Students as Experimental Participants: A Defense of the "Narrow Data Base" (WP-09-05)
James N. Druckman and Cindy D. Kam
In this chapter, the researchers investigate the extent to which using students as experimental participants creates problems for causal inference. First, they discuss the impact of student subjects on a study’s internal and external validity. In contrast to common claims—including Sear’s (1986) widely cited proclamation of students being a “narrow data base”—they argue that student subjects do not intrinsically pose a problem for a study’s external validity. Second, they use simulations to identify situations when student subjects are likely to constrain experimental inferences. They show, perhaps surprisingly, that such situations are relatively limited. Third, they briefly survey empirical evidence that provides guidance on when researchers should be particularly attuned to taking steps to ensure appropriate generalizability from student subjects. They conclude with a discussion of the practical implications of their findings. In short, they argue that student subjects are not an inherent problem to experimental research; moreover, a case can be made that the burden of proof—of student subjects being a problem—should lie with critics rather than experimenters.