Lab Experiments Are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences
More experiments or less?….that is the question
Click Here To Read: Lab Experiments Are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences
Abstract (Via Armin Falk & James Heckman @ Iza.org)
Laboratory experiments are a widely used methodology for advancing causal knowledge in the physical and life sciences. With the exception of psychology, the adoption of laboratory experiments has been much slower in the social sciences, although during the last two decades, the use of lab experiments has accelerated. Nonetheless, there remains considerable resistance among social scientists who argue that lab experiments lack “realism” and “generalizability”. In this article we discuss the advantages and limitations of laboratory social science experiments by comparing them to research based on nonexperimental data and to field experiments. We argue that many recent objections against lab experiments are misguided and that even more lab experiments should be conducted.
Excerpt (Via Armin Falk & James Heckman @ Iza.org)
Many social scientists are still reluctant to rely on laboratory evidence. Common objections are that student subject pools are unrepresentative and that sample sizes are small. There is also a widespread view that the lab produces “unrealistic” data, which lacks relevance for understanding the “real world”. This notion is based on an implicit hierarchy in terms of generating relevant data, with field data being superior to lab data. We argue that this view, despite its intuitive appeal, is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of evidence in science and of the kind of data collected in the lab. We also argue that many of the objections against evidence from the lab suggest the wisdom of conducting more lab experiments, not fewer. While most of our examples and topics are taken from economics, the methodological points we discuss can be applied to all social sciences.
Click Here To Read: Lab Experiments Are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences
