Social Experiments and Policy Research

In: Policy studies journal: an international journal of public policy, Volume 5, Issue 2, p. 244-250

Abstract

Social experiments can play an important role in policy research & policy making. It is necessary, however, to move beyond the narrow conception of experimentation that has dominated such efforts as the NJ guaranteed income experiment. While that effort is to be commended as a pioneering venture, it ignored important issues such as the way in which recipients of the guarantee perceived the experiment & its influence on their present & subsequent actions, the way in which policymakers viewed the experiment, & the impact of the experiment on the orientation & subsequent actions of the researchers themselves. A possible experiment in guaranteeing jobs is outlined, which would include: (1) development of a model that considers the relevant social systems affecting the experimental situation -- including subjects, policymakers, & researchers; (2) collecting data on experimental outcomes as well as on orientations of actors that guide action; (3) bringing together representatives of the several systems to discuss research results; & (4) achieving an overall view of how & why important persons in important social systems would react to turning the experimental effort into national policy. AA.