A revealing look at the common causes of failures in randomized
control experiments during field reseach--and how to avoid them
All across the social sciences, from development economics to political
science departments, researchers are going into the field to collect
data and learn about the world. While much has been gained from the
successes of randomized controlled trials, stories of failed projects
often do not get told. In Failing in the Field, Dean Karlan and Jacob
Appel delve into the common causes of failure in field research, so that
researchers might avoid similar pitfalls in future work.
Drawing on the experiences of top social scientists working in
developing countries, this book delves into failed projects and helps
guide practitioners as they embark on their research. From experimental
design and implementation to analysis and partnership agreements, Karlan
and Appel show that there are important lessons to be learned from
failures at every stage. They describe five common categories of
failures, review six case studies in detail, and conclude with some
reflections on best (and worst) practices for designing and running
field projects, with an emphasis on randomized controlled trials. There
is much to be gained from investigating what has previously not worked,
from misunderstandings by staff to errors in data collection.
Cracking open the taboo subject of the stumbles that can take place in
the implementation of research studies, Failing in the Field is a
valuable "how-not-to" handbook for conducting fieldwork and running
randomized controlled trials in development settings.
