Research Methodologies

Experimental and naturalistic observation methodologies will be used to answer research questions in this paper. Both designs will be explained differently to establish how each of them defines the connection between video games and aggression in children.
Experimental Method
The research method makes use of the measurements that are collected after an experiment. In this case, three groups, with five children each are placed in a room. The first team plays violent games, the second one plays non-violent ones, and the third group does not play at all. The games can go for one hour, or it can even take several days depending on the kind of results that the researcher requires. After the games end, the researcher then measures the children’s level of aggression and records it. In many cases, those that elicit more aggressive behaviours than others are the ones that played the violent games whereas the children that did not take part in these games exhibit less aggression (Hollingdale and Greitemeyer, 2014). Thus, the researcher concludes that violent games contribute to the aggressive nature of young adults.
Naturalistic Observation
Researchers have found out that best results accrue from this method of research and the study question can be answered adequately by observing children in their natural environments. Therefore, a researcher has to find out the times when children indulge in video games without having to inform them of the research. Parties are the right place to witness these kinds of behaviours and therefore attending one would be necessary to observe children as they play.

To get the specific results, the parties to visit are the Local Area Network (LAN) parties since the children will automatically carry their laptops and other electronic devices to access the internet. While observing the traits of these subjects, it is vital for the kids not to know that they are being watched as this may make them change how they are behaving. After the investigation, researchers are expected to conclude that most of these young people are more likely to play violent video games, and their subsequent behaviours after playing these games are aggressive. A conclusion will then be arrived at the end of the research, and the reactions elicited afterwards are related to the video games played. One advantage of the method is that it is easier to study many people over a short period (Hollingdale and Greitemeyer, 2014).
Strengths and Weaknesses of the two research methodologies
Strengths
One advantage of experiments is that they are measurable and thus easy to explain the relationship between the two variables, which in this case are the video games, and aggressive behaviours. The strength of naturalistic observation is that studying subjects in their environments leads to accurate results because they behave usually. Therefore, researchers are able to collect valid results in such a situation (Aresi et al., 2017).
Weaknesses
One weakness that is associated with the experimental research is that subjects are aware that a study is being conducted on them, which makes them alter their usual behaviours when playing video games (Hollingdale and Greitemeyer, 2014). This situation then affects the entire research due to the biases; it also affects measurements as well. On the other hand, the disadvantage of naturalistic observation arises when children know that they are being watched and the chance is; they will not behave as expected by the researchers. In many cases, scientists have often opted not to inform the individuals, but this has led to ethical concerns of people complaining that they are being watched without their consent (Aresi et al., 2017).
Reliability and Validity
Reliability is the ability of the measurement tool to record the same results consistently whereas validity requires the research method to measure what it is supposed to measure. In the experimental approach, internal validity gives the necessary steps to be followed when experimenting and whether the data collected complies with the rules of scientific method. Thus, reliability is attained upon following the instructions (Aresi et al., 2017). External validity is also applied but on rare occasions, and that is when looking for any potential causal relationships. For naturalistic observation, the researcher is supposed to conclude by actively watching the subjects under study and thus validity is attained. When observers are watching how people behave, they record the data reliably. This means that when another similar research is conducted, the same results must be achieved (Nind, Kilburn, & Luff, 2015).
Causality
Only one of the two research methods can efficiently discuss the causality between video games and aggression. Causality is a belief that explains the cause and effect of a phenomenon (Nind, Kilburn & Luff, 2015). Internal validity in experiments requires the scientists to follow the principle of causality and in this case, explain the cause of aggressive behaviours and the effects they have on the children. The naturalistic design, however, cannot be appropriate when establishing causality in the impact of video games on children’s aggressive behaviours. The reason is that observation has no variables and the researcher is not always involved in the results. Furthermore, the data collected cannot be measured like in the case of an experiment. Therefore, the experiment design is the only one that would allow a researcher to make conclusions about causality. In this case, it would help establish how violent video games result in aggressive behaviours among young adults (Aresi et al., 2017)References
Aresi, G., Henderson, D. X., Hall-Campbell, N. F., & Ogley-oliver, E. F. (2017). Practicing Community Psychology through Mixed Methods Participatory Research Designs. World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 73(7), 473-490.
Hollingdale, J., Greitemeyer, T. (2014). The Effect of Online Violent Video Games on Levels of Aggression.
Nind, M., Kilburn, D., & Luff, R. (2015, September). The teaching and learning of social research methods: developments in pedagogical knowledge. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. Pp. 455-461.