UVU - comm 3020 - Chapter 7 - Class Notes
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Chapter 7
THE EXPERIMENTAL FRAMEWORK
Experimental Research
o Type of research most often conducted in the
laboratory or other simulated environments controlled by researchers. o This type of research is most often conducted in the laboratory or in other simulated environments that
are controlled by researchers. o The traditional definition of an experiment, one often associated with the physical sciences, would
characterize it as the manipulation of the
independent variable in a controlled laboratory
setting conducted on a randomly selected sample of
participants who are randomly assigned to control
or treatment groups. A broader definition of
experiment, and one that fits the study of
communication phenomena more appropriately, is
the recording of measurements and observations
made by defined procedures and in defined
conditions. The data collected or produced by these
procedures are then examined by appropriate
statistical tests to determine the existence of
significant differences between and relationships
among variables. o Experimental research is chosen when a researcher wants to determine causation. In other words, a
researcher has developed a hypothesis that asserts
that one variable, the independent, causes change
in a second variable, the dependent.
Experimentation allows a researcher to evaluate
hypotheses that have been developed from theories
in the literature.
o When research is identified as experimental, the
goal of the researcher is to establish or explain whatcaused a person’s behavior, feelings, or attitudes to
change. Because this is the goal, certain
characteristics must be satisfied. First, the research
design must have a temporal component, with one
element occurring before another. For something to
cause something else, the causal agent must
precede the change in behavior, feelings, or
attitudes. In this way, an experiment provides
control of one variable, or the independent variable,
to test its effect on another variable, the dependent
variable. o When the word experiment is used, most people think of laboratory experiments. The primary
defining characteristic of laboratory experiments is
that the researcher structures the environment in
which the investigation takes place and in which the
data are collected (Weaver, 2008). Conducting
research in the lab environment serves several
purposes. First, it physically isolates the research process
from the day-to-day and routine interaction of
participants. This isolation gives a researcher
greater control over what participants are and
are not exposed to. By limiting and controlling
exposure in this way, a researcher is
attempting to eliminate extraneous variables
and influences that are not central to the
investigation (Kerlinger, 1986). Second, exploring communication in the lab
allows researchers to confine and examine
theoretical relationships that would be more
difficult to do in the field. 2
o Using manipulation and random assignment,
researchers design and conduct a study, evaluate the evidence, and then develop a causal
explanation for what has occurred. Experimental
designs are deliberate, standardized, and used as
the research protocol in many disciplines. Their
strength lies in the control they provide to
researchers, which in turn helps them eliminate
rival explanations for the changes they observe and
record. The Classical Experiment o In a classical experiment, the researcher controls the treatment or the manipulation of the
independent variable by randomly assigning
participants to treatment or control groups. o A treatment, or manipulation, is one of the ways in which the researcher varies the type of stimuli or
the amount or level of stimuli presented to research
participants. This fundamental characteristic must
be satisfied to locate a research study in the
classical experimental framework. o Experiments allow researchers to test two types of hypotheses—those that predict differences and
those that predict relationships. Recall from Chapter
4 that hypotheses test differences and relationships
between and among variables, not the variables
themselves (Kerlinger, 1986). o For the first type of hypothesis—the difference hypothesis—the experiment is designed so that the
independent variable precedes the dependent
variable in temporal order. Thus, the corresponding
hypothesis predicts that the independent variable
causes changes, or effects, in the dependent
variable. For the second type of hypothesis—the
relational hypothesis—the experiment is designed 3
so that two variables, the independent and dependent, occur close together. The hypothesis
predicts that the two variables exist together in
some type of relationship where the value of the
independent variable is causing a change in the
value of the dependent variable. o The researcher also controls the order of variables in an experiment. One element, the independent
variable, cannot be considered the cause of another
element, the dependent variable, if the independent
variable occurs after the dependent variable (Selltiz,
Jahoda, Deutsch, & Cook, 1959). Simply put, the
independent variable can be considered the cause
of changes in the dependent only if the independent
precedes the dependent or if the two occur close
together. Random Assignment of Participants o In any experiment in which the researcher wants to compare two or more groups, the underlying
principle is that individuals in the groups are
equivalent before the treatment. To achieve
equivalency, participants are randomly assigned to
treatment or control groups that represent the
independent variable. o This means that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to either group. Selecting
a random sample from an appropriate population is
not the same as randomly assigning individuals to
treatment and control groups. The two procedures
together help eliminate any true differences
between individuals in the groups before the
treatment is applied. Thus, the researcher can
argue that differences that result after the
treatment is applied are caused by the independent
variable. 4
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School: Utah Valley University
Department: OTHER
Course: Communication Research Methods
Professor: Jordan Allen
Term: Spring 2019
Tags: research methods
Name: Chapter 7
Description: Notes over chapter 7
Uploaded: 02/10/2019
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