Sometimes, a laboratory setting isn't the best option for investigating a phenomenon when conducting research. Whilst lab experiments offer a lot of control, they are artificial and do not truly represent the real world, which causes issues with ecological validity. This is where field experiments come in.
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenSometimes, a laboratory setting isn't the best option for investigating a phenomenon when conducting research. Whilst lab experiments offer a lot of control, they are artificial and do not truly represent the real world, which causes issues with ecological validity. This is where field experiments come in.
Despite its name, field experiments, whilst they can be conducted in a field, are not restricted to a literal field.
Both laboratory and field experiments manipulate a variable to see if it can be controlled and affect the dependent variable. Also, both are valid forms of experimentation.
A field experiment is a research method where the independent variable is manipulated, and the dependent variable is measured in a real-world setting.
If you had to research travel, a field experiment could be performed on a train. Also, you could analyse a car or bike ride out in the streets. Similarly, someone might conduct an experiment in a school investigating different phenomena present in classrooms or school playgrounds.
Field experiments are usually designed and used in psychology when researchers want to observe participants in their natural environment, but the phenomenon is not naturally occurring. Therefore, the researcher must manipulate the investigated variables to measure the outcome, e.g. how students behaviour when a teacher or a substitute teacher is present.
The procedure of field experiments in psychology is the following:
Hofling (1966) conducted a field experiment to investigate obedience in nurses. The study recruited 22 nurses working in a psychiatric hospital on a night shift, although they were unaware they were taking part in the study.
During their shift, a doctor, who was actually the researcher, called the nurses and asked them to urgently administer 20mg of a drug to a patient (double the maximum dosage). The doctor/researcher told the nurses that he would authorise medication administration later.
The research aimed to identify if people broke the rules and obeyed authoritative figures' orders.
The results showed that 95% of the nurses obeyed the order, despite breaking the rules. Only one questioned the doctor.
The Hofling study is an example of a field experiment. It was carried out in a natural setting, and the researcher manipulated the situation (instructed nurses to administer high-dosage medication) to see if it affected whether nurses obeyed the authoritative figure or not.
Like any type of research, field experiments have certain advantages and disadvantages that must be considered before opting for this research method.
Some of the advantages of field experiments include the following:
Hawthorne effect is when people adjust their behaviour because they know they are being observed.
A field experiment would be an appropriate research design when investigating children's behaviour changes at school. More specifically, to compare their behaviours around their usual and substitute teachers.
The disadvantages of field experiments are the following:
A field experiment is a research method where the independent variable is manipulated, and the dependent variable is measured in a real-world setting.
In field experiments, researchers manipulate the independent variable. On the other hand, in natural experiments, the researcher does not manipulate anything in the investigation.
Hofling (1966) utilised a field experiment to identify if nurses would break the rules and obey an authoritative figure.
A disadvantage of a field experiment is that researchers cannot control the extraneous variables, and this may reduce the validity of the findings.
The steps for conducting a field experiment are:
What is a field experiment?
A field experiment is a research method where the independent variable is manipulated, and the dependent variable is measured in a real-world setting.
Which of the following statement is correct?
The researcher manipulates the variables in a controlled setting.
What type of validity is mundane realism related to?
External validity.
Why are field experiments considered to have low reliability?
It is difficult to replicate field studies and therefore other researchers can't exactly replicate the study to identify if they find similar results.
What is the Hawthorne effect?
Hawthorne effect is when people adjust their behaviour because they know that they are being observed.
What is the procedure for field experiments?
The procedure of field experiments are:
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