Experiments: Design and Analysis

Catalog description

This course focuses on the experimental method in social sciences, specifically the design, implementation and analysis of experiments. The course introduces concepts like potential outcomes, types of random assignment, identification assumptions like excludability and non-interference, estimation of effects and hypothesis testing, use of covariates for blocking or to gain precision and validate design, how to deal with issues of non-compliance, attrition and spillovers, what to make of experimental results (generalizability), and the ethics of fieldwork (informed consent, mutually valuable partnerships). The course is designed for graduate students conducting experiments, practitioners interested in RCT-based evaluations, and advanced undergraduates with interests in impact evaluation.