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Experimental Method Sem 2 Minor

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8 views3 pages

Experimental Method Sem 2 Minor

Uploaded by

x3128672
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Experimental method -

# Variable - Any stimulus or event which varies, that is , it takes on di=erent


values (or changes) and can be measured is a variable. The attributes of an
object are variables. The variation can be in the quantity or the quality of the
events/ objects. Eg. Colour of the pen, intelligence, weight, attitude etc.

# Independent variable -variable which is manipulated or altered or its


strength varied by the researcher in the experiment. It is the e=ect of this
change in the variable which the researcher wants to observe or note in the
study. It is the ‘cause’ in any experimental situation.

# Dependent variable - the variables on which the e=ect of the independent


variable is observed is called dependent variable. It represents the
phenomenon the researcher desires to explain.

Independent variable is the ‘cause’ and dependent variable the ‘e=ect’ ,in any
experimental situation. They are interdependent. Examples :

• e=ect of practice on memory


• the e=ect of mental set on problem solving
• the e=ect of noise pollution on the speed of writing
IV - noise pollution
DV - speed of writing
EV – gender, age, language, socio economic conditions , intelligence
etc.
• the e=ect of colour on perception
• the e=ect of feedback on decision making

# Extraneous/intervening variables - variables influence the dependent variable, But


the researcher is not interested in examining their e=ects. So they need to be
controlled.

Experimental method has assigned the status of science to psychology;


It is conducted to establish cause and e=ect relationship between two sets of events or
variables in a controlled setting.
It is a carefully regulated procedure in which changes are made in one variable and its
e=ect studied on the other.
In experimental method, the experimental conducts experiments using following steps :
a) identifying problem
b) developing hypothesis
c) selecting an experimental design and standardising the experimental procedure
d) conducting experiment and collecting data objectively
e) analysing data
f) drawing conclusions
Experimental and control groups :

Experiments generally involve one or more experimental groups and one or more control
groups.
Experimental group is a group in which members of the group are exposed to
independent variable manipulation.
The control group is a comparison group in which the manipulated variable is absent.
In an experiment, except for the experimental manipulation, other conditions – noise,
temperature, humidity, age, gender, intelligence, personality , socio economic
background, caste etc. – are kept constant for both the groups.

Advantages
~a well-designed experiment provides convincing evidence of cause & e=ect
relationship between 2 or more variables .
~This method is replicable and verifiable.
~ it is one of the most objective method of data collection. Collected data can be
qualitatively and quantitatively analysed.
~ internal validity and reliability is high .

Disadvantages:
~The experiments may produce results that do not generalise well or applied to real life
situation (low external validity)
~It is not always feasible to study a particular problem experimentally
~It is a di=icult to know and control all the relevant variables.
~ it is costly and time consuming and demands specialised knowledge and skills on the
part of the experimenter.

Field experiments - if researcher wants to conduct studies which are not possible in
laboratory settings, he may go to the field all the natural settings where the particular
phenomenon actually exists . For example - researcher meant to know which method
would lead to better learning among students - lecture or demonstration method. He
may visit the school for this purpose.

Quasi experiments - Here the independent variable is selected rather than varied or
manipulated by the experimenter. For example - To study the e=ect of an earthquake on
the children who lost their parents .
Experimental group - children who lost their parents in the earthquake
Control group - children who experienced the earthquake but did not lose their parents.
A quasi experiment Attempts to manipulate and independent variable in a natural
setting using natural occurring groups to form experimental and control groups.

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