Design of Experiments and Causal Inference

This course will introduce experimental design as a paradigm for thinking about the conduct of educational research and evaluation. The goals of this course are to introduce students to the design and statistical principles of the experimental approach to educational research with particular emphasis on the correct analysis of data arising from designed experiments. We will discuss a variety of experimental designs, their advantages and disadvantages, estimation of treatment effects, and significance testing. The topics covered will include the underlying logic of experimental and quasi-experimental designs, regression discontinuity and factorial designs as well as cluster randomized and multi-site trials.