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"Social Science Experiments: A Hands-on Introduction is an accessible textbook for undergraduates. Its four objectives are to help readers to (1) become perceptive critics of social science claims and the evidence used to support them, (2) learn basic terminology used to describe experimental designs and the statistical analysis of experimental data, (3) design and conduct a small-scale randomized experiment in a manner that sheds light on a causal question while at the same time respecting ethical boundaries, and (4) appreciate the importance of research transparency in all phases of experimental design and analysis. Chapters draw on a wide array of social science experiments from fields such as political science, psychology, criminology, and health. The textbook assumes no prior background in statistics or programming, making it a perfect complement for a course in introductory statistics. Worked examples are written in the open-source software R. The exercises invite readers to work with publicly-available datasets from published studies. Solutions to the exercises appear at the back of the book. Further instruction in R is provided by an R Companion to this volume"--
List of contents
1. Experiments as fair tests; 2. Key terms; 3. Conducting a practice experiment (not involving human subjects); 4. A tour of social science experiments; 5. Research ethics and experiments involving human subjects; 6. Conducting your own experiment involving human subjects; 7. Doing more with data.
About the author
Donald P. Green is Burgess Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. His path-breaking research uses experiments to study topics such as voting, prejudice, mass media, and gender-based violence.
Summary
Unlike most social science textbooks on experiments, this book uses non-technical, lively examples and hands-on exercises to engage the reader. The book introduces and illustrates core principles of experimental design and analysis for audiences with no background in statistics or programming.
