Experimental Political Science (407-0-1)

Instructors

Mary McGrath

Meeting Info

Scott Hall 201 Ripton Room: Mon 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Experiments are a central methodology in political science. Scholars from every subfield regularly turn to experiments. Practitioners rely on experimental evidence in evaluating social programs, policies, institutions, and information provision. The design, implementation, and analysis of experiments raise a variety of distinct epistemological and methodological challenges. This is particularly true in political science due to the breadth of the discipline, the varying contexts in which experiments are implemented (e.g., laboratory, survey, field), and the distinct methods employed (e.g., psychological or economic approaches to experimentation). This class will review the challenges to experimentation, discuss how to implement experiments, and survey prominent applications. The class also will touch on methodological advances in experiments and ongoing debates about the reliability of experimental studies.

Registration Requirements

Students must be a graduate student.

Learning Objectives

- fundamentals of experimental design
- how to implement experiments
- challenges in experimentation
- methodological advances in experiments
- debates about the credibility and usefulness of experimental studies

Teaching Method

lecture and discussion

Evaluation Method

Short papers and final paper

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Graduate Students.