Population-based survey experiments have become an invaluable tool for social scientists struggling to generalize laboratory-based results, and for survey researchers besieged by uncertainties about causality. Thanks to technological advances in recent years, experiments can now be administered to random samples of the population to which a theory applies. Yet until now, there was no self-contained resource for social scientists seeking a concise and accessible overview of this methodology, its strengths and weaknesses, and the unique challenges it poses for implementation and analysis.
Drawing on examples from across the social sciences, this book covers everything you need to know to plan, implement, and analyze the results of population-based survey experiments. But it is more than just a “how to” manual. This lively book challenges conventional wisdom about internal and external validity, showing why strong causal claims need not come at the expense of external validity, and how it is now possible to execute experiments remotely using large-scale population samples.
Designed for social scientists across the disciplines, Population-Based Survey Experiments provides the first complete introduction to this methodology.
- Offers the most comprehensive treatment of the subject
- Features a wealth of examples and practical advice
- Reexamines issues of internal and external validity
- Can be used in conjunction with downloadable data from ExperimentCentral.org for design and analysis exercises in the classroom
Diana C. Mutz is the Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
"[T]his is a well-written and enjoyable book that fills a clear need in the literature. It will make an excellent addition to any course on research design and will serve as a useful reference for anyone interested in this methodology. Quite frankly, given the strong case Mutz makes for population-based survey experiments, it is hard to imagine why any social scientist would not be interested in using this method."—Eric W. Groenendyk, Public Opinion Quarterly
"Diana Mutz has written a marvelous introduction to population-based survey experiments. The book provides a masterful—and, witty!—consideration of the issues that differentiate these experiments from lab experiments, with all sorts of good pragmatic advice. She describes so many examples that I cannot imagine anyone reading it and not having at least one idea for a new experiment they might conduct themselves."—Jeremy Freese, Northwestern University
"A lucid discussion filled with accessible and wide-ranging examples. For political scientists, sociologists, and those in other allied fields, this book offers invaluable lessons from the cutting edge of social science."—Devah Pager, Princeton University
"With great clarity and insight—and dozens of fascinating examples—Mutz makes a compelling case for combining the strengths of large-scale surveys and tightly controlled experimental methods in tackling many of the most pressing issues in the social sciences. Students and professionals alike will find a wealth of practical advice in these pages about how and why to conduct population-based survey experiments."—Galen V. Bodenhausen, Northwestern University
"This accessible book is a valuable resource that explains concepts and applications equally well. It's both a practical primer for novice learners and a deep, definitive text for the new, rapidly expanding field of population-based experiments. Whether you skim for insights or dive into details, Mutz describes how what was once an impractical pipe dream is now a dream ripe for researchers to pluck for their next experiment."—Matthew Davis, University of Michigan
"The use of randomized experiments is the biggest change in the methodology of survey research in a generation. Mutz has been at the helm of this change. Time and again, Mutz dips into a treasure chest of exemplary experiments across the social sciences to illuminate issues of theory. All in all, this is the most intellectually engaging—and engagingly written—work I have read in years."—Paul Sniderman, Stanford University
"Diana Mutz has written an excellent first book-length treatment of this subject. Her writing style is informal—pleasantly so—and she is able to convey some relatively technical points in a clear manner that can be read by a wide audience. Population-Based Survey Experiments will be well received in the social sciences."—Rebecca B. Morton, New York University
