Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the experimental method as a method of enquiry.
Solution
The strengths and weaknesses of the experimental method as a method of enquiry are:
Strengths
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It provides relatively convincing evidence of a cause-effect relationship between two or more variables.
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The extraneous variables can be eliminated from the laboratory.
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It can minimise the sequence effect with the help of a counter-balancing technique.
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It eliminates any potential systematic differences between groups by giving a random assignment to groups of participants. This is done to help in framing the conclusion without any assumption.
Weaknesses
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The highly controlled laboratory situation only simulates the conditions of the outer world.
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The results of the experiments cannot be generally applied to real situations, thus field experiments are required in such situations.
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It is not always feasible to study a particular problem experimentally.
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It is difficult to know and control all the relevant variables, particularly in field experiments. Many variables cannot be manipulated in laboratory settings.
