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Block 3 Unit 4 Other Designs - Correlational Design and Comparative Design

1) When to use correlational and causal comparative research designs.

• Correlational designs are used when a researcher wants to examine the relationship between two or more quantitative variables. This design is useful to see if there is an association and the strength and direction of that association, without trying to determine cause and effect. Correlational designs can also be used for prediction. 
• Causal comparative designs are used when a researcher is interested in exploring the differences between two or more pre-existing groups. This design is useful when the independent variable cannot be manipulated. Causal comparative research is used to determine the causes or consequences of existing differences between groups.

2) Write down the advantages and limitations of correlational designs.

• Advantages:
• Correlational research can examine relationships between a large number of variables at the same time. 
• It can be used to explore the relationship between variables as they occur in a natural setting, rather than in a lab. 
•  It allows the examination of variables that cannot be manipulated experimentally. 
• It can be used to make predictions. 
• Limitations: 
• Correlational design does not demonstrate a cause and effect relationship between variables. The observed relationship may be due to some other unknown variable. 
•  It can be difficult to determine the direction of the relationship.

3) What are the similarities and differences between correlational and causal comparative research.

• Similarities: 
• Both are non-experimental methods. 
• Neither design involves the manipulation of an independent variable. 
• Neither design involves the random assignment of participants to groups.
• Differences:
• Correlational research looks at the relationship between variables, and does not explicitly consider group differences.
• Causal-comparative research looks at the difference between groups, in an attempt to explore causes or consequences of pre-existing group differences.
• Correlational research uses quantitative variables, while causal-comparative research often includes a categorical variable.
• In correlational research, an independent variable may be labelled as a "predictor" variable.

4) What are the advantages and limitations of causal comparative design.

• Advantages: 
• It allows for the investigation of variables that cannot be manipulated experimentally for practical or ethical reasons.
• It can help identify possible causes or consequences of existing differences between groups of individuals.
• Limitations: 
• The causal comparative design does not establish true cause and effect relationships due to the lack of manipulation of an independent variable and random assignment. 
• It can be difficult to establish the true cause, as there might be many other extraneous factors contributing to the observed differences between the groups, which cannot be controlled by the researcher.

Important Points

1. Correlational design is a quantitative design of research.
2. Causal comparative research is a non-experimental design. 
3. Correlational design avoids the threat of non-representative sample of participation. 
4. Causal comparative research design attempts to identify a causative relationship between an independent variable and dependent variable.
5. In causal comparative design, the researcher does not manipulate the independent variable.
6. Correlational design studies the relationship between the variables.
7. Coefficient of correlation expresses the degree and direction of relationship between the variables.
8. Causal comparative research looks at comparison between the groups.
9. Correlational design and causal comparative design both are non-experimental research designs.
10. When it is possible to manipulate the independent variable, then we use experimental design.