# Assessing the Impact of Planned Social Change

*Campbell · Measurement & Method · Evaluation and Program Planning · 1979 · Paywalled*

A foundational text in programme evaluation methodology, addressing the problem that planned social interventions rarely produce their intended effects cleanly — and that the complexity of historical change makes attribution deeply difficult. Introduces the concept of the 'experimenting society' and argues for quasi-experimental designs as the honest alternative to either randomised trials or unevaluated implementation. Essential background for anyone making empirical claims about PS interventions: the question 'did this work?' is almost always harder to answer than it looks, and Campbell's framework explains why.

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- **View the source paper:** https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/014971897990048X
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