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6 - Laboratory Experiments

from Part II - The Practice of Experimentation in Sociology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2024

Davide Barrera
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy
Klarita Gërxhani
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Bernhard Kittel
Affiliation:
Universität Wien, Austria
Luis Miller
Affiliation:
Institute of Public Goods and Policies, Spanish National Research Council
Tobias Wolbring
Affiliation:
School of Business, Economics and Society at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg
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Summary

Laboratory experiments are the type of study that most people have in mind when talking about experiments. In this chapter, we first discuss the strengths of laboratory experiments, which offer the highest degree of experimental control as compared to other types of experiments. Single factors can be manipulated according to the requirements of theories under highly controlled conditions. As such, laboratory experiments are well-placed to test theories. We then introduce a sociological laboratory experiment as a leading example, which we use as a reference for a discussion of several principles of laboratory research. Furthermore, we discuss a second goal of laboratory experiments, which is the establishment of empirical regularities in situations where theory does not provide sufficient guidance for deriving behavioral expectations. The chapter concludes with a short discussion of caveats for the analysis of sociological data generated in laboratory experiments.

Type
Chapter
Information
Experimental Sociology
Outline of a Scientific Field
, pp. 69 - 80
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Laboratory Experiments
  • Davide Barrera, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy, Klarita Gërxhani, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Bernhard Kittel, Universität Wien, Austria, Luis Miller, Institute of Public Goods and Policies, Spanish National Research Council, Tobias Wolbring, School of Business, Economics and Society at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • Book: Experimental Sociology
  • Online publication: 23 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009099653.009
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  • Laboratory Experiments
  • Davide Barrera, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy, Klarita Gërxhani, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Bernhard Kittel, Universität Wien, Austria, Luis Miller, Institute of Public Goods and Policies, Spanish National Research Council, Tobias Wolbring, School of Business, Economics and Society at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • Book: Experimental Sociology
  • Online publication: 23 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009099653.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Laboratory Experiments
  • Davide Barrera, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy, Klarita Gërxhani, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Bernhard Kittel, Universität Wien, Austria, Luis Miller, Institute of Public Goods and Policies, Spanish National Research Council, Tobias Wolbring, School of Business, Economics and Society at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg
  • Book: Experimental Sociology
  • Online publication: 23 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009099653.009
Available formats
×