Design strategies for theory testing: The efficient use of field experimentation in local level political research

This paper identifies certain characteristics of field experimentation that if more widely appreciated could persuade more political scientists — especially behavioralists — to consider adopting a field experimental strategy in dealing with the testing of their theoretical models. Specifically, this paper identifies the greater ease of analysis provided by experiment-generated data and certain improvements in the design and execution of field experiments that ease the burden of the researcher at the most difficult phase of such research, that is, at the design and data collection stages of the research. These improvements involve the integration of more than one test design into a field experiment such that a given field experiment can be used to answer a multiplicity of questions. This can include situations where two or more researchers work their own tests into a given experimental occasion such that the magnitude of effort is reduced for all involved — and thus the final product will not only be more methodologically defensible but also more practical to accomplish.