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When it comes to examining how screen time affects the development of children's social skills, my focus would be on the impact of screen time on children's behavior and interaction during group work in the classroom. To conduct my study, I plan to use a combination of lab-and-field experiments. While lab experiments allow investigators to have the most control over the factors in the experiment, this research method lacks ecological validity. Alternatively, field experiments are described as a method where investigators deliberately introduce changes into a person's natural environment. (Parke et al., 2019) This method will allow me to have control over the independent variable (screen time), random assignments of the participants to groups, and some degree of ecological validity or real-life applicability. I plan to control the independent variable, screen time, in the lab and measure the dependent variable, children's contribution during group work, in the classroom.

The experiment will begin with observing the children's natural social skills during group work for a three-week period. Then, I will divide the class into two groups. The experimental group will watch a movie in the lab for two hours, while the control group will continue with their usual recess routine. This experiment will run for four weeks, and I'll keep track of each group's contributions to their group work.

I'll ensure that the experiment is conducted ethically by keeping the children free from harm, informing all participants and parents, obtaining their consent, and sharing the results with them.