The Biggest Problem of reliabilty for

sociologists carrying out experiments is the

human participants.

Artificial nature of the

laboratory environment may

cause the human subjects to

behave in a different manner.

Producing a result that is not

as valid in examining human

behaviour.

Hawthorne effect- where subjects

react simply to being studied, and

do so in ways that produce invalid

results.

Human beings are

fundamentally different from

natural phenomena that

natural scientists study.

Unlike these objects the

subject has free will and

choice. Behaviour is not

caused by external forces

and therefore interprevists

cause and effect theories

cannot be applied.

In order to produce

valid data the

sociologist would have

to examine subjects

from a large cross-

section of the

population. This makes

it difficult to examine

study large scale

social phenomena.

Individuals are complex and

therefore it is not really possible to

match the members of the control

and experimental groups exactly.

While we can find identical samples

of chemicals, no two human beings

are exactly alike.

Most aspects of crime and

deviance do not lend

themselves to study using

laboratory experiments. The

complexity of the factors

involved means the

manipulation of single

variables in order to tell us

about the real world. The

differences for humans in real

life and the laboratory

undermine the validity of such

experiments. Leading to

sociologists favouring

observational methods of

research.

Even though those involved in

a field experiment may not

have been informed (raising

ethical issues), in many

settings word gets around. In a

controlled social environment

such as a prison, any change

to the routine is quickly noticed

and speculated about. Similarly

among members of a close-knit

community such as a local

neighbourhood. The danger is

the Hawthorne effect that once

the participants know they are

being studied they may change

their behaviour as a result,

therefore undermining validity.

Human behavior is too complex to allow

sociologists to predict precisely any

individual’s actions.

Human judgment can vary wildly

between observers, and the same

individual may rate things differently

depending upon time of day and

current mood.