ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the method of observation. In medical experiments, such neutral treatment is called a placebo: half of the research subjects is offered a certain experimental drug or treatment, whilst the control group is given a drug known to be medically ineffective. Low-scoring and high-scoring people are subsequently divided equally between the experimental group and the control group. Indeed, experimental researchers have to try to handle subjects, the experiment itself and the data analysis in as neutral and objective a way as possible. Furthermore, in policy experiments attention has to be paid to the matter of how representative the participating subjects really are. The method of observation is employed in public administration but is less popular than other methods. If researchers do make use of observation, they usually choose the method of participant observation, combining this with other methods.
