objective way1 Naturalistic – Subjects own environment2 Controlled – Lab3 Participant – Researcher involved daily with participant
Weaknesses Little / no control
over extraneous variables – confounding variables
Observer bias / low inter-rater reliability
Ethical issues Participant
observations likely to miss data
Strengths Naturalistic
observations = representative of real life
Able to research something that is unethical or impractical to manipulate variables e.g. children
Improve reliability by using inter-observer reliability
Measures the relationship between two or more variables to spot a trend.
Weaknesses Do not always
show that one causes the other
No cause/effect spotted
Variables have been operationalised – not real life data – lack validity
Strengths Can show a
relationship between two variables
Good starting point for research
Written method of gaining data from subjects, researcher not required.
Weaknesses Low return rate Closed questions,
leading questions force an answer – lack validity
Biased sample Social desirability
Strengths Easy to compare
data – helps replicability
Easy to administer – lots of data
Ppts may be more truthful
Qualitative & Quantitative
Direct verbal questioning of the subject by the researcher. Structured – y/n questionsSemi Structured – Guidelines for questionsNon Structured – No fixed questions
Weaknesses Social desirability Unstructured =
hard to compare & generalise, effected by the interviewer – low reliability
Structured = forced ans – lack validity
Strengths Unstructured =
detailed – valid – not restricted ans
Structured = easier to repeat, easier to compare
Semi-structured = increased reliability and validity
Weaknesses Subjective –
Observer bias
Validity of coding units
Ethnocentric
Strengths Quantitative data
– test using stats
Ethical – no ppts, no informed consent, using secondary sources
Easy to repeat – reliable
Ecologically valid
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