THREE PILLARS OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

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THREE PILLARS OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

• The foundation of controlled social science
  research

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Three Pillars of Experimental Research
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Manipulation

• focuses on the independent variable
• involves systematically varying participant
  attributes, treatment conditions, or experimental
  stimuli
• analogous to the "cause" in a cause-effect
  relationship

4
Measurement

• focuses on the dependent variable or outcome
  measure
• involves measurement (recording and quantifying
  observations)
• where the data comes from in an experiment
• analogous to the "effect" in a cause-effect
  relationship

5
Control

• involves holding all factors constant in an
  experiment, except the ones under investigation
• "confounding, "extraneous," or "intervening
  variables must be controlled
• confounding variables cant always be prevented,
  but they can be controlled

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True or Full Experiments

• A "true" or "full" experimental design includes
  all three pillars
• Manipulation
• Measurement
• Control