Causal research, also known as explanatory research is conducted in order to identify the extent and nature of cause-and-effect relationships. Causal research can be conducted in order to assess impacts of specific changes on existing norms, various processes etc. Causal studies focus on an analysis of a situation or a specific problem to explain the
patterns of relationships between variables. Experiments are the most popular primary data collection methods in studies with causal research design. The presence of cause cause-and-effect relationships can be confirmed only if specific causal evidence exists. Causal evidence has three important components: 1. Temporal sequence. The cause must occur before the effect. For example, it would not be appropriate to credit the increase in sales to rebranding efforts if the increase had started before the rebranding. 2. Concomitant variation. The variation must be systematic between the two variables. For example, if a company doesn’t change its employee training and development practices, then changes in customer satisfaction cannot be caused by employee training and development. 3. Nonspurious association. Any covarioaton between a cause and an effect must be true and not simply due to other variable. In other words, there should be no a ‘third’ factor that relates to both, cause, as well as, effect. The table below compares the main characteristics of causal research to exploratory and descriptive research designs:[1]
Main characteristics of research designs The following are examples of research objectives for causal research design:
Advantages of Causal Research (Explanatory Research)
Disadvantages of Causal Research (Explanatory Research)
My e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: a step by step assistance contains discussions of theory and application of research designs. The e-book also explains all stages of the research process starting from the selection of the research area to writing personal reflection. Important elements of dissertations such as research philosophy, research approach, methods of data collection, data analysis and sampling are explained in this e-book in simple words. John Dudovskiy [1] Source: Zikmund, W.G., Babin, J., Carr, J. & Griffin, M. (2012) “Business Research Methods: with Qualtrics Printed Access Card” Cengage Learning Which research method is most appropriate if you are looking for casual relationship?Experimental research allows the identification of causal relationships between entities or events. Successful experimental research depends on well-defined research hypotheses that specify the dependent variables to be observed and the independent variables to be controlled.
Which research method is used to determine causality?Causal research, also known as explanatory research or causal-comparative research, identifies the extent and nature of cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables.
Which approach is the best method for establishing causeThe only method that will establish a cause-and-effect relationship is an experimental research design. A true experiment must feature a control group as one of the experimental groups, along with random sampling from the population and random assignment of the study subjects to the experimental groups.
Which research study will test the relationship between variables?Correlational research involves measuring two variables and assessing the relationship between them, with no manipulation of an independent variable. Correlational research is not defined by where or how the data are collected.
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