What Do Subjects Think of Experiments? A Qualitative Assessment from India

• In Event: Qualitative Methods, Fieldwork Challenges, and Ethical Considerations in Political Science

Abstract

A growing literature has critiqued experiments in developing countries for ethical and methodological reasons. We build on this work by posing an unaddressed question: how do subjects themselves feel about these projects? We explore this issue with an innovative research design: using a reputable survey firm, one white coauthor oversaw vignette experiments and behavioral games in rural India and then two Indian coauthors used deception to follow up with subject interviews. Our fieldwork shows that 1) there were widespread departures from random sampling, reflecting actions by both the survey firm and the subjects, 2) there was widespread lack of informed consent among subjects that did participate in our studies, and 3) there was little understanding among subjects of the purpose or structure of the experiments. These findings have implications for the ethics, interpretation, and validity of a broad set of social scientific interventions routinely carried out in the Global South.

Authors

• Alexander Lee, University of Rochester

• Ajay Verghese, Middlebury College