THREE PILLARS OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH The foundation of controlled social science research

Three Pillars of Experimental Research manipulation control measurement

Manipulation focuses on the independent variable involves systematically varying participant attributes, treatment conditions, or experimental stimuli analogous to the "cause" in a cause- effect relationship

Measurement focuses on the dependent variable or outcome measure involves measurement (recording and quantifying observations) where the data comes from in an experiment analogous to the "effect" in a cause-effect relationship

Control involves holding all factors constant in an experiment, except the ones under investigation "confounding,“ "extraneous," or "intervening“ variables must be controlled confounding variables can’t always be prevented, but they can be controlled

True or Full Experiments A "true" or "full" experimental design includes all three pillars: Manipulation Measurement Control