When you think of the term experiment, what comes to mind? Perhaps you thought about trying a new soda or changing your cat\u2019s litter to a different brand. We all design informal experiments in our life. We try new things and seek to learn how those things changed us or how they compare to other things we might try. We even create entertainment programs like Mythbusters whose hosts use experimental methods to test whether common myths or bits of folk knowledge are actually true. It\u2019s likely you\u2019ve already developed an intuitive sense of how experiments work. The content of this chapter will increase your existing competency about using experiments to learn about the social world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
When you think of the term experiment, what comes to mind? Perhaps you thought about trying a new soda or changing your cat\u2019s litter to a different brand. We all design informal experiments in our life. We try new things and seek to learn how those things changed us or how they compare to other things we might try. We even create entertainment programs like Mythbusters whose hosts use experimental methods to test whether common myths or bits of folk knowledge are actually true. It\u2019s likely you\u2019ve already developed an intuitive sense of how experiments work. The content of this chapter will increase your existing competency about using experiments to learn about the social world.<\/p>\n