Field Experiments

• Field experiment


  An experiment which takes place in the participants natural environment
• Independent variable


  • The variable which is changed and which it is thought will have an impact on the dependent variable
• Dependent variable


  • The variable being measured
• Correlation


  A relationship between the dependent and independent variable where one seems to have an impact on the other
• Types of data


  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative
  • Reliable
  • Valid
• Field experiments


  • Elliott – Brown eyes, blue eyes
  • Rosenthal and Jacobson – Pygmalion in the classroom
• Advantages of field experiments

  • Require fewer resources as it carried out in a natural setting
  • Researcher needs to be able to fit in with the neural setting and work out how to alter the independent variable/measure the dependent one which requires skill
• Ethical considerations of field experiments

  • As it's a natural setting, sometimes its impossible to ask for informed consent however, closed settings do not have this problem
  • Possibility of bringing harm to participants if you alter a variable that affects their emotional health
• Theoretical factors of field experiments

  • More natural than lab experiments and you can see the full picture
• Limitation: laboratory experiments are not naturalistic

  One limitation of using laboratory experiments to research teacher’s labelling of students is that they are not naturalistic. This is because the study will be conducted in a lab which is an artificial environment which means the data collected will not be valid as a true picture of labelling will not be obtained.
• Limitation: overt field experiments will cause Hawthorne effect

  A limitation of using overt field experiments to study teacher’s labelling of student sis that this may cause the Hawthorne effect. This will reduce the validity of the findings as the teachers may behave in ways they do not normally as they know someone is recording their behaviour.
• Covert field experiments

  • More valid as Hawthorne effect is not an issue
• Hawthorne effect

  Participants in an experiment change their behavior because they know they are being studied
• Covert field experiments let the researcher obtain a true and valid image of what labelling is like in classrooms
• Covert field experiments

  • Unethical
• Covert field experiments involve deceiving the teachers to not reveal the true aim of the study
• Covert field experiments are unethical as the teachers do not give informed consent and do not have the right to withdraw
• Limitation: field experiments are open to interpretation

  A limitation of using field experiments to study teacher labelling of students is that the findings all depend on how the researcher interprets them. Thid reduces the validity as it does not give a true idea of what is actually happening in classrooms as the interactions are up to interpretation.