Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

Appropriate Technique

A Short History of the Experiment

Random Assignment

Experimental Design Logic

Internal and External Validity

Practical Considerations

Results of Experimental Research:

Making Comparisons

A Word on Ethics

Conclusion

Experimental Research

The experiment is distinguished by the activity of the researcher who determines

the conditions under which investigation will take place. Wholly or in part,

the researcher... creates, builds or controls the research setting.

— Willer and Walker,Building Experiments, Testing Social Theory,p. 2

Pager (2007) wanted to examine the impact of imprisonment on the chances of getting

a job after release. In addition, he was curious about whether race had an effect. He

created a field experiment in which he hired college-age male “testers.” Half the testers

were White and half were Black. In 2001, the testers applied for entry-level jobs that

had been advertised in the newspaper in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The jobs

required no experience and only a high school diploma. Pager matched testers of each

race on age, physical appearance, and presentation style. He trained the testers, checked

their interview skills, and created a fake résumé for each. For one-half of the testers of

each race, he created résumés that showed a felony conviction for drug possession and

18 months of prison time. The other half had a virtually identical résumé but no

criminal record. Pager randomly assigned testers to the advertised jobs. In this study,

the independent variables were tester race and criminal record. The dependent variable

was whether an employer called back to offer a job to a tester. Pager found that testers

with a criminal record on their résumé and the Black testers received far fewer job offers.

When he looked at the two independent variables together, he learned that a White tester

with a criminal record was more likely to be offered a job than an equally qualified Black

tester who had no criminal record. In Wisconsin as in many other states, laws bar hiring

discrimination by race and by criminal conviction when the conviction has no relevance

to a job. Pager also looked at data suggesting the large racial effect he found in

Milwaukee may be larger in other major urban areas.

From Chapter 9 ofSocial Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches,7/e. W. Lawrence Neuman.
Copyright © 2011 by Pearson Education. Published by Allyn & Bacon. All rights reserved.