Causal Research

Experimentation

To be achieved:
Concept of causality Validity : internal & external Extraneous variables that can affect validity Experimental designs

Causality
X Y

Ordinary meaning X is the only cause of Y

Scientific meaning X is only one of a number of possible causes of Y

X must always lead to Y

X is a deterministic cause of Y

The occurrence of X makes the occurrence of Y more probable

X is a probabilistic cause of Y

It is possible to prove that X is a cause We can never prove that X is a cause of Y of Y We can only infer that X is a cause of Y

Causality
Two goals of an experiment:
Draw valid conclusions about the effect of X on Y make valid generalizations for a larger population
Validity
Measure what it is supposed to measure

Reliability
Consistently measure

Causality
Validity
Internal Validity
Whether manipulating X caused the changes in Y It is the basic minimum required It examines if the changes in Y were caused by any other extraneous variable

External Validity
Whether the cause-&-effect relationship can be generalized And if yes, to what populations, settings, times, etc.?