Chapter 10 - Experimental Designs

THE LAB EXPERIMENT
When a cause‐and‐effect relationship between an independent and a dependent variable of interest is

to be clearly established, then all other variables that might contaminate or confound the
relationship have to be tightly controlled.
In other words, the possible effects of other variables on the dependent variable have to be
accounted for in some way, so that the actual causal effects of the investigated independent variable
on the dependent variable can be determined.
The control and manipulation are best done in an artificial setting, where the causal effects can be
tested. When control and manipulation are introduced to establish cause ‐and ‐effect relationships in
an artificial setting, we have laboratory experimental designs, also known as lab experiments.
Control
When we postulate cause‐and‐effect relationships between two variables X and Y, it is possible that
some other factor, say A, might also influence the dependent variable Y. In such a case, it will not be
possible to determine the extent to which Y occurred only because of X, since we do not know how
much of the total variation in Y was caused by the presence of the other factor A.
In such a situation, we have to controll all other factors such as factor A which contaminate the
relationship.
Manipulation
To examine the causal effects of an independent variable on a dependent variable, certain

manipulations need to be tried. Manipulation simply means that we create different levels of the
independent variable to assess the impact on the dependent variable.
For example, we may want see the impact of interest rate on saving behavior, we will offer different
levels of interest on the deposited money.
CONTROLLING THE CONTAMINATING EXOGENOUS VARIABLES
a. Matching groups
One way of controlling the contaminating variables is to match the various groups by picking the
confounding characteristics and deliberately spreading them across groups. For instance, if there are
20 women among the 60 members, then each group will be assigned five women, so that the effects
of gender are distributed across the four groups.
b. Randomization
The process of randomization ideally ensures that each group is comparable to the others, and that
all variables, including the effects of age, sex, and previous experience, are controlled.
Any errors or biases caused by age, sex, and previous experience are now distributed equally among
all four groups. Any causal effects found will be over and above the effects of the confounding
variables.
VALIDITY OF LAB EXPERIMENTS
a. Internal validity of lab experiments
Internal validity refers to the confidence we place in the cause‐and‐effect relationship. In other
words, it addresses the question, “To what extent does the research design permit us to say that the
independent variable X causes a change in the dependent variable Y?”
In lab experiments where cause‐and‐effect relationships are substantiated, internal validity can be
said to be high.
b. External validity of lab experiments
To what extent are the results found in the lab setting transferable or generalizable to actual
organizational or field settings? In other words, if we do find a cause ‐and ‐effect relationship after
conducting a lab experiment, can we then confidently say that the same cause ‐and ‐effect
relationship will also hold true in the organizational setting?
In general, external validity of lab experiments is lower the field studies.

THE FIELD EXPERIMENT
A field experiment, as the name implies, is an experiment done in the natural environment in which
work goes on as usual, but treatments are given to one or more groups. Thus, in the field
experiment, even though it may not be possible to control all the nuisance variables because
members cannot be either randomly assigned to groups, or matched, the treatment can still be
manipulated. Control groups can also be set up in field experiments.
Internal and external validity of field experiment
Internal validity of field experiments is low

External validiy of field experiments is high
Trade-off between internal and external validity
There is thus a trade‐off between internal validity and external validity. If we want high internal
validity, we should be willing to settle for lower external validity and vice versa. To ensure both
types of validity, researchers usually try first to test the causal relationships in a tightly controlled
artificial or lab setting, and once the relationship has been established, they try to test the causal
relationship in a field experiment.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE VALIDITY OF EXPERIMENTS
a. History effects
Certain events or factors that have an impact on the independent variable–dependent variable
relationship might unexpectedly occur while the experiment is in progress, and this history of events
would confound the cause‐and effect relationship between the two variables, thus affecting the
internal validity.
For example, let us say a bakery is studying the effects of adding to its bread a new ingredient that
is expected to children health.
> the bread is given to childern for 6 months
> During the experiment, a flu virus hits the city
> Flu contaminated the cause-and‐ effect relationship
b. Maturation effects
Cause‐and‐effect inferences can also be contaminated by the effects of the passage of time – another
uncontrollable variable. Such contamination effects are denoted maturation effects. The maturation
effects are a function of the processes – both biological and psychological – operating within the
respondents as a result of the passage of time.
Worker efficiency and technology
> A new technology introduced

> Workers efeciency measured over time.
> The increased effeciency may be due to the new technology but also due to the experience of the
workers over time
c. Testing effects
Frequently, to test the effects of a treatment, subjects are given what is called a pretest. That is, first
a measure of the dependent variable is taken (the pretest), then the treatment is given, and after that
a second measure of the dependent variable is taken (the posttest).
The difference between the posttest and the pretest scores is then attributed to the treatment.
However, the exposure of participants to the pretest may affect both the internal and external
validity of the findings.
d. Selection bias effects
Another threat to both the internal and external validity of our findings is the selection of
participants. In a lab setting, the types of participants selected for the experiment may be very
different from the types of employees recruited by organizations.
For example, students in a university might be allotted a task that is manipulated to study the effects
on their performance. The findings from this experiment cannot be generalized, however, to the real
world of work, where the employees and the nature of the jobs are both quite different. Thus,
subject selection poses a threat to external validity.
e. Mortality effects
Another confounding factor on the cause‐and‐effect relationship is the mortality or attrition of the
members in the experimental or control group, or both, as the experiment progresses. When the
group composition changes over time across the groups, comparison between the groups becomes
difficult, because those who dropped out of the experiment may confound the results. Again, we
will not be able to say how much of the effect observed arises from the treatment, and how much is
attributable to the members who dropped out, since those who stayed with the experiment may have
reacted differently from those who dropped out.
TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
a. Quasi-experimental designs
Some studies expose an experimental group to a treatment and measure its effects. Such an
experimental design is the weakest of all designs, and it does not measure the true cause ‐and ‐effect
relationship. This is so because there is no comparison between groups, nor any recording of the
status of the dependent variable as it was prior to the experimental treatment and how it changed
after the treatment. In the absence of such control, the study is of no scientific value in determining
cause‐and‐effect relationships. Hence, such a design is referred to as a quasi ‐experimental design.
b. True-experimental designs
Experimental designs that include both the treatment and control groups and record information
both before and after the experimental group is exposed to the treatment are known as ex post facto
experimental designs.
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THE LAB EXPERIMENT

When a cause‐and‐effect relationship between an independent and a dependent variable of interest is

To examine the causal effects of an independent variable on a dependent variable, certain

In general, external validity of lab experiments is lower the field studies.

Internal validity of field experiments is low

Worker efficiency and technology

> A new technology introduced

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