Question

5. why is it important that researchers have a representative sample when conducting survey research?
6. what difficulties does experimental research present for researchers?

Answer 1

5. In survey research,it becomes crucial to ensure that the sample of selected participants includes the social and economic stratifications as they may be present in the population- such as age, gender, class, race, ethnicity, et. Thus ensuring a representative sample is a sound proof method of maximising the validity of the findings as the purpose of the survey research is to use the findings from the study of the sample onto the larger population. This would not be possible if the sample represents a group which is very different from the actual nature of the population. Thus, representativeness of the sample helps to generalise the sample statistics into population parameters.

6. Although the experimental method is the most popular method in quantitative research because of its advantages of yielding scientifically valid and objective results, it has nonetheless raises many concerns. For one, many critics argue that it is based on a relatively unethical rational since even though the participants are randomly assigned to the treatment conditions, the participants of the control group or those who receive no independent variable nonetheless remain aloof from the possible benefits which they may otherwise incur if they were a part of the experimental group. Thus for instance, in experiments of learning and memory, training in mnemonic techniques in the experimental group which would provide a strategy of improving memory would remain unknown to the control group. This is a greater disadvantage in experiments on the new techniques of treatment in medicine and health and may prevent dome patients from the opportunity for a better treatment. Moreover, experimental findings are susceptible to response sets or the tendency of the participants to give socially desirable responses or behave in ways which they think is expected from them by the researcher. The artificial setting of the experiment itself may lead the Participantsto behave in ways which is far removed from their real life and the experimental method therefore is limiting because of its low ecological validity.