CAUSAL COMPARATIVE RESEARCHOLEH : Harizul Annuar Bin A.Rahman M20101000376

Chapter 9y OBJECTIVES State the purpose of Causal Comparative

research

Identify Causal Comparative research topics Identify

and describe 3 types of control procedure that can be used in Causal Comparative study.

Definition and Purpose :y Causal Comparative Research (CCR) A type of descriptive research to describe

condition already exist. existing condition

Attemps to determine reasons and causes for Researcher attemps

determine the cause or reason, for existing differences in behavior or status of group or individual

gStatus Group or Individual y They are already different on some variable so that researcher attempt to IDENTIFY THE MAJOR FACTOR that has lead to this difference CAUSAL COMPARTIVE = EX POST FACTOR RESEARCH From latin words AFTER A FACTOR

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH VERSUS CAUSAL COMPARATIVE RESEARCHCORRELATIONAL RESEARCH Focus on differences between group Not identify cause and effect relations Involved two or more variables and one group participant CAUSAL -COMPARATIVE RESEARCH Involved relations among variables To identify cause and effect relations Typically involved two or more groups of participant + ONE DEPENDENT variable

Sa

r rti s ausal s arc a rr lati al

arativ s arc

y The lack of variable manipulation y Similar caution regarding interpretation

of result y Fail to produce true experimental data y Help to identify variables worthy of experimental investigation

Experimental Research Versus Causal Comparative ResearchExperimental Research Causal Comparative Research Independent variable is manipulated by Independent variables is not the researcher manipulated because it has already occurred elect a random sample from a population and then randomly divides the sample into t o or more roup Individuals are not randomly assi ned to treatment roup because they are in establish roup. xamples: ( male/ female ) The roup / individuals are already form and already differ in terms of the key variable of question

Same properties Causal- Comparative Research and Experimental researchy Attempt to establish cause and effect relations y Involve group comparison

Note.. Causal Comparative conducted solely to identify the probable outcome of experimental study.

Limitation of Causal - Comparative Researchy The researcher has limited control over the study and extreme caution must be applied in interpreting result y An apparent cause- effect relation may not be as it appears.

SUMMARIZEy Caution must be exercised in claiming cause-effect

based on Causal Comparative research y Causal Comparative studies permit investigation of variables that cannot or should not be investigate experimentally y Causal Comparative research facilitate decision making y Causal Comparative provide guidance for experimental research y Less costly research

CONDUCTING A CAUSAL COMPARATIVE STUDYINTRODUCTION y Ca sal Comparative st dy is a simple method that ro pin variable is not manip late, control proced res can be exercised to improve interpretation of res lt. y Ca sal Comparative st dy involved wider variety of statistical techniq es.

DESIGN AND PROCEDUREy The basic Causal Comparative design involves selecting two groups that differ on some variable of interest and comparing them on some dependent variables.

ExampleCase A Participants Two groups G1 = Experimental group G2= Control group G1 + G2 = Comparison group WAY One group possesses a characteristic that the other does not Example : Composed children with brain injuries versus children without brain injuries Case B Participants Two group G1 = Experimental group G2= Control group G1 + G2 = Comparison group WAY Both group haves the characteristic but differing degrees or amount Example : Composed of individual with strong self concepts and weak self concept.

TABLE 9.1 THE BASIC CAUSAL COMPARATIVE DESIGN GROUP GROUPING VARIABLE (X) DEPENDENT VARIABLE O O

CASE A

(E) (C)

CASE B

(E) (C)

(X1) (X2)

O O

symbols: (E) = Experimental Group , ( ) indicates no manipulation (C) = Control Group (X )= Grouping variable O = Dependent variable Chapter 9 page 221 ,EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH by L.R Gay, Geoffrey E. Mills and Peter Airasian. Ninth edition

DESIGN AND PROCEDUREy Definition and selection

of comparison groups are very important parts of Causal Comparative research. y The variable differentiating the group must be clearly and operationally define because each group represents a different population and the way in which group are defined affects the generalizability of the result.

Operationally definedy Researcher want to compare a group of students with

an unstable home life to a group of students with a stable home life. terms unstable and stable must be operationally defined . y Unstable home life = life with the parent who abuses alcohol, who is violent or neglect the child. y Stable home life = complete parent

y Random selection

method of participant selection from defined populations consideration select samples that representative of respective population Comparative research = Two samples already existing population ( not single population)

y Samples of Causal

WHY ?y GOAL1. To

have groups that are similar as possible on relevant variables except the grouping variables 2. To determine the equality of group information on a number of back ground and current status var iables may be collected and compared for each group.

exampley Information on age, gender , prior knowledge and years of experience may be obtained and examined for the groups being compare.

y More similar the group are on such

variables, the more homogenous they are on everything but the variable of interest .y Homogeneity make a stronger study and

reduces the number of possible alternative explanation of the research finding.

CONTROL PROCEDURESy Lack of randomization, manipulation and control

variable are all source of weakness in CausalComparative study y Random assignment not occur in this study because the group are naturally formed before the start of study So that The group more likely to be different on some important variable other than the variable under study

y This other variable may be real cause of the

observed difference between the group. y There have three control technique in control procedureA. Matching B. Comparing homogenous, groups, and subgroups C. Data analysis and interpretation

Matchiny Is a technique for equating groups on one or more

variables y If researcher identify a variable likely to influence performance on the dependent variable using PAIR WAISE matching to control the variable.Other words

Each participant in one group, researcher finds a participant in the other group with the same or very similar score on the control variable.

y If participant in either group does not have a

suitable match, the participant is eliminated from the study.

y MAJOR problem with PAIR WISE matching

invariably some participant have no match and must be eliminated from the study. It would be serious when the researcher attempt to match participants on TWO or more variables simultaneously.

Comparin homo eno s ro ps and s b ro psy Compare groups that are homogenous with respect to

the extraneous variable. Example: Study about preschool attendance and first grade achievement, the decision to compare children only from well to- do families is an attempt is to control extraneous variable by comparing homogenous group. Limits group with only participant with IQs (85 115 )

y This step may lower the number of

participants and limits the generalizability of finding. It is because the sample of participant included such as limited range of IQ.

Satisfactory approach : From subgroup within each group to represent all level of control variable. Example : Each group may be divided into subgroup of IQ. High IQ ability(116 and above ) Average IQ ability ( 85- 115 ) Low IQ ability ( 84 and below )

y This approach o the researcher to

determine whether the target grouping variable affects the dependent variable differently at different levels of IQ as control variable.

Factorial Analysis of Variancey A statistic technique is used to control

variable into the research design and analyze the result. y It allow the researcher to determine the effect of grouping variable y Factorial analysis of variance test for an interaction between the independent / grouping variable operate differently at each level of control variable.

Example : Causal - comparative of the effect of two different methods of learning fractions may include IQ as control variable. potential interaction between grouping and control variable would be a method involving manipulation of block, is more effective than other method for students with lower IQ. BUT : Manipulation of block method is more effective than other methods for students with higher IQ

Analysis of Covariancey A statistic technique use to adjust initial

group differences on variables used in Causal- Comparative study as well as Experimental study. y It adjusts scores on dependent variable for initial difference one some other variable related to performance on dependent variables

Example

y We planned a study to compare two method, X and Y

of teaching fifth graders to solve mathematic problems.When we gave the two groups a test of math ability prior to introducing the new teaching methods, we found that the group to be taught by method Y scored much higher than the group to be taught by method X. This difference suggests that method Y group will be superior to the method X group at the end of the study just because member of the group began with higher math ability than members of others group. Analysis of covariance statistically adjust the score of the method Y group to remove the initial advantage so that the true result can be fairly compare.

Data Analysis and Interpretationy Analysis of

data in Causal- Comparative studies involve a variety of descriptive and inferential statistic. Descriptive statistic 1. Mean Indicate the average performance of a group on a measure of some variable. 2. Standard deviation indicate the spread of a sets of scores around the mean This statistic can help researcher to compare whether the score are relatively close together and cluster around the mean or widely spread out of the mean.

Inferential statistics 1. t test To determine whether the scores of two groups are significantly different from one another. 2. Analysis of Variance To test for significant differences among the scores for three or more group 3. Chi Square To compare group frequencies, to see if an event occurs more frequently in one group than another.

y Interpreting the findings in a Causal

Comparative study requires considerable caution. y The alleged cause effect relation may be the effect, and vice versa, or a third factor may be the cause of both variables. y The way to determine the correct order of causality is to determine which one occurred fist.

QuizQ 1. y Which of the following describes the basic procedures in a causal-comparative study?A. Select two groups that differ on some independent

variable and compare them on some dependent variable. B. Select two groups, give them two different treatments, and then compare them on some dependent variable. C. Select two groups, give them two different treatments, and then compare them on some independent variable.

Q2 y In causal comparative research, the researcher manipulatesA. the independent variable and observes the dependent

variable. B. the dependent variable and observes the independent variable. C. both independent and dependent variables. D. neither independent nor dependent variables

Q3 y The basic difference between causal-comparative research and experimental research is that in causal-comparative studies,A. the independent variable has already been

manipulated by factors outside the researcher's control. B. there is no independent variable. C. the selection of the dependent variable(s) has been predetermined for the researcher. D. there are fewer sources of internal invalidity.

Q4 y Which is the LEAST desirable characteristic of samples for causal-comparative research?A. They are equal in size. B. They are representative of their respective populations. C. They are similar with respect to critical variables. D. They are similar with respect to the independent

variable.

Q5 y Which of the following variables would most likely be investigated using a causal-comparative design?A. amount of homework B. background music C. birth order D. type of feedback

y References

Educational Research : Competencies for Analysis and Application (Ninth Edition ) by L. R. Gay, Geoffrey E. Mills , and Peter Airasian , 2009, Pearson, ISBN-13: 9780-13-233877-6 Internet http://wwwmnstate.edu/wasson/ed603/index.htm.

yThank you