Experiments - Theory and Methods topic 4 - Sociology

Experiments 



Experiments are a main feature of scientific research in the natural sciences. A scientist will form and test a hypothesis often in laboratory experiments. Researchers will investigate the relationship between an independent variable (cause) and a dependent variable (effect), e.g. drinking alcohol causes you to perform poorly on the game 'operation'. 

Positivists regard the experiment as a good form of research because of its scientific qualities including,

- the research can control conditions and keep them high scientific (ruling out distracting variables)

- experiments produce quantitative data

- it is detached and objective. The researcher merely sets up the condition and records the results


Problems with experiments in Sociology

- Humans are complex beings and no two humans are exactly alike, therefore it is difficult to make conclusions like can be made in other sciences

- Lab experiments only focus on small scale studies and cannot (should not) be generalised to the wider population

- Lab experiments are artificial environments and may not reflect how people will act/react in the real world 

- The Hawthorne effect - this is when people behave differently when they know they are being observed. This affects the validity of the study because it is not a true reflection of how people would normally behave if they are 'playing up' for the researcher.




Follow the links or click to see some fun videos on the Hawthorne effect



Field Experiments

Field experiments are conducted in the real world but many of the same problems of lab experiments come into play here too such as the Hawthorne effect when people know they are being watched.

Go to page 146 in 'Browne' book to see study by Rosenhan - 'On being sane in insane places'.

Watch the video below to see a field experiment on how strangers react to a lost girl asking for help








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