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References for Experimental Design

Curated resources to deepen your understanding of experimental design principles including control, randomization, replication, and blinding.

Wikipedia Articles

  1. Design of experiments - Wikipedia - Comprehensive overview of experimental design methodology, covering the historical development from R.A. Fisher's agricultural experiments to modern applications.

  2. Randomized controlled trial - Wikipedia - Explains why random assignment is essential for establishing causation, with examples from medical research showing how RCTs have transformed our understanding of treatments.

  3. Blind experiment - Wikipedia - Covers single-blind, double-blind, and even triple-blind experimental designs, explaining how blinding prevents expectation bias from contaminating results.

Textbooks

  1. The Practice of Statistics by Daren S. Starnes, Josh Tabor, and Dan Yates - W.H. Freeman (2018) - AP-aligned coverage of experimental design with detailed explanations of completely randomized, randomized block, and matched pairs designs, plus extensive practice problems.

  2. Design and Analysis of Experiments by Douglas C. Montgomery - Wiley (2017) - The standard university textbook on experimental design, providing deeper mathematical foundations for those wanting to understand the theory behind good experiments.

Online Resources

  1. Khan Academy: Designing Experiments - Khan Academy - Video lessons explaining the difference between observational studies and experiments, with practice identifying treatments, factors, levels, and control groups.

  2. Stat Trek: Experimental Design - Stat Trek - Clear tutorials on experimental design principles with step-by-step examples of how to set up completely randomized and blocked experiments.

  3. Understanding Science: How Science Works - UC Berkeley - Interactive website explaining how controlled experiments fit into the broader scientific method, with examples showing how scientists design studies to test hypotheses.

  4. Against All Odds: Inside Statistics (Unit 11-12) - Annenberg Learner - Video episodes showing real experimental designs in action, from agricultural field trials to medical studies testing new treatments.

  5. Cochrane Library: Introduction to Study Design - Cochrane Collaboration - Overview of experimental study designs used in medical research, explaining why randomized controlled trials are considered the gold standard for establishing treatment effectiveness.