When I get the questionnaires that I want back I will separate them into three categories; Christians (regular church goers), Muslims (attending a mosque regularly), and non believers. I will disregard any other questionnaires, at the end of this experiment however I will still send the disregarded participants a letter debriefing them and they will still receive their five pounds for taking part.
My sample size will be ten participants in each category, so thirty all together. Others will be disregarded and five pounds will also be sent to the individuals at the end of the experiment.
I then send two CV’s out to the three chosen categories. Both CV’s have the same grades, the same age on them, the same sex and different school names on them, but the schools being of the same standard to each other. Names might be changed, however the two CV’s are the equivalent to each other. However on one CV the religion will be Christian on the other CV the religion will be Islam.
There will be a letter sent out with this simply explaining the task. Asking to read the CV’s very carefully and whether if you were looking to hire someone who you would choose.
For the chosen participants in the experiment to receive their money they have to send back only their preferred chosen applicant if they were to hire for a job.
When I have completed the experiment, a letter of thanks will be sent to all participants, another debriefing letter and their money. All participants will receive this even if deemed unsuitable for the experiment.
The experiment should show whether religious participants favour someone of their own religion for the job or if they decide to pick the other applicant of a different religion.
It will also show whether non believers favour someone with a certain religion or whether their results are mixed.
The independent variable in this experiment is the religions and other controlled parts of the experiment
The dependent variable in this experiment is the decision the participants makes; the result of the independent variable.
This experiment should show whether social identity theory affects religion. This should also show whether inter-group discrimination affects religion.
The benefits of this experiment are that the participants can participate at home and not spend any money for travel.
Another benefit for the participants is they get paid even if deemed unsuitable and still get the full debrief of the experiment.
A further benefit is that this experiment is cost efficient.
Another benefit is that as the participants do not meet the person applying for a job they cannot judge on personality.
The main disadvantage with this experiment is that it isn’t guaranteed everyone will remember to reply. Even if people intend to reply they might just forget.
Another disadvantage is that when people usually try to get a job, there are interviews as well as a CV; this makes it difficult for the participant to choose. This is also one of my benefits however I have written earlier.
Another disadvantage is it doesn’t cover other religions, so if my results verify social identity theory and inter-group discrimination theory. It might be different with other religions such as Judaism or Hinduism.
