CORRELATIONAL STUDIES VS EXPERIMENTS Flashcards
What is the main focus of the lesson?
The fundamental differences between correlational studies and experiments, and the unique role of experiments in determining causation.
What is the correlational method?
A method where relationships are studied by making observations or measures of the variables of interest.
What is a correlation coefficient?
A numerical index of the strength of the relationship between variables, symbolized as r.
What does a correlation coefficient of 0.00 indicate?
That the two variables are not related at all.
What does a correlation coefficient closer to +1.00 or -1.00 indicate?
A stronger relationship between the variables.
What are the three types of correlation?
Positive correlation, negative correlation, and zero (no) correlation.
What is a positive correlation?
Increases in one variable are accompanied by increases in the second variable, or decreases in one variable are accompanied by decreases in the second variable.
What is a negative correlation?
Increases in one variable are accompanied by decreases in the other variable.
What is zero (no) correlation?
No relationship between the variables is observed.
Can correlation prove causation?
No, correlation only describes the degree of relationship between two variables.
What is a third-variable problem?
A third variable that is extraneous to the two variables being studied may be responsible for an observed relationship.
What is the role of an experiment in determining cause and effect?
Only an experiment can determine cause and effect by controlling extraneous variables.
What does the experimental method involve?
Direct manipulation and control of variables, where the independent variable is manipulated to measure the response in the dependent variable.
What is experimental control?
Holding all other variables constant or eliminating them to prove causation.
What is an operational definition of a variable?
The set of procedures used to measure or manipulate a variable.
