Experimental methods are research designs in which the researcher explicitly and intentionally induces exogenous variation in the intervention assignment to facilitate causal inference. Experimental methods typically include directly randomized variation of programs or interventions.
Experimental Methods
A list experiment is a questionnaire design technique used to mitigate respondent social desirability bias when eliciting information about sensitive topics.
A theory of change is a detailed description of the mechanisms through which a change is expected to occur in a particular situation. A theory of change identifies the goals, preconditions, requirements, assumptions, interventions, and indicators of a program, providing important insight into and guidance on intervention and impact evaluation design.
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a method of impact evaluation in which all eligible units in a sample are randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment group receives or participates in the program being tested, while the control group does not. Given a sufficiently large number of units, an RCT ensures that the control and treatment groups are equal in both observed and unobserved characteristics, thus ruling out selection bias.
Endorsement experiments are a way to measure sensitive topics, avoiding social desirability bias.
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This article is part of the topic Experimental Methods