There are lots of terms for different types of research designs. Most of them are not very important for our purposes, but one key difference is the difference between experimental and observational research. Read the "Different Types of Research" section from the textbook Exploring Research (Neil Salkind) (there are many free alternatives online, such as either of the videos below) to understand what these are and what their advantages and limitations are. Then, continue on to do some exercises to review what you've learned.
Describe an example of what would be an experimental study in your field. (Note that experimental research does not require putting people into different groups; it could involve exposing the same group of people to multiple different kinds of stimuli.)
Describe an example of what would be an observational (i.e., non-experimental) study in your field.
When you have finished these activities, continue to the next section of the module: "Exploratory vs. confirmatory research".
by Stephen Politzer-Ahles. Last modified on 2021-05-02. CC-BY-4.0.