The Field

and, Robert E. Kohler; Vetter, Jeremy

doi:10.1002/9781118620762.ch20

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…First, continuing a tradition in science and technology studies, my research draws attention to the ongoing negotiations between the desire to control and the need for cooperation that characterize the implementation of field experiments (Henke, ; Kohler & Vetter, ). To this end, the case of development RCTs demonstrates that successful field experimentation depends on the researcher’s ability to productively manage the ambiguity of what is being tested.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means that development RCTs, at least in their design, do not have to deal with criticism about “mock settings” or “stage action”: the experiments take place in situ (MacKenzie, Muniesa, & Siu, ). Instead, similar to other field sciences, they face a different type of credibility challenge, namely, the need to continuously demonstrate that experiments in developing countries could retain certain characteristics of lab sciences, such as generating generalizable, “placeless knowledge and being inconsequential” (Guggenheim, , p. 102; Kohler & Vetter, ).…”

Section: Previous Experimentation In Economics and The Novelties Of Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…How are US‐based researchers able to implement field experiments in developing countries and to persuade others about their “scientific status”? Similar to other forms of field experimentation, the implementation of development RCTs requires ongoing negotiations between the need to control the “messiness” of the field for scientific purposes, while guaranteeing the cooperation, access, and buy‐in of local populations so that the experiment can happen (Henke, ; Kohler & Vetter, ). As field‐sites, however, developing countries present particular challenges for the successful balance between control and cooperation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What’s on trial? The making of field experiments in international development

Leão

2020

British Journal of Sociology

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In the last 20 years, the drive for evidence-based policymaking has been coupled with a concurrent push for the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as the "gold-standard" for generating rigorous evidence on whether or not development interventions work. Drawing on content analysis of 63 development RCTs and 4 years of participant observation, I provide a rich description of the diverse set of actors and the transnational organizational effort required to implement development RCTs and maintain their "scientific status." Particularly, I investigate the boundary work that proponents of RCTs-also known as randomistas-do to differentiate the purposes and merits of testing development projects from doing them, as a way to bypass the political and ethical problems presented by adopting the experimental method with foreign aid beneficiaries in poor countries. Although randomistas have been mostly successful in differentiating RCTs from the projects evaluated, I also examine cases where they were not able to do so, as a means to highlight the controversies associated with implementing RCTs in international development. K E Y W O R D S economics, field experiments, global poverty, international development, NGOs

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Previous Experimentation In Economics and The Novelties Of Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What’s on trial? The making of field experiments in international development

Leão

2020

British Journal of Sociology

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“…46 These activities informed other scientific work that was performed in geographically distant laboratories, stables and post-mortem rooms, 42 Klein (1893), ), United Kingdom Parliament (1906a. 43 DeBont (2015), Kohler and Vetter (2016). For a contemporary analysis of the farm as a scientific site, see Henke (2000).…”

Section: Coordinated Campaignsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Coordinated Campaigns to Watertight Compartments: Diseased Sheep and their Investigation in Britain, c.1880–1920

Woods

2017

Animals and the Shaping of Modern Medicine

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“…For his part, Theodore Wulf , a German physicist, became famous for his measurements from the top of the Eiffel Tower in 1910 with an electrometer he designed. 10 Another important contribution was made by Italian physicist Domenico Paccini (1878-1934), 6 See, for instance, Heggie (2016); Kuklick & Kohler (1996); Kohler & Vetter (2016); Vetter (2016). 7 Aguirre ; Compton (1933b); .…”

Section: Introduction: How To Write a History Of Physics In The Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Up‐and‐down journeys: The making ofLatinAmerica's uniqueness for the study of cosmic rays

Minor

2020

Centaurus

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In 1942, American Nobel Prize‐winning physicist Arthur Compton pointed out that, “Because in this field of cosmic ray studies certain unique advantages are given by their geographical position, this field of physics has been especially emphasized in South America.” This paper seeks to interrogate the making of Latin America's uniqueness with respect to cosmic‐ray research through an analysis that considers Compton's geographical argument, but also goes beyond it, referring to the interactions of nature, knowledge, practices, scientific communities, and diplomacy. To begin with, it highlights the place‐based strategies and practices associated with cosmic‐ray research. Once research in the field at different altitudes demonstrated that cosmic rays traveled from outer space to the Earth surface, their nature was scrutinized by expeditions that covered broad vertical and horizontal expanses. The study of cosmic rays in Latin America displayed the mobilization of that strategy, which reinforced the reliability of certain sites located at high altitudes and close to the geomagnetic equator in projected investigations. Moreover, such analysis of cosmic rays involved research practices in the field, the emergence of (local, regional, or international) research traditions, and the creation of spaces of knowledge at different scales. By centering on the interaction of knowledge and place, this paper shows that an exploration of the “up‐and‐down journeys” of cosmic‐ray research in Latin America expands our understanding of the geographies and practices of 20th‐century physics.

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The Field

Cited by 9 publications

References 75 publications

What’s on trial? The making of field experiments in international development

What’s on trial? The making of field experiments in international development

From Coordinated Campaigns to Watertight Compartments: Diseased Sheep and their Investigation in Britain, c.1880–1920

Up‐and‐down journeys: The making ofLatinAmerica's uniqueness for the study of cosmic rays

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