J

Field experiments

Field experiments are studies conducted in natural, real life settings where the researcher manipulates variables to observe effects, participants are often unaware they are being studied

Key features

Natural, real life settings

  • Field experiments take place in environments where behaviour normally occurs, schools, workplaces or public places

  • Participants dont know they are being studied

Manipulation of the independent variable

  • Researcher alters one variable (IV) to measure its affect on the other (DV)

Limited control over variables

  • Researchers cannot control all external variables (background noise)

  • Can affect results and lower validity

Covert or overt

  • Many field experiments are covert (participants dont know they are part of the experiment)- Avoid Hawthorne effect

  • Improves validity but creates ethical issues like lack of informed consent

Ethical concerns

  • Lack of informed consent

  • Use of deception

  • Risk of emotional/ psychological harm

Low reliability

Field experiments are hard to replicate because-

  • Natural settings constantly change

  • People may react differently every time

Makes it difficult to test for consistency, which positivists dislike

Strengths

  • Higher validity- Real life setting means natural behaviour

  • Practical for studying certain groups- Schools, workplaces

  • Less chance of Hawthorne effect- If participants dont know they are being studied

  • Useful for investigating cause and effect in the real world

Limitations

  • Ethical issues- Deception, lack of consent, potential harm

  • Less reliability- Can be hard to repeat due to unique social settings

  • Less control- Extraneous variables may affect results

  • Limited application- Difficult to apply to large scale social phenomena

Example of field experiments

Rosenthal and Jacobson- Classroom

Positivist vs interpretivist view

Positivists- Support field experiments more than interviews/ observations however, before lab settings for control and reliability

Interpretivists- Prefer field experiments because they study people in context and offer insight into meaning and behaviour