Eikokeellisiin

Eikokeellisiin is a Finnish term used in academic and research contexts to describe studies or evidence that do not involve deliberate manipulation or random assignment of participants by the researcher. The term contrasts with kokeellisiin (experimental) designs, which involve controlled intervention and randomization to establish causal relationships.

In practice, eikokeellisiin approaches rely on observation of existing conditions, natural variation, or qualitative inquiry rather than controlled experiments. Study designs that fall under eikokeellisiin include cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies, case-control and cohort studies, as well as qualitative methods such as interviews, ethnography, and content analysis. Non-experimental research can also include descriptive work that aims to characterize phenomena rather than test causal hypotheses.

In evidence synthesis and guidelines, findings from eikokeellisiin studies are often evidence of associational relationships rather than causation. Quality judgments account for potential confounding, selection bias, measurement error, and the lack of randomization. Researchers may employ statistical controls, matching, instrumental variables, or natural experiments to strengthen causal inference, but such designs may still be classified as non-experimental when randomization is absent.

Limitations of eikokeellisiin designs include a weaker ability to infer causality and a higher susceptibility to various biases. However, their strengths lie in ethical feasibility, practicality, and the ability to provide rich descriptive or contextual information, particularly in fields where experimental manipulation is impractical or unethical. The term is common in Finnish research literature across the social and health sciences and education, and is used similarly to “non-experimental” or “observational” in English-language scholarship.