The Case for Randomized Field Trials in Economic and Policy Research
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TLDR
The advantages and disadvantages of experiments in comparison with other research techniques are examined and the circumstances where randomized trials should be preferred over other methods are described.Abstract:
Social experiments have been used in research since the 1960s, yet the technique of controlled experimentation still arouses controversy among social scientists. The crucial element that distinguishes a controlled experiment from other forms of research is random assignment of treatment to the observational units of study. Because treatment differences in the sample occur as a result of random chance, the effects of the treatment on behavior can be measured with high reliability. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of experiments in comparison with other research techniques and describes the circumstances where randomized trials should be preferred over other methods.read more
Citations
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References
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Statistical Methods for Research Workers
TL;DR: The prime object of as discussed by the authors is to put into the hands of research workers, and especially of biologists, the means of applying statistical tests accurately to numerical data accumulated in their own laboratories or available in the literature.
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Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research
TL;DR: A survey drawn from social science research which deals with correlational, ex post facto, true experimental, and quasi-experimental designs and makes methodological recommendations is presented in this article.
Posted Content
Let's Take the Con Out of Econometrics
TL;DR: The applied econometrician is like a farmer who notices that the yield is somewhat higher under trees where birds roost, and he uses this as evidence that bird droppings increase yields.
Posted Content
Health insurance and the demand for medical care: evidence from a randomized experiment.
Willard G. Manning,Joseph P. Newhouse,Naihua Duan,Emmett B. Keeler,Arleen Leibowitz,M S Marquis +5 more
TL;DR: This work estimates how cost sharing, the portion of the bill the patient pays, affects the demand for medical services and rejects the hypothesis that less favorable coverage of outpatient services increases total expenditure.