CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH

Group 6 : Agnes M Y Sihombing Yohana Glorya Tobing

DESCRIPTION
It is a quantitative research

To determine the cause or consequences of the differences that already exist between or among group of individuals- ex post facto (Latin for after the fact) One variable is considered as the causal (independent variable) and one variable is

considered the effect (dependent variable)

Purpose of Correlation Research

Descriptive: Show (or describe) the

associations among variables.

Hypothesis testing: Test whether variables

expected to be related are, in fact, related.

Theory driven. Correlations often occur spuriously. Should not examine correlations, first, and then

construct a theory to explain them.

CHARACTERISTICS
There are three types of causal-comparative

research:
Exploration of effects Exploration of causes Exploration of the consequences

It is an alternative to experimental research Disadvantage: lack of control over threats to internal validity
Lack of randomization Inability to manipulate independent variable

Comparative with other Designs

CAUSAL COMPARATIVE VS CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH SIMILARITIES: Both explore relationship among variables, and after the relationship is identified, it will then studied by using experimental research DIFFERENCES: Causal- compare two or more groups of subjects; correlation- require each variable for each subject Causal- involve at least one group membership; correlation- two and more variables Causal- compare average /crossbreak table; correlation-scatterplot CAUSAL COMPARATIVE VS EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH SIMILARITIES: Both require at least one categorical variable (group membership) and compare the performance t determine relationship DIFFERENCES: Causal- no manipulation takes place; experimental-independent variable is manipulated Causal- weaker evidence for causation than experimental studies Causal- locate already formed group; experimental- can create treatment groups
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Design Issues & Procedures

1) The researcher selects two groups of participants, the experimental and control groups, but more accurately referred to as comparison groups.

2) Groups may differ in two ways. -One group possesses a characteristic that the other does not. -Each group has the characteristic, but to differing degrees or amounts.

 Definition and selection of the comparison

groups are very important parts of the causalcomparative procedure.

There are

-The independent variable differentiating the groups must be clearly and operationally defined, since each group represents a different population. -In causal-comparative research the random sample is selected from two already existing populations, not from a single population as in experimental research. -As in experimental studies, the goal is to have groups that are as similar as possible on all relevant variables except the independent variable.

Control Procedures
Lack of randomization, manipulation, and

control are all sources of weakness in a causal-comparative study. Random assignment is probably the single best way to try to ensure equality of the groups. A problem is the possibility that the groups are different on some other important variable (e.g. gender, experience, or age) besides the identified independent variable.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Analysis of data involves a variety of descriptive and inferential statistics.

The most commonly used descriptive statistics are

(a) the mean, which indicates the average performance of a group on some measure of a variable, and (b) the standard deviation, which indicates how spread out a set of scores is around the mean, that is, whether the scores are relatively homogeneous or heterogeneous around the mean.

 The most commonly used inferential statistics are

(a) the t test, used to determine whether the means of two groups are statistically different from one another; (b) analysis of variance, used to determine if there is significant difference among the means of three or more groups; and (c) chi square, used to compare group frequencies, or to see if an event occurs more frequently in one group than another.

THANK YOU