(english) This last decade has seen the emergence of a new field of research in development economics: randomised control trials. This paper explores the contrast between the (many) limitations and (very narrow) real scope of these methods and their success in sheer number and media coverage....

This paper aims at providing a brief overview of the experimental method’s principles to researchers who face for the first time the use an experimental design. The purpose is also to guide them to a better understanding of the basic notions of control and threats to validities. Thus, they...