Experimentation as part of a social science research strategy
ResearchPublished 1985
ResearchPublished 1985
In this paper, the author argues in favor of increased federal funding of large-scale long-term social science research projects, citing some benefits gained from the Rand Health Insurance Study and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The former illustrates some advantages of a well done experiment: (1) one can be relatively confident about the findings; (2) one can study certain issues that cannot be studied by analyzing existing data; and (3) all parties debating an issue will have a better understanding of it. The author suggests that the social sciences should have the same tradition of trials as the biomedical sciences do.
This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.