The course covers the design, implementation, and analytic tools necessary for conducting social science experiments. In the first week, the focus will be on laboratory experiments. After an introduction in experimental designs and a review of recent topics in experimental social sciences, the remainder of the first week will be hands-on lab experiments. Participants will learn how to program experiments with z-Tree, work with the subject recruitment software, analyse experimental data and be able to run a lab experiment at the Nuffield Centre for Experimental Social Sciences. In the first half of the second week, the course will cover field and online experiments. Moreover, in two afternoon sessions, participants will have the opportunity to present their own experimental research and receive feedback from an experienced team of instructors. The remainder of the second week will cover topics of causal inference and experimental approaches to data analysis. Upon completion of the course participants should be able to (1) formulate research questions that can be addressed using experiments, (2) design and carry out experiments, and (3) analyse and interpret results from social sciences experiments.

The course is appropriate for participants from any discipline who intend to include experimental social research as part of their research agenda. It is also appropriate for participants who want to become informed consumers of experimental research scholarship.