A famous example of the difficulty in experimental design is the Hawthorne Effec

Question

A famous example of the difficulty in experimental design is the Hawthorne Effect. Studies were done in the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric in Illinois between 1927 and 1932 to determine if lighting, humidity and other factors affected employee productivity. It was discovered that the mere fact of doing the experiments, independent of which factor was changed, had a significant, positive effect on employee productivity. It is thought that the extra attention employees received during the experiments was the most important factor driving productivity. Think of a situation in where you work. What are some of the reasons that experiments in the workplace may be difficult to conduct?

Explanation / Answer

Experiments in the workplace may be difficult to conduct because of bias in the respondent's mind. An employee may think that the survey would be used to judge him and answer like what he thinks the company wants to hear.

If the question is How would you rate this company, people will be inclined to give it full marks for fear of repurcussions.

Also, being closely involved with other people may lead someone to follow the herd mentality and do as the other person is doing in the experiment.

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