The Growth and Development of Experimental Research in Political Science
American Political Science Review, Vol. 100, No. 4, pp. 627-635, 2006
Posted: 8 Jan 2009
Date Written: January 7, 2009
Abstract
Although political scientists have long expressed skepticism about the prospects for experimental science, an analysis of the first hundred volumes of the American Political Science Review reveals that randomized experiments have grown in impact and prominence. We document how thinking about experimentation has evolved over the century, and demonstrate the growing influence of laboratory, survey, and field experiments. A number of experiments have transformed how political scientists think about causal relationships in specific substantive areas. There are limits to the kinds of questions that experiments can address, but experiments have made important contributions in an array of political science subfields.
Keywords: Experiments, Field Experiments, Randomization, Methodology
JEL Classification: C93
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation