Lab Experiments Are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences Export

@article{citeulike:5996736, abstract = {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 past 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. 10.1126/science.1168244}, author = {Falk, Armin and Heckman, James J.}, citeulike-article-id = {5996736}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1168244}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/content/326/5952/535.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/content/326/5952/535.full.pdf}, day = {23}, doi = {10.1126/science.1168244}, journal = {Science}, keywords = {causality, economics, epistemology, experiment, methodology, philosophy, philsci, review, social}, month = {October}, number = {5952}, pages = {535--538}, posted-at = {2009-11-01 16:47:46}, priority = {0}, title = {Lab Experiments Are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1168244}, volume = {326}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:5996736 L3 - citeulike-article-id:5996736 N2 - 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 past 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. 10.1126/science.1168244 IS - 5952 JF - Science EP - 538 TI - Lab Experiments Are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences VL - 326 SP - 535 KW - causality KW - economics KW - epistemology KW - experiment KW - methodology KW - philosophy KW - philsci KW - review KW - social AU - Falk, Armin AU - Heckman, James PY - 2009/10/23/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1168244 ER -