EXPERIMENTS

Dimache Raluca
Dobrinas Andreea
Ghiban Sebastian

EXPERIMENT A research method that

seeks to isolate the effects of an
independent variable on a dependent
variable under strictly controlled
conditions.

In

the social sciences, the causal

condition is generally referred to as
the independent variable (the IV),
and what is supposedly affected is
referred to as the dependent variable
(the DV).

Three primary qualities:

independent

and dependent

variables
pretest and posttest
experimental group and control
group

Characteristics:
known

time-ordered
sequence.
association (between the heating of
the mixture and the change in the mixture)

search (for possible additional factors)

These

characteristics follow the rules for

determining causality.

Types of experiments:
LABORATORY AND FIELD
EXPERIMENTS:
Laboratory:

chemistry
Real-life setting: astronomy
either in the field, or in the laboratory:
geology

TRUE AND NATURAL

EXPERIMENTS:
true

experiment: the experimenter

produces a set of conditions (the IV)
and then measures its effects (the
DV).

natural experiment, on the

contrary would involve no
manipulation on the part of the
experimenter.

Obstacles to an experiments validation

Internal Validation

Problems concerning who is in the

experiment.
Selection
Mortality or loss of subjects
Rivalry between subjects in
experimental and control group:
Demoralization of subjects
receiving less desirable treatment

Problems concerning the experimental procedure.

Testing
Instrumentation
Imitation

of treatment.

Problems concerning time

Maturation
History

Problems of interaction of selection with other factors.

Interaction

with selection

External Validation

General componenets of an
experiment
Experimental and Control
Groups
Randomization
Matching
Double Blind Experiment