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Control, Exogeneity, and Directness: Understanding and Designing Quasi- and Natural Experiments

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Title: Control, Exogeneity, and Directness: Understanding and Designing Quasi- and Natural Experiments
Language: English
Authors: Dahlia K. Remler (ORCID 0000-0002-9661-2460), Gregg G. Van Ryzin (ORCID 0000-0003-4107-5319)
Source: American Journal of Evaluation. 2025 46(1):62-89.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 28
Publication Date: 2025
Intended Audience: Researchers; Practitioners
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Quasiexperimental Design, Research Design, Experiments, Predictor Variables, Vocabulary, Classification, Randomized Controlled Trials
DOI: 10.1177/10982140241265708
ISSN: 1098-2140
1557-0878
Abstract: This article reviews the origins and use of the terms quasi-experiment and natural experiment. It demonstrates how the terms conflate whether variation in the independent variable of interest falls short of random with whether researchers find, rather than intervene to create, that variation. Using the lens of assignment--the process driving variation in the independent variable--we distinguish three dimensions: "control" of assignment by the researcher, rather than by a policy process or naturally occurring event; "exogeneity" of the assignment process; and "directness" of the link between assignment and the independent variable. These dimensions generate a typology of causal study designs that we illustrate with examples from the social and health sciences. Our framework can assist researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines to better understand and communicate with one another and, importantly, to recognize opportunities in real-world settings to find or create variation that can be leveraged for valid impact estimates.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1465031
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Control, Exogeneity, and Directness: Understanding and Designing Quasi- and Natural Experiments
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dahlia+K%2E+Remler%22">Dahlia K. Remler</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9661-2460">0000-0002-9661-2460</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gregg+G%2E+Van+Ryzin%22">Gregg G. Van Ryzin</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4107-5319">0000-0003-4107-5319</externalLink>)
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  Data: This article reviews the origins and use of the terms quasi-experiment and natural experiment. It demonstrates how the terms conflate whether variation in the independent variable of interest falls short of random with whether researchers find, rather than intervene to create, that variation. Using the lens of assignment--the process driving variation in the independent variable--we distinguish three dimensions: "control" of assignment by the researcher, rather than by a policy process or naturally occurring event; "exogeneity" of the assignment process; and "directness" of the link between assignment and the independent variable. These dimensions generate a typology of causal study designs that we illustrate with examples from the social and health sciences. Our framework can assist researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines to better understand and communicate with one another and, importantly, to recognize opportunities in real-world settings to find or create variation that can be leveraged for valid impact estimates.
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