AS Psychology: Research Methods : What type of Experiment?

Want to know what I'll be looking at with you? Well, These are a list of the different types of Research Methods I will be focusing on. Lab, Field, and Natural are the most common (and arguably, important, so make sure you understand those. If not, ask your teacher, as I can't claim to know everything, as Much as I'd like.)

• Lab
• Field
• Natural
• Case Study
• Questionaires
• Correlational
• Interviews,
• Observations

Lab Experiments are..

• Done in controlled, artificial environments (A Laboratory, obviously..)
• Able to completely controll all the variables.

Advantages

• Highly objective and systematic. With a completely controlled, standardised procedure.
• Easy to obtain large amounts of detailed information
• Allows for easy replication - Repeated tests -> Reliability! 

Disadvantages

• Artificial environment may lead to demand characteristics (guessing purpose of experiment and reacting to either fit to/go against expectations.) or unnatural reactions/behaviour,  - Thus can't be applied to real life?
• Ethical concerns - eg. Applying unnatural levels of stress, etc.
• There may experimenter bias. - eg. Bribery to make participants react in a certain way, having favourites..

Field experiments are...

• In a natural setting- ie. a street, school, supermarket.
• Controlled, much like a Lab. Experiment, only in a more aplicable to real life setting.

Advantages

• High External Validity (Meaning it is more generalisable, it's similar to real life situations.)
• High degree of controll, as with Lab. Experiments.
• Little or no Demand characteristics, as Participants are reacting naturally, as they are unaware it is an experiment.

Disadvantages

• Ethical concerns, such as lack of consent.
• Extraneous variables (Interfences from outside world, like loud noises, etc.)
• Difficulty in replicating, as exact situation may change (eg. Participants & their moods)
• Sample bias: Experimenter may only pick certain people, or for example, mothers are more likely to be found in supermarkets, or Teachers at schools.

Natural Experiments are ...

• Any situation in which experimenter has no controll over variables (eg. British people's patriotic mood around the Jubilee - You have to wait for the jubilee, you can't change the day!)
• Quasi-Experiments: The independent variable is not manipulated by the researcher.

Advantages

• Participants aren't aware they are being tested on.
• (See Field experiment, as they are extremely similar!)

Disadvantages

• Have to wait for a certain event, making repition difficult, ( and who likes waiting?! )
• Extreneous variables
• (Again, See Field Experiment, but the Ads&Disads listed here are the main few, I would say! But learn them all!)

Case Studies are...

• A detailed study or evaluation of a single indivual, event or group.

Advantages

• Produces rich, detailed data on the specific thing  you are studying

Disadvantages

• Cannot generalise the findings, as they can only be applied to that individual study
• Findings are from one indivudual, and thus are not easily repeated.

Questionaires are...

• Questions, like a written form of interview.

Advantages

• Gain large amounts of data quickly and cheaply. (What do you mean 'cheaply' isn't a a good word!?)

Disadvantages

• Only the people willing to participate in the questionaire will complete it, creating bias on people on have the time, or are interested in the study will take part.
• Questionaires take skill, you have to be able to read/write, so may get some bias on that everybody who enters will be educated, or not a child.
• People can lie, meaning demand characteristics.

Correlational Experiments are...

• Testing a hypothesis using an association found between two variables.

Advantages

• Can collect a lot of data quicker than a lab. experminet, it is more efficient.

Disadvantages

• Does not show a 'cause and effect'.
• Many Hypothesis cannot be easily examined, rendering research 'useless'?

Interviews are...

• face-to-face conversations based on a question-and-answer format.
• Structured , meaning they are scientific, quantitive and closed questions.
• or Unstructured, meaning they are non-scientific, qualitative and open questions, more like a discussion.

Advantages

• Qualititive, rather than Quantitative in their content.
• Good Reliability
• Easily analysable, if structured.

Disadvantages

• Little relevence to research,
• Data difficult to analyise, if Unstructured.
• Interviewer Bias: Personalities could change course of interview.

Observations are...

• Watching and reccording behaviour without interfering.

Advantages

• Observations occur in a natural setting, they don't know they are being observed.
• Allows investigation where other methods aren't possible, perhaps as results cannot be numerically recorded.

Disadvantages

• Researcher Bias: Researched cannot remain unbiased. May have favourites, and one person's view will differ to another's.
• Small-Scale replication is difficult.
• Lack of controlled variables