What is Experimental Research

Experimental Research:

Experimental research is guided by a hypotheses (or several hypothesis) that states an expected relationship between two or more variables. An experiment is conducted to support or disconfirm this experimental hypothesis. For instance, much of this author's research has been involved with the physiological effects of step training with and without handweights. With this type of experimental research, I have randomly selected the group of subjects, decided the exercise program (step training with handweights, step training without handweights, and a control group which remained physically active but did no step training), tried to control all relevant factors (e.g. no other aerobic programs, no change in diet, no additional resistance training, etc.), and then measured the effect of the step training with and without handweights on a number of variables (such as cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, body composition, blood lipids and lipoproteins, etc.). Experimental research, although very demanding of time and resources, often produces the soundest evidence concerning hypothesized cause-effect relationships (Gay, 1987).