GLD Research Seminar Series: Experimental Research

GLD’s research seminar series provides an introduction to the research process. In this session: Daniel Masterson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses experimental research. He explains the randomized experiment, as well as the Neyman-Rubin potential outcomes framework, which helps to conceptualize causal inference. In addition to discussing the differences between observed and potential outcomes, he delves into the fundamental problem of causal inference- the counterfactual. Random assignment is the key factor that allows experimental research to result in reliable causal interpretations. Following this explanation, Masterson touches on the types of experiments and internal and external threats to validity.
About the presenter:
Daniel Masterson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Immigration Policy Lab at Stanford University. He has a PhD in Political Science from Yale University, an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School, and a BA in Political Science from Bates College. He conducts research on conflict and refugee migration, refugee community organizing, and humanitarian aid, with a regional focus in the Middle East. His work has appeared in the American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Conflict Resolution. A number of media outlets have covered his research, including The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and The Economist.