Tamara Gutfleisch
An introduction to factorial survey experiments

This three-part course offers an introduction to factorial survey experiments (FSEs). FSEs combine survey and experimental research to study the impact of various attributes on an outcome of interest. In particular, this method makes use of experimentally manipulated descriptions of objects, persons, or situations (called vignettes) to understand how individuals weigh and act upon information when making normative judgments or forming decisions. This course is meant to be introductory and will provide participants with the first set of tools to develop their own research designs. The first part gives a general overview of what FSEs are and in which research contexts they may be applied. The second part discusses the different steps in designing and conducting a factorial survey experiment. The third part is more hands-on and will show practical examples for how to analyse the data obtained from FSEs.