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- [Narrator] On his quest [br]to master econometrics,

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Grasshopper Kamal has [br]made great progress

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stretching his capabilities [br]and outsmarting his foes.

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Alas, today he's despondent.

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For one challenge remains unmet.

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Kamal cannot yet decode [br]the scriptures of academic research,

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journals like [br]"The American Economic Review"

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and "Econometrica."

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These seemed to him to be inscribed [br]in an obscure foreign tongue.

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- [Kamal] Ugh, what the... ?

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- [Narrator] These volumes are [br]opaque to novice, Kamal,

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but can be deciphered with study.

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Let us learn to read them together.

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Let's dive into the West Point study,

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published in the "Economics [br]of Education Review."

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This paper reports [br]on a randomized evaluation

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of student electronics use [br]in Economics 101 classrooms.

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First, a quick review [br]of the research design.

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- Okay.

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- [Josh] 'Metrics masters [br]teaching at West Point,

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the military college that trains [br]American Army officers

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designed a randomized trial[br]to answer this question.

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These masters randomly assigned[br]West Point cadets

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into Economics classes[br]operating under different rules.

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Unlike most American colleges,

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the West Point default [br]is no electronics.

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For purposes of this experiment,[br]some students were left

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in such traditional [br]technology-free classes,

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no lap tops, no tablets [br]and no phones!

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[voice echoes]

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This is the control group,[br]or baseline case.

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Another group was allowed[br]to use electronics.

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This is the treatment group,[br]subject to a changed environment.

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The treatment in this case[br]is the unrestricted use

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of laptops or tablets in class.

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Every causal question [br]has a clear outcome,

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the variables we hope to influence[br]defined in advance of the study.