Strengths And Weaknesses Of Experimental Research

Experiments are a scientific procedure which is used to test a hypothesis. There are two different types of experiments which are available to the researcher, these are laboratory and field.

A case study is an intensive type of research that involves a process in which detailed information is collected

A case study is “a method of analysis and a specific research design for examining a problem” (University of Southern California, 2010). It can be used to analyze a person, place, event, or other subjects in order to help discover mitigating issues, misconceptions, failures, trends, or recommendations (USC, 2010). Case studies will be used to gain a better understanding of situations and topics to help others make better policies, procedures, and decisions (USC, 2010).

A case study is a puzzle that has to be solved. The first thing to remember about writing a case study is that the case should have a problem for the readers to solve. The case should have enough information in it that readers can understand what the problem is and, after thinking about it and analyzing the information; the readers should be able to come up with a proposed solution. Writing an interesting case study is a bit like writing a detective story. You want to keep your readers very interested in the situation.

d. Survey research is one of the best methods for gathering a vast amount of original data on a large population.

| -They produce data on very specific, narrow topic i.e. the relationship between two variables-Experimenting on human beings in care situations raises difficult ethical issues (Moonie, Stretch, et al, 2003).-Participants usually know that they are in an experiment which may affect the behaviour they produce-It may be time consuming(Stanley, Boswell, et al, 2009).

Experimental research concentrates on how and why something happens. It is the evaluation of how an independent variable (a manipulated factor) affects a dependent variable (an observed factor). The outcome can be affected by a number of elements; obtaining random and representative samples of the study population, experimenter bias and extraneous variables.

An in-depth study of a particular situation rather than a sweeping statistical survey. Case study research is a method that was used to narrow down a very broad field of research into one easily researchable topic.

Case studies are one of the first types of research to be used in the qualitative methodology and repeating the study several times will lead to the increased reliability of the study (Starman, 2013). This methodology is appropriate because it will allow for data collection results to be generalized based on the theoretical propositions and not the population (Harrison et al. 2017).

“Case studies are stories. It presents a realistic, complex, and contextually rich situations and often involve a dilemma, conflict, or problem that one or more of the characters in the case must negotiate”,

Experimental design research tends to use math and statistics to try to prove or disprove a hypothesis. Within an experimental design most of the research is controlled and leaves little room for error. One advantage of experimental design is that it is hard to disprove the results. However, a disadvantage is that because the conditions are controlled that makes the results too perfect. If the same experiment was conducted in an uncontrolled setting, such as the real world, the results would vary.

In case study research, an investigator studies an individual or small group of individuals with an unusual condition or situation. Case studies are typically clinical in scope. The investigator (often a clinical sociologist) sometimes uses self‐report measures to acquire quantifiable data on the subject. A comprehensive case study, including a long‐term follow‐up, can last months or years.

Explain the difference between true experimental and quasi-experimental research design. Provide examples in your answer. (265 words)

~One of the goals of science is description (other goals include prediction and explanation). Descriptive research methods are pretty much as they sound — they describe situations. They do not make accurate predictions, and they do not determine cause and effect.

Quantitative research design is the standard experimental method of most scientific disciplines. These experiments are sometimes referred to as true science, and use traditional mathematical and statistical means to measure results conclusively. They are most commonly used by physical scientists, although social sciences, education and economics have been known to use this type of research. It is the opposite of qualitative research. Quantitative experiments all use a standard format, with a few minor inter-disciplinary differences, of generating a hypothesis to be proved or disproved. This hypothesis must be provable by mathematical and statistical means, and is the basis around which the whole experiment is designed. Randomization of any study groups is essential, and a control group should be included, wherever possible. A sound quantitative design should only manipulate one variable at a time, or statistical analysis becomes cumbersome and open to question. Ideally, the research should be constructed in a manner that allows others to repeat the experiment and obtain similar results.