Experimental Research Method

By

Prof. Nazrul Islam, MBA, PhD

Learning Objectives
1. What is Experimental Research?
2. Difference between Experimental and Non-experimental
Research Methods
3. Types of Experimental Research
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research
5. Independent and Dependent Variables, Control Variable,
Extraneous and Confounding Variables
6. Types of Experimental Validity
7. Types of Experimental Research Design
8. Example of an Experimental Research
9. Questions & Answers
 What is Experimental Research?
Experimental research is any research conducted with a scientific approach,
where a set of variables are kept constant while the other set of variables are
being measured as the subject of experiment.
1. Experimental research is one of the founding quantitative research
methods.
2. The simplest example of an experimental research is conducting a
laboratory test.
3. A true experimental research is considered to be successful only when
the researcher confirms that a change in the dependent variable is
solely due to the manipulation of the independent variable.
4. Experimental research should establish a cause and effect of a
phenomenon, i.e. effects are observed from an experiment due to the
cause.

It allows evaluation of causal relationships among the variables while all

other variables are eliminated or controlled.
 Laboratory Experiment

A laboratory experiment is an experiment conducted

under highly controlled conditions (not necessarily
a laboratory), where accurate measurements are
possible.

The researcher decides where the experiment will take

place, at what time, with which participants, in what
circumstances and using a standardized procedure.
 Field Experiment
Field experiments are studies
using experimental design that occur in a natural
setting.

The context in which the experiment is conducted

changes.

Instead of a laboratory setting, the experiment is

carried out in the field, or the real world.
 Natural Experiment
A natural experiment is an empirical study in which
individuals (or clusters of individuals) are exposed to
the experimental and control conditions that are
determined by nature or by other factors outside the
control of the investigators.

The process governing the exposures arguably

resembles random assignment.
 Example of Natural Experiment

An example of an ongoing natural experiment is the

effect of the different systems of government in North
and South Korea on their economic growth.

For all these examples, remember that the key

assumption is that there are comparable groups, and
one group is randomly affected by forces outside their
control (“nature”).
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research

Advantages Disadvantages
1. It is only form of research that can 1. Experiments are often artificial
establish cause and effect 2. Some research cannot be conducted
relationship between the variables due to ethical concerns
2. Researchers have a stronger control 3. It is an expensive study
over variables to obtain desired 4. Subject to Human Error
results. 5. Personal bias of researcher may
3. It does not require large sample size intrude/interfere
4. Useful in clinical/laboratory research 6. Sample may not be representative
5. Research results are extremely 7. Results may only apply to one
specific. situation and may be difficult to
6. Once the results are analysed, they replicate
can be applied to similar situations. 8. Groups may not be comparable
7. Experimental research can be used in 9. Human response can be difficult to
association with other research measure
methods.
 Extraneous Variable
Extraneous variables are any variables that you are not
intentionally studying in your experiment or test. When you
run an experiment, you’re looking to see if one variable (the
independent variable) has an effect on another variable (the
dependent variable). In an ideal world you’d run the
experiment, check the results, and voila! Unfortunately…like
many things in life…it’s a little more complicated that than.
Other variables, perhaps ones that never crossed your mind,
might influence the outcome of an experiment. These
undesirable variables are called extraneous variables.
 Example of Extraneous Variable

Example, if online learning increases student

understanding of statistics. Group A uses an online
knowledge base to study, the Group B uses a traditional
text.
Here, extraneous variables could include prior knowledge
of statistics; you would have to make sure that group A
roughly matched group B with prior knowledge before
starting the study.

Other extraneous variables could include amount of

support in the home, socio-economic income, or
temperature of the testing room.
 Confounding Variable

A confounding variable is an “extra” variable that you

didn’t account for. They can ruin an experiment and give
you useless results. They can suggest there is correlation
when in fact there isn’t. They can even introduce bias.

For example, if you are researching whether lack of

exercise leads to weight gain, lack of exercise is your
independent variable and weight gain is your
dependent variable. ‘Age’ can be a confounding variable
that can be responsible for weight gain.
 Types of Experimental Validity

There are two types of experimental validity such as,

1. Internal Validity
Indicates whether the independent variable was the sole
cause of the change in the dependent variable.

2. External Validity
Indicates the extent to which the results of the experiment
are applicable to the real world.
Questions and Answers