ABSTRACT
The notion of experiment is so ingrained in thinking and writing about science that many view the two as synonymous. Even those who do not go so far consider the experimental method as “the cornerstone of scientific research” (Ingersoll, 1982; p. 625); “the scientific method par excellence” (Kish, 1975,p. 268). This is not to say that the value of experiment is acknowledged by all. In fact, experimental research in sociobehavioral sciences has come under severe attack in recent years. Foremost among diverse reasons for objections to, or rejection of, experimental research in sociobehavioral sciences are ethical concerns about manipulation, deception, concealment, and the like resorted to in the course of experimentation with humans. Another major reason, mentioned particularly in connection with laboratory experiments, is that, being conducted in artificial and exceedingly controlled settings, “findings” from such studies have no bearing on “real life” situations. This, it will be recalled, is the issue of external validity that occupied us in Chapter 10and to some aspects of which we return below.
