Correlational Research This research design aims to find out whether there

is either:
This research is also known as associational
research and is defined as a study to determine the Positive correlation: (+1.0)
relationship among two or more variables without
any attempt to influence them. Ex. As height increases, weight also increases.
Variables may include characteristics, attitudes,
behaviors, or events. Negative correlation: (-1.0)
Ex. As coffee consumption increases, tiredness
When to use correlational research design?
decreases.
Correlational research is a type of descriptive
research (as opposed to experimental research).
Zero correlation: (0.0)
There are two main situations where you might
Ex. Coffee consumption is not related with height.
choose to do correlational research.
1. You want to find out if there is a
relationship between two variables, but
you don’t expect to find a causal Experimental Research
relationship between them.
The purpose of this research is to establish
Example: the existence of a cause- and- effect relationship
between two variables. To accomplish this goal, an
You want to know if people who have higher experiment manipulates one variable while a second
incomes are more likely to be vegetarian. You don’t variable is measured and the other variables are
think that income causes vegetarianism (or vice controlled. In short, researchers use experimental
versa), but finding a relationship could lead to a research to compare two or more groups on one or
better understanding of the factors that influence or more measures.
limit people’s dietary choices.
A basic experimental design involves beginning with
a sample and randomly assigning subjects to one or
2. You think there is a causal relationship
two groups: the experimental group or the control
between two variables, but it is
groups. The experimental group is the group that is
impractical or unethical to conduct
going to be exposed to an independent variable or
experimental research that manipulates
condition the researcher is introducing as a potential
one of the variables.
cause of an event
Example:
Example:
You hypothesize that passive smoking
A hypothetical study investigating the effect
causes asthma in children. You can’t do an
of violent TV programs on the behavior of children.
experiment to test the hypothesis – it would be
The researcher first randomly assigns a group of
unethical to deliberately expose some children to
children to either an experimental or control group,
passive smoking. But you can do a correlational
and then shows a violent TV program to the children
study to find out if children whose parents smoke
in the experimental group and a neutral program to
are more likely to have asthma than children
children in the control group. After viewing their
whose parents don’t smoke.
programs, the children are allowed to play in a room
with other children and observed.
The essentials of an Experimental Research are: their comparison tend to be limited often only to two-

 Manipulation of an independent variable.

 All other variables except the dependent
variable are controlled.
 Effect on the dependent variable is
observed by manipulating the
independent variable.

Two types of validity of Experimental Research:

 Internal validity
 External validity

cultures (the investigator’s own and one other).

Cross-Cultural Research

This research is designed to reveal

variations existing across different groups of people.
Most cross-cultural research involves survey, direct
observation, and participant observation methods of
research. The challenge of this type of research is to
avoid experimenter bias and tendency to compare
dissimilar characteristics as if they were somehow
related.

To compare culture is not to deny their individual

uniqueness. Cross-culturalists do not deny the
uniqueness of culture; uniqueness and similarity are
always present, simultaneously. Cross-cultural
research deals with what is general, what is true for
some or even all human cultures.

Cross-cultural psychologists generally collect

primary data, they do not make use of secondary
data derived from national surveys on issues such
as crime rate, gross national product, etc. however,