Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences

While there are many books available on statistical analysis of data from experiments, there is significantly less available on the design, development, and actual conduct of the experiments. Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences summarizes how to design and conduct scientifically sound experiments, be they from surveys, interviews, observations, or experimental methods. The book encompasses how to collect reliable data, the appropriate uses of different methods, and how to avoid or resolve common problems in experimental research. Case study examples illustrate how multiple methods can be used to answer the same research questions and what kinds of outcome would result from each methodology. Sound data begins with effective data collection. This book will assist students and professionals alike in sociology, marketing, political science, anthropology, economics, and psychology. Provides a comprehensive summary of issues in social science experimentation, from ethics to design, management, and financing Offers "how-to" explanations of the problems and challenges faced by everyone involved in social science experiments Pays attention to both practical problems and to theoretical and philosophical arguments Defines commonalities and distinctions within and among experimental situations across the social sciences

Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences is the only book providing core information for researchers about the ways and means to conduct experiments. Its comprehensive regard for laboratory experiments encompasses “how-to explanations, investigations of philosophies and ethics, explorations of experiments in specific social science disciplines, and summaries of both the history and future of social science laboratories. No other book offers such a direct avenue to enlarging our knowledge in the social sciences. This collection of original chapters combines instructions and advice about the design of laboratory experiments in the social sciences with the array of other issues. While there are books on experimental design and chapters in more general methods books on design, theory, and ethical issues, no other book attempts to discuss the fundamental ideas of the philosophy of science or lays out the methods comprehensively or in such detail. Experimentation has recently prospered because of increasing interest in cross-disciplinary syntheses, and this book of advice, guidelines, and observations underline its potential and increasing importance. · Provides a comprehensive summary of issues in social science experimentation, from ethics to design, management, and financing · Offers "how-to" explanations of the problems and challenges faced by everyone involved in social science experiments · Pays attention to both practical problems and to theoretical and philosophical arguments · Defines commonalities and distinctions within and among experimental situations across the social sciences

While there are many books available on statistical analysis of data from experiments, there is significantly less available on the design, development, and actual conduct of the experiments. Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences summarizes how to design and conduct scientifically sound experiments, be they from surveys, interviews, observations, or experimental methods. The book encompasses how to collect reliable data, the appropriate uses of different methods, and how to avoid or resolve common problems in experimental research. Case study examples illustrate how multiple methods can be used to answer the same research questions and what kinds of outcome would result from each methodology. Sound data begins with effective data collection. This book will assist students and professionals alike in sociology, marketing, political science, anthropology, economics, and psychology. Provides a comprehensive summary of issues in social science experimentation, from ethics to design, management, and financing Offers "how-to" explanations of the problems and challenges faced by everyone involved in social science experiments Pays attention to both practical problems and to theoretical and philosophical arguments Defines commonalities and distinctions within and among experimental situations across the social sciences

What is Online Research? is a straightforward, accessible introduction to social research online. The book covers the key issues and concerns, with sections on design,ethics and good practice.It will be key reading for social scientists of all levels.

Biophysical Measurement in Experimental Social Science Research: Theory and Practice demonstrates the use of biophysical measurement in laboratory-based experimental social science research and the ways biophysical measures can inform analyses of human behavior. Noting the practical limitations of laboratory-based biophysical measurement, its contributors provide hands-on guidance about biophysical measurement devices. Its Introductory and concluding chapters address ethics, measurement options, and historical and scientific contexts. Highlighting examples of device adoption in experimental social science lab settings, this book makes these tools understandable and accessible to all. Demonstrates the strengths and limitations of tools in both research objectives and practicality Provides hands-on guidance for device usage and data implementation, integration and assessment Compares and contrasts the uses of biophysical data in research objectives and disciplines

Experiments have consistently been used in the hard sciences, but in recent decades social scientists have adopted the practice. Randomized trials have been used to design policies to increase educational attainment, lower crime rates, elevate employment rates, and improve living standards among the poor. This book tells the stories of radical researchers who have used experiments to overturn conventional wisdom. From finding the cure for scurvy to discovering what policies really improve literacy rates, Leigh shows how randomistas have shaped life as we know it. Written in a “Gladwell-esque” style, this book provides a fascinating account of key randomized control trial studies from across the globe and the challenges that randomistas have faced in getting their studies accepted and their findings implemented. In telling these stories, Leigh draws out key lessons learned and shows the most effective way to conduct these trials.

Any experimental field consists of preparing special conditions for examining interesting objects for research. So naturally, the particular ways in which scientists prepare their objects determine the kind and the content of knowledge produced. This book provides a framework for the analysis of experimental practices - the Social Epistemology of Experiment - that incorporates both the ‘material’ and the ‘social’ dimensions of knowledge production. The Social Epistemology of Experiment is applied to experimental economics and in so doing, it introduces the epistemic role of the participation of human subjects in experiments and the causal efficacy of institutions in constraining and enabling human behaviour. It also develops the role of the social and socially established practices in overcoming the methodological difficulties associated with experimenting with humans subjects in the social sciences as well as the effect of scientists’ interventions in the laboratory worlds. This book provides an historical and contextualized account of the emergence of experimental economics, the methodological discussions that have informed and constituted it, its main research programmes, and stylized facts. The analysis of its three main research programmes – market experiments, game theory experiments and individual decision-making experiments – shows how economics experiments are particularly tailored to produce knowledge about market institutions and individual behaviour in contexts where there might be conflicts of individual and social goals, and also about the processes of individual decision-making.

Population-based survey experiments have become an invaluable tool for social scientists struggling to generalize laboratory-based results, and for survey researchers besieged by uncertainties about causality. Thanks to technological advances in recent years, experiments can now be administered to random samples of the population to which a theory applies. Yet until now, there was no self-contained resource for social scientists seeking a concise and accessible overview of this methodology, its strengths and weaknesses, and the unique challenges it poses for implementation and analysis. Drawing on examples from across the social sciences, this book covers everything you need to know to plan, implement, and analyze the results of population-based survey experiments. But it is more than just a "how to" manual. This lively book challenges conventional wisdom about internal and external validity, showing why strong causal claims need not come at the expense of external validity, and how it is now possible to execute experiments remotely using large-scale population samples. Designed for social scientists across the disciplines, Population-Based Survey Experiments provides the first complete introduction to this methodology. Offers the most comprehensive treatment of the subject Features a wealth of examples and practical advice Reexamines issues of internal and external validity Can be used in conjunction with downloadable data from ExperimentCentral.org for design and analysis exercises in the classroom

This book consists of eight comparative studies drawn from history, archeology, economics, economic history, geography, and political science. The studies cover a spectrum of approaches, ranging from a non-quantitative narrative style in the early chapters to quantitative statistical analyses in the later chapters. The studies range from a simple two-way comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, to comparisons of 81 Pacific islands and 233 areas of India. The societies discussed are contemporary ones, literate societies of recent centuries, and non-literate past societies. Geographically, they include the United States, Mexico, Brazil, western Europe, tropical Africa, India, Siberia, Australia, New Zealand, andother Pacific islands.

Laboratory animals are becoming increasingly important for biomedical research. It is said that approximately 70% of biomedical research is associated with the use of experimental animals. Laboratory animal research not only expands our knowledge of science, but also greatly improves human and animal health. The field of laboratory animal science is ever-growing and changing as new experimental techniques are developed and new animal models are created. It is essential to know not only the biological features of each laboratory animal but also how to use and care for them responsibly in order to perform high-quality experiments. Courses in beginning Laboratory Animal Science are starting to be offered in many universities throughout the world. However, a practical introductory textbook that contains state-of-the-art techniques is still lacking. Fundamentals of Laboratory Animal Science provides comprehensive information on the principles and practices of using laboratory animals for biomedical research. Each individual chapter focuses on a key sub-discipline of laboratory animal science: animal welfare and best humane care practices in the laboratory; the quality control of laboratory animals; the anatomy, physiology, and husbandry of commonly used species; the principles of creating and using animal models for studying human diseases; practical techniques used for laboratory animal experiments; experimental design; and animal experimentation management. Knowledge of this broad spectrum of concepts and skills will ensure research goes smoothly while greatly reducing animal pain and distress. Well-illustrated and thoroughly referenced, this book will serve not only as a standard textbook but also as a handy guide for veterinarians, researchers, animal care staff, administrators, and other professionals who are involved in laboratory animal science.

Experimental design is important enough to merit a book on its own, without statistics, that instead links methodology to a discussion of how psychologists can advance and reject theories about human behaviour. The objective of this book is to fulfil this role. The first four chapters lay the foundations of design in experimental psychology. The first chapter justifies the prominent role given to methodology within the discipline, whilst chapters two and three describe between-subject and within-subject designs. Chapter four compares and contrasts the traditional experimental approach with that of the quasi-experimental, or correlational approach, concluding that the consequences of not recognizing the value of the latter approach can be far-reaching. The following three chapters discuss practical issues involved in running experiments. The first of these offers a comprehensive guide to the student researcher who wants to construct a good questionnaire, including a discussion of reliability and validity issues. The next chapter considers the basic tools of psychological research, whilst both discussing the theoretical problem of how a sample from a population is chosen and offering useful hints on the practical issue of finding adequate populations from which to select participants. The next chapter considers ethical practice within psychological research, written in large part so that psychology students will be better able to anticipate ethical problems in their studies before they occur. The final two chapters consider reporting and reading psychological papers. Chapter eight details what should and should not be included in a laboratory report. The contributors use their collective experience of marking numerous lab reports to highlight common errors and provide solutions. Finally, chapter nine describes the various elements of a journal article, including tips on how to get the best out of your journal reading.

A popular book in its first edition, The Food Chemistry Laboratory: A Manual for Experimental Foods, Dietetics, and Food Scientists, Second Edition continues to provide students with practical knowledge of the fundamentals of designing, executing, and reporting the results of a research project. Presenting experiments that can be completed, in many

Thought experiments are performed in the laboratory of the mind. Beyond this metaphor it is difficult to say just what these remarkable devices for investigating nature are or how they work. Though most scientists and philosophers would admit their great importance, there has been very little serious study of them. This volume is the first book-length investigation of thought experiments. Starting with Galileo's argument on falling bodies, Brown describes numerous examples of the most influential thought experiments from the history of science. Following this introduction to the subject, some substantial and provocative claims are made, the principle being that some thought experiments should be understood in the same way that platonists understand mathematical activity: as an intellectual grasp of an independently existing abstract realm. With its clarity of style and structure, The Laboratory of the Mind will find readers among all philosophers of science as well as scientists who have puzzled over how thought experiments work.

For the most current, comprehensive resource in this rapidly evolving field, look no further than the Revised Edition of the Handbook of Science and Technology Studies. This masterful volume is the first resource in more than 15 years to define, summarize, and synthesize this complex multidisciplinary, international field. Tightly edited with contributions by an internationally recognized team of leading scholars, this volume addresses the crucial contemporary issues—both traditional and nonconventional—social studies, political studies, and humanistic studies in this changing field. Containing theoretical essays, extensive literature reviews, and detailed case studies, this remarkable volume clearly sets the standard for the field. It does nothing less than establish itself as the benchmark, one that will carry the field well into the next century.

The idea that reading literature changes the reader seems as old as literature itself. Through the ages philosophers, writers, and literary scholars have suggested it affects norms, empathic ability, self-concept, beliefs, etc. This book examines what we actually know about these effects. And it finds strong evidence for the old claims. However, it remains unclear what aspects of the reading experience are responsible for these effects. Applying methods of the social sciences to this particular problem of literary theory, this book presents a psychological explanation based upon the conception of literature as a moral laboratory. A series of experiments examines whether imagining oneself in the shoes of characters affects beliefs about what it must be like to be someone else, and whether it affects beliefs about consequences of behavior. The results have implications for the role literature could play in society, for instance, in an alternative for traditional moral education.

The development and introduction of a new technology to society can be viewed as an experimental process, full of uncertainties, which are only gradually reduced as the technology is employed. Unexpected developments may trigger an experimental process in which society must find new ways to deal with the uncertainties posed. This book explores how the experimental perspective determines what ethical issues new technologies raise and how it helps morally evaluate their introduction. Expert contributors highlight the uncertainties that accompany the process, identify the social and ethical challenges they give rise to, and propose strategies to manage them. Focusing on the introduction of new technologies and experimentation as ways to perceive new developments and changing contexts, a key theme of the book is how to approach the moral issues raised by new technology and understand the role of experimentation in exploring these matters.

This textbook provides the knowledge and skills needed for thorough understanding of the most important methods and ways of thinking in experimental physics. The reader learns to design, assemble, and debug apparatus, to use it to take meaningful data, and to think carefully about the story told by the data. Key Features: Efficiently helps students grow into independent experimentalists through a combination of structured yet thought-provoking and challenging exercises, student-designed experiments, and guided but open-ended exploration. Provides solid coverage of fundamental background information, explained clearly for undergraduates, such as ground loops, optical alignment techniques, scientific communication, and data acquisition using LabVIEW, Python, or Arduino. Features carefully designed lab experiences to teach fundamentals, including analog electronics and low noise measurements, digital electronics, microcontrollers, FPGAs, computer interfacing, optics, vacuum techniques, and particle detection methods. Offers a broad range of advanced experiments for each major area of physics, from condensed matter to particle physics. Also provides clear guidance for student development of projects not included here. Provides a detailed Instructor’s Manual for every lab, so that the instructor can confidently teach labs outside their own research area.

Allowing many chemical reactions to be completed within minutes, microwave heating has revolutionized preparative chemistry. As a result, this technology has been widely adopted in both academic and industrial laboratories. Integrating microwave-assisted chemistry into undergraduate laboratory courses enables students to perform a broader range of reactions in the allotted lab period. As a result, they can be introduced to chemistry that would otherwise have been inaccessible due to time constraints (for example, the need for an overnight reflux). Laboratory Experiments Using Microwave Heating provides 22 experiments encompassing organic, inorganic, and analytical chemistry performed using microwave heating as a tool, making them fast and easy to accomplish in a laboratory period. Utilizing the time-saving experiments described in this book also permits students to repeat experiments if necessary or attempt additional self-designed experiments during the lab course. A number of the chemical transformations use water as a solvent in lieu of classical organic solvents. This contributes to greener, more sustainable teaching strategies for faculty and students, while maintaining high reaction yields. All the experiments have been tested and verified in laboratory classes, and many were even developed by students. Each chapter includes an introduction to the experiment and two protocols—one for use with a smaller monomode microwave unit employing a single reaction vessel and one for use with a larger multimode microwave unit employing a carousel of reaction vessels.

Deeply researched, World as Laboratory tells a secret history that's not really a secret. The fruits of human engineering are all around us: advertising, polls, focus groups, the ubiquitous habit of "spin" practiced by marketers and politicians. What Rebecca Lemov cleverly traces for the first time is how the absurd, the practical, and the dangerous experiments of the human engineers of the first half of the twentieth century left their laboratories to become our day-to-day reality.

Presenting a mathematical basis for obtaining valid data, and basic concepts inmeasurement and instrumentation, this authoritative text is ideal for a one-semesterconcurrent or independent lecture/laboratory course.Strengthening students' grasp of the fundamentals with the most thorough, in-depthtreatment available, Measurement and Instrumentation in Engineeringdiscusses in detail basic methods of measurement, interaction between a transducer andits environment, arrangement of components in a system, and system dynamics ...describes current engineering practice and applications in terms of principles andphysical laws .. . enables students to identify and document the sources of noise andloading . .. furnishes basic laboratory experiments in sufficient detail to minimizeinstructional time ... and features more than 850 display equations, over 625 figures,and end-of-chapter problems.This impressive text, written by masters in the field, is the outstanding choice forupper-level undergraduate and beginning graduate-level courses in engineeringmeasurement and instrumentation in universities and four-year technical institutes formost departments.