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An experimental research paper is important, especially for PhD students who are striving for more accurate results by collecting a quantitative or numerical form of data. This article is all about describing the experimental research paper along with its types and examples.
Experimental Research Paper – A Brief Introduction:
An Experimental research paper is based on findings collected by analysing facts and figures using experiments in a control or natural environment. The experimental research designs mostly help sociology, psychology, physics, chemistry, medicine, and biology students to complete their correlational studies. By definition, the experimental research design is the one that allows researchers to manipulate and control the external environmental factors to explore the interdependence of dependent variables on the independent variables. Usually, such research designs are chosen in PhD dissertation by researchers who want to find the cause and affect relationships between identified variables.
Stated in another way, experimental research is a systematic and scientific method of research in which the researcher induces some changes in one or more variables to control and measure all visible changes in other variables. All in all, experiments allow researchers to take full control over the conditions to study a phenomenon, process, and reasons for an event. Thus, a paper citing important findings of a research conducted by choosing an experimental research design or containing information based on actual experiences instead of theory or brief will be considered an experimental research paper. Still there is an option to get PhD dissertation help in case of any difficulties.
Purpose Of Experimental Research:
The purpose of experimental methods in research is to provide a more definitive set of conclusions about the causal relationship among different identified variables or factors involved in the hypothesis of PhD dissertation. Mostly, experimental research starts from a hypothesis formulation that hints at the possible relationship between the variables and based on the finding of the research; the hypothesis is either accepted or rejected. The experiments are great tools for collecting quantitative data in the form of humidity, area, circumferences, density, volume, mass, pressure, speed, velocity, electric potential, intensity, temperature, a dose of drug treatment, and many more.
Furthermore, experimenters can record data by using five senses (taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing) and some instruments such as Vernier calliper, Spectrophotometer, Centriguation, pH meter, and many more. Thus, experiments in PhD dissertation record data by using a number of different data collection methods, so the purpose of experiments is to predict the relationship between the variables by taking into account the high-quality first-hand data.
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Characteristics Of Experimental Research Papers:
Even though there are different types of experimental research, still true experiments must contain three main characteristics:
- It must include the dependent as well as the independent variable.
- It must include pretesting and post-testing activities.
- It must include an experimental as well as a control group.
Type of Experimental Research:
The type of experimental research paper can differ based on the type of experimental research design opted for achieving the PhD dissertation research goals. Basically, the experimental research designs are of four types; namely, quasi-experimental, true experimental, correlational experiments, and single subjects.
True Experimental Research:
True experimental research is one the most accurate type of study as it depends on biostatistical analysis to prove or disprove a concept. This experimental research is called true experimental as it often contains two sets of variables, one controlled and the other manipulated, so in the end, both groups’ outcomes can be compared to find more accurate results. Furthermore, in a true experimental research paper it is necessary to mention that all members are divided randomly into different groups to avoid biasness. For example, if a PhD dissertation aims to find the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccination for animals and humans, then the research will be a true experimental type if it is done by randomly dividing animals and humans into control and treatment groups.
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Quasi-Experimental Research:
As the word quasi reflects, such experiments resemble true experiments, but they are not at all the same. The distinguishing point between the two is that in quasi-experiments, participants cannot be assigned randomly. By definition, quasi-experimental research is one that often aims to evaluate the intervention but does not include randomisation. In place of randomised traits, such experiments are designed to demonstrate the causality or relationship between the intervention and outcome.
For example, if a PhD dissertation is written to state the findings of a research conducted by using experiments in which different participants are divided into different groups (controlled and experimental groups) by taking into account different sets of distinguishing characteristics among them, then the design of the study can be considered quasi-experimental design.
Pre-Experimental Research Design:
The pre-experimental research designs take into observation one or more experimental groups in order to compare the outcomes of a certain treatment. It is the simplest form of research design that does not include the control group. All groups included in this type of experimental research are treated with a particular treatment, and results are extracted by direct observations. The simplest example of pre-experimental research design includes ‘a case study to explore the sign and symptoms of monkeypox in order to run an awareness campaign’.
Correlational, Experimental Research:
As the name suggests, the experimental research that manipulates one or two variables and monitors the effect on all others to report the possible connection and cause of relation between them is called correlational experimental research. For example, if research aims to find the relationship between the use of pesticides and the annual yield of rice fields by directly conducting the experiment, then the research design will be correlational experimental research and the paper reporting the finding of such experiments will be called a correlational experimental research paper.
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Final Thoughts:
In a nutshell, an experimental research paper must report interferences extracted after conducting first-hand experiments. Mostly, researchers who aim to find the effect of different factors on the overall process or the interdependence of different variables on each other select experimental research designs to attain the most accurate and precise data. Based on a few differences, experiments can be divided into four main types: pre-experiments, quasi- experiments, correlational experiments, and true experiments, as described in detail. It is up to the researcher’s goal, which hints at the most appropriate one.
