Experimental Thinking: A Primer on Social Science Experiments by James N. Druckman
[email protected] Department of Political Science Northwestern University Scott Hall 601 University Place Evanston, IL 60208 Phone: 847-491-7450 1 To Marj and Dan Druckman 2 Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Why a Primer on Social Science Experiments? Chapter 2: The Scientific Process and How to Think about Experiments Chapter 3: Evaluating Experiments: Realism, Validity, and Samples Chapter 4: Innovations in Experimental Designs: Opportunities and Limitations Chapter 5: What to Do Before, During, and After an Experiment Chapter 6: Designing “Good” Experiments References 3 List of Figures Figure 1-1: American Political Science Review Experimental Articles By Decade Figure 4-1: Audit Study Logic Figure 4-2: Pager’s Results Figure 4-3: Washing Machined Profile 1 Figure 4-4: Washing Machined Profile 2 Figure 4-5: Immigrant Profile Figure 4-6: Immigrant Conjoint Results 4 List of Tables Table 2-1: Measurement Validity Concepts Table 2-2: Assumptions Underlying Solutions to the Fundamental Problem of Causal Inference Table 2-3: Experimental Approaches Table 3-1: Types of Validity Table 3-2: Generalization Questions Table 4-1: Using Experiments to Study Policy Table 5-1: ASK: Examples of How to Ask Research Questions Table 5-2: Freese and Peterson’s (2017) Forms of “Replication” 5 Preface Experiments are a central methodology in the social sciences. Scholars from every discipline regularly turn to experiments. Practitioners rely on experimental evidence in evaluating social programs, policies, institutions, and information provision. The last decade has seen a fundamental shift in experimental social science thanks not only to their emergence as a primary methodology in many disciplines, but also to technological advances and evolving sociological norms (e.g., open science).