Reference no: EM133894883

Question

Research studies can be grouped as either experimental or non-experimental, depending on how the researchers manage the variables. The research will be experimental if certain specific characteristics or factors are manipulated to test the hypotheses set (Bloomfield & Fisher, 2019). For example, one can examine the effects of a new medication on stress, whereby the independent variable would be the medication and the dependent variable would be stress. In such instances, drug dosage may be manipulated to monitor how different dosages affect stress levels in the patients. In a non-experimental research design, investigators study variables as they occur in their natural state rather than manipulate these variables. The lack of control over variables is a major characteristic of non-experimental research design. For example, when studying the association between income and education among nurses, there would be no need to manipulate any variable. Rather, one would observe and measure these variables as they occur in a sample of nurses.

A major difference between experimental and non-experimental research design lies in the types or levels of control applied to each of these research approaches. In experimental research design, the investigators often have complete or total control over the independent variables being examined, which means that the researchers can manipulate the independent variable to examine the effects of this manipulation on the dependent variable. This can test the hypotheses. On the contrary, researchers often lack control over the independent variables in non-experimental research design, focusing solely on the observations and measurements of variables that occur in the natural environment (Glasofer and Townsend, 2020).