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Systematic experimentation on social problems
Book chapter

Systematic experimentation on social problems

Michael J Lovaglia, Shane D Soboroff, Christopher P Kelley and Jeffrey W Lucas
Researching Social Problems, pp.156-171
Routledge, 1
2019
DOI: 10.4324/9781315107882-9

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Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss the role of experiments in researching social problems. After a brief introduction to the history of experiments in sociology, we define the method and highlight its underlying logic and strengths. We then offer several examples to illustrate how experiments have been used to investigate social problems related to public health, criminal justice, and educational equity. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of the limitations of experimental methods for researching social problems. This chapter describes experimental research into social problems related to public health, criminal justice, and educational inequity. Controlled trials of interventions to reduce the transmission of HIV among injection drug users show how experiments can be applied to study social problems related to public health. Evidentiary hearings and criminal court cases accept as part of their considerations psychological research on perception and memory. A large body of scientific research explains how, why, and when mistaken identifications are likely to occur in criminal cases. In one group, participants attend weekly support sessions; in the other, they get educational materials to help them stop smoking. The takeaway is clear: if current means for testing academic ability systematically disrupt the performance of members of negatively stereotyped groups, then using test scores as a meritocratic basis for admissions and hiring is invalid. Ethical considerations are supremely important in conducting experiments on social problems, especially because experiments directly intervene in people’s lives.

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