Randomized Experiments and Reality of Public and Nonprofit Organizations: Understanding and Bridging the Gap

This article aims to contribute to the methodological advancement of experimental public administration, a nascent and promising literature stream. The article discusses the assumptions behind the theory of experimentation and the consequences of their violation; the main types of experimental designs (i.e., lab experiments, artefactual, framed, and natural field experiments); discrete choice experiments, neglected so far in our discipline for no good reason; the computation of optimal sample sizes; and the procedures for dealing with noncompliance in field experiments. The article concludes by providing tips to help public administration scholars bridge the gap between randomized trials and reality.