ABSTRACT
Public Administration and Public Management research only rarely uses the strategy of the experiment. Even so, it is important to have some basic knowledge of experiments, because researchers in Public Administration and Public Management sometimes do use certain experimental variants, such as simulations and gaming. The simulations and games can be a means of teaching students to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired to a practical, real-life situation. The evaluation of the results of the game allows participants to reflect on and explain their behaviour. A classic experiment takes place in an environment designed and controlled by the researcher, such as a laboratory. Experiments are quite common in the healthcare sector to test new drugs and treatment methods. However, experiments are also being applied to things like the management of care organizations or hospitals. The experiment allows for a precise measurement of the effect that the independent variable (IV) has on the dependent variable (DV).
