Experimental and nonexperimental research methods in psychology. Chapter 5: Experimental Research 2022-10-27
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There are many different methods that researchers in the field of psychology can use to study different phenomena. One way to classify these methods is to divide them into experimental and nonexperimental research methods.
Experimental research methods involve the manipulation of an independent variable to see its effect on a dependent variable. This type of research is often used to test hypotheses and to establish cause-and-effect relationships. One advantage of experimental research is that it allows researchers to have a high level of control over the variables being studied. This allows them to be confident that any changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable, rather than other factors.
One example of an experimental research method is the laboratory experiment. In a laboratory experiment, researchers bring participants into a controlled setting, such as a laboratory, and manipulate one or more variables to see how they affect the participants' behavior. For example, a researcher might manipulate the level of noise in a room and measure how this affects the participants' ability to complete a task.
Another type of experimental research method is the field experiment. Field experiments are similar to laboratory experiments, but they are conducted in a naturalistic setting, such as a school or a workplace. This type of research allows researchers to study phenomena in a more realistic setting, but it can also be more difficult to control for extraneous variables.
In contrast to experimental research methods, nonexperimental research methods do not involve the manipulation of variables. Instead, these methods involve the observation or measurement of variables as they naturally occur. One example of a nonexperimental research method is the survey. Surveys involve collecting data from a sample of people by asking them questions about their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. Surveys are a useful tool for researchers because they allow them to gather a large amount of data from a diverse group of people relatively quickly and inexpensively.
Another type of nonexperimental research method is the case study. Case studies involve in-depth, qualitative analyses of a single individual or group. Case studies can be useful for understanding the unique experiences and perspectives of a particular person or group, but they may not be generalizable to the larger population.
In conclusion, experimental and nonexperimental research methods are two important tools that psychologists use to study different phenomena. Experimental research methods involve the manipulation of variables to establish cause-and-effect relationships, while nonexperimental methods involve the observation or measurement of variables as they naturally occur. Both types of research have their advantages and limitations, and researchers must choose the appropriate method based on the research question they are trying to answer.
6.2: Overview of Non
The best method of counterbalancing is complete counterbalancing in which an equal number of participants complete each possible order of conditions. So while complete counterbalancing of 6 conditions would require 720 orders, a Latin square would only require 6 orders. The study by Loftus and Pickrell described at the beginning of this chapter is also a good example of observational research. Correlational research that focuses on statistical relationships between variables that are measured but not manipulated, and observational research in which participants are observed and their behavior is recorded without the researcher interfering or manipulating any variables. There are numerous research methods used to determine if theories, ideas, or even products have validity in a market or community.
Suppose you wanted to find out if smoking causes lung cancer. In the third experiment, the only difference was that one group was not given specific instructions on what to think about while they waited for their treat and the treats were hidden from view. The only way to achieve this advantage is to place tight controls over the process, and then reduce any potential for bias within the system to appear. One of the most common options utilized today is experimental research. A within-subjects design with counterbalancing would require testing some participants in the treatment condition first and then in a control condition. One of the most significant disadvantages of experimental research is that it does not take the ethical or moral violations that some variables may create out of the situation. The experimental group receives the treatment being tested, but the control group does not.
It is an extremely common error, which often results from common misunderstandings and confusion among the journalists who write articles on psychological research for mainstream consumption. People experience stress in uncountable ways during the average day. Psychology is the scientific study of people's thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. The Experimental Process Psychologists, like other scientists, use the scientific method when conducting an experiment. If the coin lands heads, the participant is assigned to Condition A, and if it lands tails, the participant is assigned to Condition B.
Keeping these in mind can help you review and assess research studies more accurately, giving you a better idea of whether the results can be trusted or if they have limitations. Imagine, for example, that a researcher administers the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to 50 American college students and 50 Japanese college students. In this chapter, we look at experiments in detail. Use of random counterbalancing will result in more random error, but if order effects are likely to be small and the number of conditions is large, this is an option available to researchers. In actuality, there were no other students. The primary distinction we will make is between approaches in which each participant experiences one level of the independent variable and approaches in which each participant experiences all levels of the independent variable. So it might be that the higher incidence of lung cancer among smokers is caused by something else, not by smoking per se.
There are results that this method can find which may only apply to that specific situation. She wants to know whether people who are given a list of words will learn them better in a quiet room or in a room with ambient noise, like soft conversations or music. It can be time-consuming and costly; however, the controlled environment usually means that the results are specific and consistent with conclusions that can be replicated. In psychology, as in other branches of science, experiments are conducted using the scientific method, or the process of answering questions in a systematic way. If the researcher simply asked participants whether they made daily to-do lists or not, then the independent variable it is experimenter-selected and the study is cross-sectional. Does it also represent causation? It is simply used in cases where experimental research is not able to be carried out.
And this really matters: for instance, it might be that people who choose to smoke cigarettes also tend to have poor diets, or maybe they tend to work in asbestos mines, or whatever. One can analyze the data separately for each order to see whether it had an effect. Of course, the primary limitation of using this design to study the effects of aging is that differences between the groups other than age may account for differences in the dependent variable. This design is advantageous because the researcher reaps the immediate benefits of being able to compare the age groups after the first assessment. For this reason, longitudinal studies, in which one group of people is followed over time as they age, offer a superior means of studying the effects of aging.
Experimental Research in Psychology: Methods, Studies & Definition
The heart of the scientific method is the experiment, so let's look closer at the important procedures in conducting an experiment. If at the end of the experiment, a difference in health was detected across the two conditions, then we would know that it is due to the writing manipulation and not to pre-existing differences in health. The distinction that will be made in this book is that, rather than comparing two or more pre-existing groups of people as is done with cross-sectional research, correlational research involves correlating two continuous variables groups are not formed and compared. However, there are some reasons that this possibility is not a major concern. Correlation vs Causation: Correlation indicates a relationship between two events, whereas causation indicates that the occurrence of one event causes the occurrence of the second event. This process makes it possible to manipulate the other variables involved to determine the validity of an idea or the value of what is being proposed.
17 Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research Method in Psychology
This combination of factors makes it possible to become ultra-specific with the information being received through these studies while offering new ideas to other research formats simultaneously. The researcher could have participants study a single list that includes both kinds of words and then have them try to recall as many words as possible. One famous psychological study was the marshmallow experiment conducted by Walter Mischel at Stanford University in the early 1970s. An experimenter should do everything they can to avoid including confounding variables, or a variable other than the independent variable that could change the dependent variable. A major disadvantage of non-experimental research is that the groups that the researcher may select may not be representative of the entire population that they are intending to study.
