Pragmatic Laboratory Experiment — Practice-Oriented Experimental Design

A pragmatic laboratory experiment is a controlled study conducted in a laboratory setting that prioritises external validity and real-world applicability over the stringent internal controls characteristic of purely explanatory experiments. Drawing on the pragmatic–explanatory continuum formalised by Schwartz and Lellouch (1967) and later operationalised in the PRECIS framework, it asks whether an intervention works under conditions that approximate actual practice rather than ideal circumstances, making findings directly actionable for decision-makers and practitioners.