Let's suppose a researcher has an almost completely automated study. The participant sees the investigator when he gets to the laboratory and is given the consent form. After he is given the consent form, he is placed in a room with a computer that instructs him throughout the study. The investigator simply gets an output of the data when the participant is done. There are many reasons a person might think this is an excellent way to conduct a study. However, there are some potential problems to consider.
What do you think are the negative aspects of having an almost completely automated study? To what extent should an experiment be automated? Why?