方法对比

	实验室实验	现场实验
领域	实验设计	实验设计
方法族	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
起源年份	17th century (natural science); ~1879 onward (behavioral/social science)	1920s–1930s (agriculture); 1990s–2000s (social sciences)
提出者	Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle (early scientific method); formalized in social science by Wilhelm Wundt (1879 psychology lab) and Ronald A. Fisher (20th-century design principles)	Formalized by R. A. Fisher (1935); systematized in social sciences by Harrison & List (2004)
类型	Experimental quantitative design	Experimental design
开创性文献	Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 978-0395615560	Harrison, G. W., & List, J. A. (2004). Field experiments. Journal of Economic Literature, 42(4), 1009–1055.
别名	lab experiment, controlled experiment, true experiment, lab study	field trial, natural field experiment, randomized field experiment, field RCT
相关	5	5
摘要	A laboratory experiment is a research design in which the investigator systematically manipulates one or more independent variables under tightly controlled conditions, randomly assigns participants to conditions, and measures the effect on dependent variables. By maximizing internal control, the laboratory experiment is the gold standard for establishing cause-and-effect relationships. It is the backbone of experimental psychology, cognitive science, pharmacology, and many social sciences.	A field experiment applies the logic of a randomized controlled trial in a naturally occurring, real-world environment rather than an artificial laboratory. Participants are randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions while going about everyday activities, allowing researchers to estimate causal effects with high internal validity while preserving a level of ecological realism that laboratory settings cannot offer. The design is especially prominent in economics, public health, political science, and development research.