LESSON 13-14

• Causal Effect or Causation


  Variation in one phenomenon, an independent variable, leads to or results, on average, in variation in another phenomenon, the dependent variable, without any unintentional interference from a third variable
• Correlation


  A type of non-experimental research in which the researcher measures two variables and assesses the statistical relationship (i.e., the correlation) between them with little or no effort to control extraneous variables
• Correlation does not mean causation. Just because two variables are correlated does not mean that one is the cause of the other. If two variables, however, have a causal relationship, then they are correlated.
• Associational Research


  • Purpose is to determine possible relationships related to a phenomenon, unlike Descriptive Research which just describes a phenomenon
  • Enables researchers to understand phenomena more completely
  • Enables researchers to make predictions
• Causal-comparative and Correlational research methodologies are the principal examples of associational research
• Both causal-comparative and correlational research study whether two or more variables are related in a statistical context
• Method is the technique used to gather and generate data
• Research Design is a plan which structures the study to ensure that the data collected and generated will contain the information needed to answer the initial inquiry as fully and clearly as possible
• Population is the sum of all the units of analysis
• Sampling is the process of choosing a representative part of the population under study
• Statistical Treatment is the method in which statistical techniques are incorporated and applied in order to solve the research problem
• Level of Measurement is the way chosen by the researcher/s in order to measure the variables
• Descriptive Research


  • Describes a given state of affairs as fully and carefully as possible, usually starting a chain of research regarding a phenomenon
  • The most common descriptive methodology is the survey
• Descriptive research, in and of itself, is not very satisfying because it does not enable researchers to understand the roots of the phenomenon, but just describes it
• Mass media influence the way facts are viewed and debated in society. Independence and pluralism in media, public opinion and views— including criticism of people in power— are the safeguards of a healthy democracy.