When designing and evaluating an experiment or observational study, it is useful to have a realistic hypothesis regarding the average treatment effect. We present an approach to conceptualizing this average by first considering a distribution of effects. We demonstrate with examples in medicine, economics, and psychology.

翻译：在设计并评估一项实验或观察性研究时，对平均处理效应持有切合实际的假设是很有帮助的。我们提出了一种概念化该平均值的方法，该方法首先考虑效应的分布。我们通过医学、经济学和心理学领域的实例进行了论证。