Experimental Validation Positions

This section assesses methods I have compared in P3 making links to appropriateness, value, ethical issues and how validity can be assured. Questionnaires are mainly done on the internet, however, in health and social care services, there are wards or provisions this will not be a suitable option for the participants. For example, in a dementia care home, the elderly may not be able to navigate their way on the internet therefore the information is not understood. Another negative of this is that service users may be visually impaired which means they can't read it for themselves; they end up using an advocate who will more likely change the client's responses.

Experimental method provides researchers with a high level of authority in the research as they can isolate specific variables which might make the research results unauthentic. They can control each variable individually to learn what the possible outcomes for variables are available for a theory. By controlling each variable individually allows cause and effect to be determined by the researcher; this allows researcher to examine the relationship a little more to gain more knowledge.

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This method is good to use because the results are reliable as they can be done by another researcher in same environments and get the same results. This helps to promote the validity of a concept for ideas and theories. This allows anyone to be able to check and verify published results, which often allows for better results to be achieved, as the exact steps produce the exact results.

Conversely, experimental research requires specific levels of variable control, it is at a high risk of experiencing human error at some point during the research. Any error can reveal information about other variables, which would abolish the validity of the experiment and research being conducted.

Isolating each variable and testing it takes a lot of time however, it has to be done. This process requires a large amount of financial and personnel resources. Those costs may never be balanced by consumer sales if the product never makes it to market. If what is being tested is a theory, it can lead to a false sense of validity that changes how others approach their own research.

It is unethical to test on animals; they can't give their own consent and that is animal cruelty. Besides, humans and animals are different, the product may work well on animal and might not work on people. There are also arguments on making inmates product testers instead of trying them on animals. In my opinion trying it on animals is wrong and so is trying it on humans. Despite the unethical things they have done in the society, they are still people with feelings and families that love them; some may actually do whatever they did because they felt used or unwanted, using them for these trials will just prove them right when in actual fact they are cared for.

Observation

In a naturalistic observation participant are in their normal environment so are more likely to react in a realistic way. Naturalistic observation is useful for acquiring research in situations where intercession would be unethical or where individuals do not want to take part. Participant observation can give the observer a discernment into the emotions and motives of the participants' actions. If the participants are unconscious of the observer, then they may show more than they would in other respects. Non participant observers are covert which means the research is more accurate however, there are ethical concerns. If Naturalistic observers are identified or suspected by participants, validity is consensus. Extraneous variables are difficult to control meaning the research may not have a high level of validity.

Secondary

Websites provide quick access to a broader information and websites can be easily updated - they are reliable to use. However, there are exceptions to the quality of the information, anyone can create websites and some websites can be edited by anyone with false information, take Wikipedia for example. Having said this, every website will not have the same information, it makes it difficult to determine the validity of the data.

Journals are a collection of articles of the same topic, these are systematically or regularly published. Some could be published monthly or yearly. There are also e-journals which can be used for research purposes. They are a good method to use as they include the latest research also, they cover the minutiae of the intended topic. Unlike websites, journals are quality checked as they do review processes before being published. They also provide references for you to do further research if you need to. The only disadvantage is they do not go deep into detail like books. They only look at the specific content and not any other related topics.

Books give a rigorous overview of the topic and it also looks at other topics that maybe relevant. The publisher does quality checks to ensure the information is correct and this poses validity and authenticity in results. Books also include references to other sources you can use if you need extra information. Disadvantages of books are that they take a long time to be published and those that are already out could be out of date. As mentioned before more researches are conducted meaning there is new information almost all the time. Considering they take a long time to be published, when the book is finished with the publication, there might be a new discovery in the topic. eBooks have the same disadvantages and advantages to regular books however, one negative they have is that it is harder to read on the screen sometimes.

Newspapers can be used as research as they contain up to date events, news and point of views. They include images to back up what is being said and there are also have witnesses or other people involved saying what they think and feel gives a lot of qualitative information. They can include facts and statistics however, some newspapers like tabloids; are written for entertainment purposes only which means the information could be fake and unreliable.