Field Study

A field study refers to research that is undertaken in the real world, where the confines of a laboratory setting are abandoned in favor of a natural setting. This form of research generally prohibits the direct manipulation of the environment by the researcher. However, sometimes, independent and dependent variables already exist within the social structure under study, and inferences can then be drawn about behaviors, social attitudes, values, and beliefs. It must be noted that a field study is separate from the concept of a field experiment. Overall, field studies belong to the category of nonexperimental designs where the researcher uses what already exists in the environment. Alternatively, field experiments refer to the category of experimental designs where the researcher follows the scientific process of ...