ERIC Number: EJ1465063
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 38
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1098-2140
EISSN: EISSN-1557-0878
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Hold the Bets! Should Quasi-Experiments Be Preferred to True Experiments When Causal Generalization Is the Goal?
American Journal of Evaluation, v46 n1 p90-127 2025
By design, randomized experiments (XPs) rule out bias from confounded selection of participants into conditions. Quasi-experiments (QEs) are often considered second-best because they do not share this benefit. However, when results from XPs are used to generalize causal impacts, the benefit from unconfounded selection into conditions may be offset by confounded selection into locations. This work shows that this tradeoff can lead to situations where estimates from QEs are less-biased from selection than are estimates from uncompromised XPs when drawing causal generalizations. This work establishes the conditions theoretically, demonstrates the idea empirically, and discusses the implications of the results.
Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Elementary School Teachers, Generalization, Test Bias, Test Construction, Quasiexperimental Design, Research Methodology, Randomized Controlled Trials, Causal Models, Comparative Testing, Test Selection, Test Use, Test Validity
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Tennessee
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Empirical Education Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA