Field experiments is experiments carried outside the laboratory in natural settings. sociologists prefer to use this to laboratory experiments because:
1. Laboratories are unnatural settings and people may behave normally.
2. It is impractical to conduct laboratory experiments on large numbers of people over long periods.
Experiments, however, allow researchers to study range of topics where they need to observed their subjects and get deep understanding from the results. In the same time, they also may create new theories and hypotheses oe tests them wheteher they are accurate or not, provided with the information the researchers get from the experiments that they carried out.
Field experiments, however, has its own drawbacks too:
1. It is too difficult to control variables.
2. If those being studied are aware of the experiments, this may alter their behaviour causing the Hawthorne effect. However, if subjects are unaware that they are being studied, this will raise ethical issues.
During the video session conducted every Saturday, sociology students will have the chance to watch video that is related to their topics studied. For this topic especially to have more in-depth view how researchers carry out their study, we watch several episodes on the television series, the Mythbusters.
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