Jun
Experimental Research Methods
In experimental research there is the explicit assumption that the universe functions according to causal laws (Bailey & Burch, 2002). As such, these laws are considered to be linear in form (generally). The purpose of an experimental design is to establish the cause-effect relationship between sets of variables, by way of isolating assumed casual factors, and controlling suspected confounding or extraneous variables. For this reason an experiment is conducted within a laboratory environment to enable the researcher to isolate the cause, and to control for other factors that may influence the result. It is hypothesized that an independent variable causes changes in a dependent variable, and that alternate hypotheses can be provided by other factors that are able to influence the results.
The advantages of experimental research methods are that the use of quantitative levels of measurement (i.e., numerical data), random selection and allocation procedures, and a controlled environment, allow for higher confidence in the results, as well as greater generalizability of the results (Bailey & Burch, 2002). The results are morel likely to be reliable, in that the study can be replicated and similar results found over time. It is also more likely to have high internal validity, so that the researcher can be confident that the results obtained are a true representation of what is actually occurring. Furthermore, the experiment is more likely to have high external validity, which means that the results can be generalized, allowing them to be applied to other settings and possibly other populations. However, the limitations of experimental methods are that there must be a large enough sample for the results to be representative and so generalized to a wider population. The methods are difficult to conduct in real-world contexts due to the need to isolate variables. And, there the methods are often intrusive, so that using a lab-based approach requires creating an artificial situation to obtain high internal validity.
References
Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. (2002). Research Methods in Applied Behavior Analysis. Sage Publications.
