Into the wild: Field research can increase both replicability and real-world impact

Abstract

Field research has the potential to substantially increase both the replicability and the impact of psychological science. Field methods sometimes are characterized by features – relatively high levels of participant diversity, relative lack of control over extraneous variables, greater focus on behavioral dependent variables, less room for researcher degrees of freedom, and lower likelihood of publication bias – that can increase the veracity and robustness of published research. Moreover, field studies can help extend psychological research in valuable ways to applied domains such as health, law, education, and business. Consequently, field studies, especially those that integrate an applied perspective, can provide information directly relevant for tackling important social problems. Incorporating field data into lines of basic research can increase not just the replicability, but also the relevance and impact of one's science.