Research Methods

• What is Internal Validity?

  A measure of accuracy of a study.
• Laboratory experiment;

  • Conducted in a deliberately constructed and controlled environment
  • IV is set up and changed by Experimenter  
  • DV is measured by them  
  • People are randomly allocated to condition  
  • Participants will know they are in a study. 
• Field experiment;

  • Real life setting for the behaviour of study
  • IV is still manipulated by thr Experimenter
  • DV is measured
  • Participants are often unaware that they are in thr research.
• Quasi experiment;

  • Conducted in a lab or in real life
  • It is not possible to randomly allocate participants to a condition.
• Natural experiment;

  • IV is a naturally occurring event which by chance has more than one condition and would occur even if experimenters didn't study it.
  • DV is measured by researchers but iv is not set up by them.
  • Participants are often unaware they are taking part.