field experiment

Definition of Field Experiment

(noun) An experiment conducted in people’s natural environment.

Example of Field Experiment

• Breaking a minor norm to observe reactions such as facing the back wall of an elevator instead of the door around others.

Field Experiment Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: field ex·per·i·ment

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /fild ɪkˈspɛrəmənt/
• British English – /fiːld ɪksˈpɛrɪmənt/

Usage Notes

• Plural: field experiments
• In this instance, “field” refers to the natural settings of people instead of research conducting in a laboratory or library.
• Field experiments try to negate the Hawthorne effect.
• Field notes are collected during field experiments.

Related Quotations

• “[A field experiment] enables researchers to observe various forms of social behavior under conditions in which they normally occur. In a laboratory study, subjects know they are being observed and thus may display the behavior they believe is desirable” (Kendall 2006:27).
• “Ethnographers seek out the insider’s viewpoint. Because culture is the knowledge people use to generate behavior and interpret experience, the ethnographer seeks to understand group members’ behavior from the inside, or cultural, perspective. Instead of looking for a subject to observe, ethnographers look for an informant to teach them the culture” (Spradley and McCurdy 2008:4).

Related Video

Additional Information

• Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “field” and “experiment” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Emerson, Robert M., Rachel I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw. 2011. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Rossman, Gretchen B., and Sharon F. Rallis. 2012. Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Sunstein, Bonnie S., and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater. 2012. Fieldworking: Reading and Writing Research. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press.
• Conducting Field Research: writing.colostate.edu
• Institute for Field Research: ifrglobal.org

Related Terms

• anthropology
• data
• ethnography
• field note
• field research
• observation
• participant observation
• qualitative research

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References

Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Spradley, James P., and David W. McCurdy. 2008. Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. 13th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Works Consulted

Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Cite the Definition of Field Experiment

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “field experiment.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/field-experiment/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

field experiment. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/field-experiment/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “field experiment.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/field-experiment/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“field experiment.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/field-experiment/>.