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The Set of Assumptions Randomized Control Trials Make and Their Implications for the Role of Such Experiments in Evidence‐Based Child and Adolescent Development Research
Author(s) -
Wadhwa Mansi,
Cook Thomas D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
new directions for child and adolescent development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1534-8687
pISSN - 1520-3247
DOI - 10.1002/cad.20313
Subject(s) - external validity , internal validity , randomized experiment , randomized controlled trial , psychology , construct (python library) , causal inference , set (abstract data type) , construct validity , child development , criterion validity , control (management) , realm , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , social psychology , psychometrics , computer science , econometrics , medicine , artificial intelligence , political science , surgery , law , programming language , pathology , economics
This chapter highlights the key assumptions underlying Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) and illustrates them with regard to the practice of RCTs in the realm of child and adolescent development. Given the prominence of RCTs in policy research, we analyze the possible ways in which these assumptions might not be met by single randomized experiments, thereby making it difficult to draw valid causal inference from single studies. We frame this discussion within the categories of internal validity, statistical conclusion validity, construct validity, and external validity and address the debate about the “gold standard” status accorded to RCTs.