Social Experimentation

Social Experimentation: A Method for Planning and Evaluating Social Intervention summarizes the available knowledge about how randomized experiments might be used in planning and evaluating ameliorative social programs.
The book presents various aspects of social experimentation - design, measurement, execution, sponsorship, and utilization of results. Chapters are devoted to topics on experimentation as a method of
program planning and evaluation; experimental design and analysis; institutional and political
factors in social experimentation; and aspects of time and institutional capacity.
Sociologists will find the book a valuable piece of reference.

Contenu

Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
I Experimentation as a Method of Program Planning and Evaluation
II Why and When to Experiment
Why Experiment?
When to Experiment
III Experimental Design and Analysis
Components of an Experiment
Experimental Error
Randomization
Reducing Random Error
How Big Should an Experiment Be?
Statistical Analysis
IV Quasi-Experimental Designs
Regression-Discontinuity Design
Comparison Group and Time Series Designs
Remarks
V Measurement in Experiments
Response Variables
Measurement of Treatment Conditions
Measurement of Initial Conditions
The Roles of Social Indicators and Archival Data Systems
VI Execution and Management
Negotiating Design Objectives and Procedures
Implementing the Research Design
Preserving the Integrity of the Design
Data Collection
Dissemination and Preparation for Utilization
VII Institutional and Political Factors in Social Experimentation
Organizational Roles in Social Experimentation
Functions, Characteristics, and Potential Actors for Organizational Roles
Political Aspects of Experimentation
Utilization
VIII Human Values and Social Experimentation
Ethical Problems
Confidentiality and Disclosure of Identity
Ensuring Confidentiality and Data Access
Epilogue
Time Perspective
Institutional Capacity
Appendix
Illustrative Controlled Experiments for Planning and Evaluating Social Programs
Experiments in Delinquency and Criminal Reform
Experimental Tests of Law-Related Programs and Procedures
Experimental Tests of Rehabilitative Programs in Mental Health
Experimental Assessment of Special Education Programs
Sociomedical and Fertility Control Experiments
Appraisals of the Effectiveness of Communication Methods
Experimental Tests of Methods for Data Collection, Transmission, and Retrieval
Experiments in Research Utilization
Economic Experiments
References
Author Index
Subject Index