Question: What are the pros of computer based experiments versus other types of experiments?

Hannah Slack answered on 4 Nov 2021:

Good question!
I’ve run both in-person experiments and online web-based experiments, and there are pros/cons of both!

Pros of web-based over in-person experiments:
– You can get more people to do your experiments as you can reach people from all over the world.
– You can collect more data in a smaller timeframe because multiple people can complete your experiment at once. In an in-person experiment, you can only collect data from one person at a time.
– You don’t need to spend money on hiring out a room for the experiment or spend money on travel.
– I study children and young people, in an online experiment I have no direct contact with these people so I don’t have to obtain a CRB check. This speeds up the research process.
– The data is all backed up online. In an in-person experiment, paper notes can be lost or destroyed. However, if everything is stored securely online, it is all safe – even if your laptop breaks!
– There is less chance of the researcher accidentally interfering with the experiment.

Cons:
– It is easier for people to ignore your experiment and choose not to complete it! A link to a study can easily get lost on a webpage!
– Online experiments can be completed at home. There are more distractions in the home vs in a lab, and this can have an impact on how people perform during the experiment.
– It is easier for people to exit the experiment if they become too bored and realize they’d rather be watching Netflix! That means we have to make our online experiments attention-grabbing and fun to complete!
– You have no way of knowing what the participant is actually doing, as you can’t see them. They may not be completing the experiment properly but you wouldn’t know! That is why we have to build in little checks to make sure they are paying attention, etc.

Great question!