What are some of the unique advantages of field experiments?

Student answers may vary. Field experiments are more difficult to conduct than laboratory experiments but offer some unique advantages. Most field experiments involve realistic working conditions and people who have experience working together. Field experiments can be used to assess the effects of different patterns of leadership behavior, and they provide an excellent way to assess the utility of interventions used to improve leadership (e.g., training, feedback, executive coaching). Common limitations of field experiments on leadership are weak manipulations, non-random assignment of participants to experimental treatments, weak assessment of outcome variables, failure to measure mediating processes, and use of an unrepresentative sample that limits external validity. A field experiment on leadership is likely to be more useful if it is based on a relevant and well-specified model, it includes a strong and appropriate manipulation of independent variables, it includes multiple measures of relevant variables, and it is conducted over an appropriate time period. In experiments conducted to evaluate developmental interventions (e.g., feedback or coaching), it is easier to gain approval for a control group if the researcher provides an opportunity for members of the control group to participate in the intervention at a later time.