Survey Experiments: Testing Causality in Diverse Samples

Abstract

Experimental designs remain the gold standard for assessing causality; perhaps because of this, the use of experiments has grown rapidly in most social science fields such as economics, political science, sociology, and others. While laboratory studies remain popular in some fields, there is increasing interest in bringing the power of experimental designs to more diverse samples. Survey experiments offer the capability to assess causality in a broad range of samples, including targeted samples of specific populations or in large-scale nationally representative samples. The rise of online workplaces and the TESS program offer the ability to bring these samples to applied researchers at a minimal cost, greatly expanding the possibilities for research. This workshop will focus on how to design quality survey experiments, giving researchers the tools to implement best practices. I will also advocate for survey experiments as a tool for tests of intersectionality and other theoretical questions requiring diverse samples.