Social Experimentation

This book provides researchers, evaluators, and graduate students with a user-friendly presentation of Donald T. Campbell′s essential work (including his thoughts on some of his classic works) in social experimentation. The book includes Campbell′s exploration of the experimenting society and how experimentation can be used to improve society; the compatibility of quantitative and qualitative methods for validity seeking; threats to the validity of social experiments and how they can be controlled; the degree to which the social sciences can achieve scientific status; and the degree to which the operations, products, and consequences of science have a social impact. By including introductions for each part and detailed overviews to each article, Social Experimentation provides social scientists with useful insights into Campbell′s papers in a format accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

The annual Campbell Prizes, which honor the memory of distinguished social scientist Donald T. Campbell, recognize outstanding social science research conducted by Lehigh students.                                                                                                                                                                      Donald T. Campbell passed away on May 6, 1996, leaving a legacy of high standards for social science inquiry to Lehigh University and the national and international social science community. He was University Professor of Social Relations, Psychology, and Education at Lehigh University until he retired in 1994. Campbell received his A.B. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, and he held teaching positions at Northwestern University, Syracuse University, University of Chicago, and Ohio State University. During his career, he also lectured at Oxford, Harvard, and Yale Universities. He served as president of the American Psychological Association and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Campbell received numerous honorary degrees and awards. He wrote more than 235 articles in the areas of social psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, and philosophy, covering a broad scope of topics from social science methodology to philosophy of science. The Campbell Prize honors this aspiration for excellence. The prize of $500 is awarded for social science papers of high quality, methodological originality, and societal significance, as embodied in the work of the late Donald T. Campbell. Donald Campbell and his remarkable career earned a New York Times obituary and a Lehigh University faculty memorial resolution.