An experiment is a systematic scientific method used in behavioural sciences to study the relationship between variables and to determine whether changes in one variable produce changes in another. Experiments are widely used in psychology, sociology, education, organisational behaviour and other behavioural sciences because they provide a controlled way of studying human behaviour. The experimental process involves a series of carefully planned steps to ensure that the findings are objective, reliable and valid. The first step is identification and formulation of the research problem. The researcher begins by identifying a specific behavioural issue or question that needs to be investigated. The problem should be clear, precise, researchable and relevant to the field. For example, a researcher may be interested in examining whether sleep deprivation affects memory performance among college students. A clearly formulated problem helps determine the direction of the entire experiment. The second step is reviewing the existing literature. The researcher studies previous theories, research findings, books, journals and other relevant sources related to the problem. This helps the researcher understand what is already known, identify gaps in existing knowledge and avoid unnecessary duplication. Literature review also helps in selecting appropriate concepts, variables, methods and instruments for the experiment. The third step is formulation of objectives and hypotheses. Objectives specify what the researcher intends to discover through the experiment. A hypothesis is a tentative and testable statement about the expected relationship between variables. For example, a researcher may hypothesise that students who receive adequate sleep will perform better on memory tests than students who receive insufficient sleep. The hypothesis provides a basis for collecting and analysing data. The fourth step is identification of variables. Variables are characteristics or conditions that can take different values. In an experiment, the independent variable is the factor that the researcher deliberately manipulates. The dependent variable is the behaviour or outcome that is measured. Extraneous variables are other factors that may influence the dependent variable. For example, if the effect of study time on examination performance is being studied, study time is the independent variable and examination performance is the dependent variable. Factors such as intelligence, previous knowledge and motivation may act as extraneous variables. The fifth step is operational definition of variables. Abstract behavioural concepts must be translated into measurable terms. An operational definition explains exactly how a variable will be manipulated or measured. For instance, instead of simply referring to “stress,” the researcher may define stress in terms of scores on a standardised stress scale or physiological indicators. Operational definitions make the experiment more objective and allow other researchers to replicate it. The sixth step is