Field Experiments
HBSDOC 4430
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Social scientists are increasingly implementing field experiments to test theories and evaluate policies. Examples range from randomizing a company's advertising strategies to varying job offer details to prospective employees. Some field experiments are run in close collaboration with organizations, while others are run without any organizational involvement. Many companies and governments are also now running experiments at very large scale.
This doctoral course will explore field experiments in the social sciences. The course has three goals for students:
1. To develop the tools to design, implement, and analyze a field experiment.
2. To gain an understanding of the strengths and limits of field experiments.
3. To examine in-depth examples of field experiments that have been run, and the insights that have been gained from them.
The primarily deliverable will be a proposal for a field experiment, which, if executed, could serve as part of the student’s thesis.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
