CAUSAL COMPARATIVE
RESEARCH DESIGN
INTRODUCTION
A causal-comparative design is a research design that
seeks to find relationships between independent and
dependent variables after an action or event has already
occurred or simply explains the cause-effect relationship
between two or more groups. Also, the goal is to determine
whether the independent variable affected the outcome, or
dependent variable, by comparing two or more groups of
individuals. There are similarities and differences between
causal-comparative research, also referred to as ex post
facto research, and both correlational and experimental
research. This entry discusses these differences, as well as
the benefits, process, limitations, and criticism of this type
of research design.
AIM
The Aim Determine the cause of existing differences
among groups
At least two different groups are compared on a dependent
variable or measure of performance (called the “effect”) because
the independent variable (called the “cause”) has already
occurred or cannot be manipulated.
Dependent variable - the change or difference occurring as a
result of the independent variable.
Independent variable - an activity of characteristic believed to
make a difference with respect to some behavior.
CHARACTERISTICS
Attempts to identify cause and effect relationships.
Involve two or more group variables.
Involve making comparison.
Individuals are not randomly selected and assigned to
two or more groups.
Cannot manipulate the independent variables.
Less costly and time consuming.
THREE TYPES OF CAUSAL
COMPARATIVE RESEARCH:
1. Exploration of effects (dependent variable) causes by membership in a
given group.
Question: What differences in abilities are caused by gender?
2. Exploration of causes. (Independent Variable) of a group membership.
Question: What causes individuals to join a gang?
3. Exploration of the consequences. (Dependent Variable) of an
intervention
Question: How do student taught by the inquiry method react to
propaganda
DESIGN OF CAUSAL-
COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
The researcher selects two groups of participants,
the experimental and control groups, but more
accurately referred to as comparison groups.
Groups may differ in two ways.
One group possesses a characteristic that the other does
not.
Each group has the characteristic, but to differing
degrees or amounts.
TYPES OF CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE
RESEARCH DESIGNS
1. RETROSPECTIVE CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN
Requires that a researcher begins investigating a particular question when
the effects have already occurred and the researcher attempts to determine
whether one variable may have influenced another variable.
2. PROSPECTIVE CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
Occurs when a researcher initiates a study beginning with the causes and is
determined to investigate the effects of a condition. By far, retrospective
causal-comparative research designs are much more common than
prospective causal-comparative designs (Gay et al., 2006).
BASIC APPROACH OF CAUSAL-
COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
The researcher observe that 2 groups differ on some variable (teaching style) and then
attempt to find the reason for (or the results of) this difference.
***Note that the difference has already occurred.***
The basic causal-comparative approach involves
starting with an effect and seeking possible causes
(retrospective).
The basic approach starts with cause and investigates
its effects on some variable (prospective).
Retrospective causal-comparative studies are far
more common in educational research.
STEPS IN CONDUCTING CAUSAL-
COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
The following steps, as described by Lodico et al. (2006), should be adhered to by researchers
conducting a causal-comparative study.
• Select a Topic Topics studied with causal- comparative research designs typically catch a researcher’s attention based on experiences or situations that have occurred in
STEP the real world.
1
• Review of literature Reviewing published literature on a specific topic of interest is especially important when conducting causal- comparative research as such a review
STEP can assist a researcher in determining which extraneous variables may exist in the situation that they are considering studying.
2
• Develop a Research Hypothesis Hypotheses developed for causal- comparative research to identify the independent and dependent variables. Causal-comparative
STEP research hypotheses should describe the expected impact of the independent variable on the dependent variable.
3
• Select Participants In causal-comparative research participants are already organized in groups. The researcher selects two groups of participants, the experimental and
control groups, but more accurately referred to as comparison groups because one group does not possess a characteristic or experience possessed by the second
STEP group or the two groups differ in the amount of a characteristic that they share. The independent variable differentiating the groups must be clearly and operationally
4 defined, since each group represents a different
• Select Instruments to Measure Variables & Collecting Data As with all of types of quantitative research, causal-comparative research requires that researcher select
STEP instruments that are reliable and allow researchers to draw valid conclusions (link to reliability and validity portion of site). After a researcher has selected a reliable and
valid instrument, data for the study can be collected.
5
• Analyze and Interpret Results Typically, in causal-comparative studies data is reported as a mean or frequency for each group. Inferential statistics are then used to
determine whether the means “for the groups are significantly different from each other”(Lodico et al., 2006, p. 214). Since casual-comparative research cannot
STEP definitively determine that one variable has caused something to occur, researchers should instead report the findings of causal comparative studies as a possible effect
6 or possible cause of an occurrence.
THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY IN
CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
The possibility exists that the groups are not equivalent on one or more
important variables
Lack of randomization
Inability to manipulate an independent variable
Data collector bias
History
Maturation
Oftentimes subject bias occurs
Instrument decay
Attitude
Regression
Pre-test/treatment interaction effect
Loss of subjects
Location
DATA ANALYSIS
In a Causal-Comparative Study, the first step is to
construct frequency polygons.
Means and SD are usually calculated if the variables
involved are quantitative.
The most commonly used inference test is a t- test for
differences between means.
ANCOVAs are useful for these types of studies.
ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE
It is used to adjust initial group differences on variables used in causal-comparative and experimental
research studies.
Analysis of covariance adjusts scores on a dependent variable for initial differences on some other
variable related to performance on the dependent.
Suppose we were doing a study to compare two methods, X and Y, of teaching fifth graders to solve
math problems.
Covariate analysis statistically adjusts the scores of method Y to remove the initial advantage so that the
results at the end of the study can be fairly compared as if the two groups started
Analysis of data also involves a variety of descriptive and inferential statistics.
The most commonly used descriptive statistics are (a) The Mean, which indicates the average
performance of a group on some measure of a variable, and (b) The Standard Deviation, which indicates
how spread out a set of scores is around the mean, that is, whether the scores are relatively
homogeneous or heterogeneous around the mean.
The most commonly used inferential statistics are:
(a) The t test, used to determine whether the means of two groups are statistically different from one another;
(b) Analysis of variance, used to determine if there is significant difference among the means of three or more
groups; and
(c) Chi square, used to compare group frequencies, or to see if an event occurs
LIMITATIONS OF USE
There must be a “pre-existing” independent
variable Years of study, gender, age, etc.
There must be active variables- variables
which the research can manipulate the
length and number of study sessions,
instructional techniques, etc.
Lack of randomization, manipulation, and
control factors make it difficult to establish
cause-effect relationships with any degree of
confidence.
CONCLUSION
From the word itself “cause” it tries to
explain the effect or the consequence of
the variable that has already done. It can
use as a tool for comparison to determine
if there is a relation between the two
variable The result can be a positive or
negative.
REFLECTION
As a future Guidance Counselor this causal -
comparative research design will be very useful. As we
always monitor the effectiveness of the counseling we
conduct to our clients. This will be an assessment tool
for the comparison of the treatments and techniques from
the theory to the real life application.
REFERENCES
Gay, L. R. (1987). Educational research: Competencies
for analysis and application (3rd ed.). New York:
Merrill.
