Lab experiments
Experiments conducted in artificial environments with controlled variables
Lab experiment
Practical
+ Allows researchers to control variables, making it easy to identify cause and effect relationships
- Can be expensive and time consuming, require specialised equipment and controlled environments
Lab experiments
Ethical
+ Researchers can often gain informed consent and minimise harm, through some (Zimbardo’s prison experiment) have raised ethical concerns
- Some may involve deception, or psychological distress
Lab experiments
Theoretical
+ Validity, highly internal and control
- Validity, low external use due to artificiality (Hawthorne effect)
+ Highly replicable
- Human behaviour complex, responded may vary across context
Who prefers this method?
Interpretivists don’t like this method as it lacks depth and real world applicability
Positivists prefer due to scientific nature
Field experiment
Take place in a natural, real-world setting
EG Rosehan’s Sane in Insane Places, Rosenthal and Jacobson’s pygmalian in the classroom
Practical
+ Small scale, require few participants easy to conduct
Ethical
- May involve deception or lack of informed consent, especially if conducted covertly
Theoretical
+ Valid as take place in natural setting which reduces artificiality
- Often small scale, meaning findings may not be generalisable to wider populations
- Hard to replicate due to lack of control over variables
Who prefers lab experiments?
Favoured by Interpretivists as qualitative data is collected
Positivists don’t like this method as they don’t establish a cause and affect relationships
Open Questionaires
Do not have a set of questions
Participants are free to respond however they wish
Practical
+ Allow respondents to express thoughts freely, provides rich data
- Time consuming to analyse as responses vary and require interpretation
Ethical
- Some responses may reveal personal or sensitive information, requiring careful handling
Theoretical
+ Validity, since answers are detailed and unrestricted they offer deeper insights into participants views eg used in studies exploring sensitive topics, where depth is crucial
+ Representative as can capture diverse perspectives making findings more reflective of real-world experiences
- Certain groups more like to participate
Who prefers this method?
Positivists dislike as lack standardisation and difficult to quantify
Interpretivists like as produce qualitative data that understands meanings and motivations
Structured interviews
Used to collect data through verbal interactions between researcher or 1 or more participants
Way for sociologists to gain insights into peoples thoughts, experiences and perspectives of social phenomena
Practical
+ Training interviewers relatively straight forward and inexpensive
- More costly than questionnaires, interviewers need to be paid
