Experimental Design
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22369656 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Roger E Kirk (Baylor University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Pages | 1-4 |
| Publication date | 2015-10-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | OTHER |
| Venue | The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781405165518.wbeose087.pub2 |
| OpenAlex | W4254142282 |
| ISBN | 9781405165518 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
Sir Ronald A. Fisher, the father of modern experimental design, observed that experiments are “only experience carefully planned in advance, and designed to form a secure basis of new knowledge” (1935: 8). Experiments involve the manipulation of one or more independent variables followed by the systematic observation of the effects of the manipulation on one or more dependent variables. The emphasis on experimentation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as a way of establishing causal relationships marked the emergence of modern science from its roots in natural philosophy (Hacking, 1983). According to the nineteenth‐century philosopher John Stuart Mill, a causal relationship exists if (1) the cause preceded the effect, (2) the cause was related to the effect, and (3) no other plausible alternative explanation can be found for the effect. Carefully designed and executed experiments continue to be one of science's most powerful methods for establishing causal relationships. An experimental design is a plan for assigning experimental units to treatment levels and the statistical analysis associated with the plan (Kirk, 2013). The design of an experiment involves five interrelated activities
Causal analysis · Causal inference · Epistemology · Hacker · Mill · Statistics · Thought experiment · Computer Science · History · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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