Causal Comparative Research

Ch . 16
 What is Causal Comparative Research
• Investigators attempt to determine the cause or
consequences of differences that already exist between or
among groups of individuals
– In contrast to an experimental study, in which a researcher creates
a difference between or among groups and then compares their
performance (on one or more dependent variables) to determine
the effects of the created difference.
• The group difference variable in a causal-comparative study
is either a variable that cannot be manipulated (such as
ethnicity) or one that might have been manipulated but for
one reason or another has not been (such as teaching style)
Examples of Comparative Researches

Type 1: Exploration of effects (dependent

variable) caused by membership in a given
group
Question: What differences in abilities are
caused by gender?
Research hypothesis: Females have a greater
amount of linguistic ability than males.
Examples of Comparative Researches

Type 2: Exploration of causes (independent

variable) of group membership
Question: What causes individuals to join a
gang?
Research hypothesis: Individuals who are
members of gangs have more aggressive
personalities than individuals who are not
members of gangs.
Examples of Comparative Researches

Type 3: Exploration of the consequences

(dependent variable) of an intervention
Question: How do students taught by the
inquiry method react to propaganda?
Research hypothesis: Students who were
taught by the inquiry method are more critical
of propaganda than are those who were
taught by the lecture method.
 Causal Comparative Research
• Causal-comparative studies have been used
frequently to study the differences between
males and females
– They have demonstrated the superiority of girls in
language and of boys in math at certain age levels
• The basic causal-comparative approach,
therefore, is to begin with a noted difference
between two groups and to look for possible
causes for, or consequences of, this difference.
 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CAUSAL-
COMPARATIVE AND CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

• Similarities
– Both causal-comparative and correlational studies are examples
of associational research
– Neither permits the manipulation of variables by the researcher
• Differences
– Causal-comparative studies typically compare two or more
groups of subjects, while correlational studies require a score on
each variable for each subject
– Correlational studies investigate two (or more) quantitative
variables, whereas causal-comparative studies typically involve
at least one categorical variable (group membership)
 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CAUSAL-
COMPARATIVE AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

• Similarities
– Both causal-comparative and experimental studies typically
require at least one categorical variable (group membership)
– Both compare group performances (average scores) to determine
relationships.
• Differences
– In experimental research, the independent variable is
manipulated; in causal-comparative research, no manipulation
takes place.
– In experimental research, the researcher can sometimes assign
subjects to treatment groups; in causal-comparative research,
the groups are already formed
DESIGN
 Threats to Internal Validity in
Causal-Comparative Research
• SUBJECT CHARACTERISTICS
– The likelihood that the groups are not equivalent on
one or more important variables other than the
identified group membership variable (A group of
girls, for example, might be older than a comparison
group of boys)
• Matching of Subjects
– the problem with matching is that often matches
cannot be found for many subjects, and hence the
size of the sample is accordingly reduced.
 Threats to Internal Validity in
Causal-Comparative Research
• Finding or Creating Homogeneous Subgroups
– In the attitude study, the researcher could either
seek to find two groups that have similar GPAs
(say, all 3.5 GPA or above)
• Statistical Matching
– to match the groups on that variable, using the
technique of statistical matching
 Associations Between
Categorical Variables
It is also possible to investigate associations
between categorical variables