In an ideal world, experimental research methods would be used for every type of research, fulfilling all of the requirements of falsifiability and generalization. Observational research methods are useful when ethics are a problem. Whilst the experiment cannot be replicated or falsified, it still offers unique insights, and will advance human knowledge.Д¬ase studies are often used as a pre-cursor to more rigorous methods, and avoid the problem of the experiment environment affecting the behavior of an organism. Observation is heavily used in social sciences, behavioral studies and anthropology, as a way of studying a group without affecting their behavior. For example, a researcher may notice unusual behavior and ask, вЂWhat is happening?вЂ™ or вЂWhy?вЂ™ Observational research often has no clearly defined research problem, and questions may arise during the course of the study. Observational research tends to use nominal or ordinal scales of measurement. This type is looked down upon, by many scientists, as вЂ quasi-experimentalвЂ™ research, although this is usually an unfair criticism. Observational research methods, such as the case study, are probably the furthest removed from the established scientific method. Observational research is a group of different research methods where researchers try to observe a phenomenon without interfering too much. Whilst not as robust as experimental research, the methods can be replicated and the results falsified. The Bandura Bobo Doll experiment and the Asch Experiment were examples of opinion based research.Д«y definition, this experiment method must be used where emotions or behaviors are measured, as there is no other way of defining the variables. Quantifying behavior is another way of performing this research, with researchers often applying a вЂnumerical scaleвЂ™ to the type, or intensity, of behavior. These figures are arbitrary, but at least give a directional method of measuring intensity. This method is very cheap and easy, where budget is a problem, and gives an element of scale to opinion and emotion. Questionnaires are an effective way of quantifying data from a sample group, and testing emotions or preferences. For this type of research, the measurements are usually arbitrary, following the ordinal or interval type. Opinion based research methods generally involve designing an experiment and collecting quantitative data. These should attempt to fit all of the definitions of repeatability or falsifiability, although this is not always feasible. In other fields of study, which do not always have the luxury of definable and quantifiable variables - you need to use different research methods. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was a prime example of experimental research that was fixated on results, and failed to take into account moral considerations. It is also the biggest drain on time and resources, and is often impossible to perform for some fields, because of ethical considerations. It is often argued that, in some fields of research, experimental research is вЂtooвЂ™ accurate. The other problem, where real life organisms are used, is that taking something out of its natural environment can seriously affect its behavior.

This research method is one of the most difficult, requiring rigorous design and a great deal of expense, especially for larger experiments.

The results generated are analyzable and are used to test hypotheses, with statistics giving a clear and unambiguous picture.

The researcher is accepting or refuting the null hypothesis. When we talk about вЂscientific research methodsвЂ™, this is what most people immediately think of, because it passes all of the definitions of вЂtrue scienceвЂ™. Generally, the system of scientific measurements is interval or ratio based. The first method is the straightforward experiment, involving the standard practice of manipulating quantitative, independent variables to generate statistically analyzable data.

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