how to use experimental method in research

1. The Experimental Method
Presented by: Ms Rabia Javed Iqbal

2. The Experimental Method
 Theory is a good thing but a good experiment lasts
forever. (Peter Leonidovich Kapista)
 The method that researchers use to answer questions
about cause and effect is the experiment
 “Experiment is a process which involves experiments
under more controlled conditions & which is aimed to
manipulate the relation existing between cause & effect of
any of the specific behavior or condition to the observed.”

3. STEPS INVOLVED IN CONDUCTING AN
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
a. Identify and define the problem
b. Review relevant literature
c. Formulate hypotheses and deduce their consequences
d. Construct an experimental design
e. Conduct the experiment
f. Compile raw data and condense to usable form
g. Present findings and conclusions

4. Essential Features of Experimentation
1. The Experimenter
2. The subject
Control Group
Experimental Group
3. Variables
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable

5. Experimenter
 To get information about procedure, instructions& variables in the
experiment
 To record the behavior about some specific behavior change impartially
 To decide the research design, sampling technique & control of
extraneous variable of the research
 To observe time, in fence results and write the final report of research

6. The Subject
 Researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions &
ensures that these conditions are identical except for the independent
variable.
 Cause: cause is the event being manipulated
 Effect: effect is the behavior that changes because of the manipulation
 Treatment: a treatment is a procedure provided by an investigator

7. Experimental and Control Groups
 Controlled experiments are the most informative kind of
experiments, in that they use experimental and control groups
 Members of the experimental group receive the treatment
 Members of the control group do not receive the treatment
 Researchers try to make sure all other conditions are the same for
both groups
 This way, researchers can conclude that the experiment’s results are
caused by the treatment, not by something else
 Participants are randomly assigned to each group, and they do not
know which group they are in

8. Variables
Experiments contain variables, which are
factors that can vary, or change.

9. Independent and Dependent Variables
 The Dependent variable
depends on the independent
variable
 In this case, the people’s ability to
drive through the maze is the
dependent variable, as it depends
on the amount of sleep people get
 The Independent variable is the
factor that researchers manipulate to
observe its effect
 If researchers want to see the effect of
amount of sleep on people's ability to
drive through a maze, the independent
variable is the amount of sleep, which
researchers manipulate to see the
effect

11. Describe what this graphic means:

12. The Placebo Effect
 Our expectations affect how we feel or what happens to us
 A placebo is a substance or treatment that has no effect
other than the person’s belief in it
 A person may believe that taking a pill will get rid of a
headache, and in taking a sugar pill with no medicine,
begin to feel better
 Researchers should be aware of this effect when conducting
experiments– just the fact of someone coming to an
experiment will have an effect on that person

14. Single-Blind Studies

15. Double-Blind Studies
 Researchers may also have expectations regarding the
experiment that may bias the results
 In this case, the researcher should also not know who is
being given the placebo and who is being given the real
treatment
 A double-blind study is where both the participants and
the experimenters are unaware of who is in the control
group or experimental group

16. A double-blind study is essentially the same as a single-blind study,
except that the results are further secured by the experimenter also
not knowing if the test or the placebo is being administered

17. Merits
 Objectivity
 Generalize ability
 Results
 Systematic relation

18. Demerits
Expert
Time consuming
Expensive
Variable influence