Chapter 6: Causation And Experimental Design

Front 1

Causal effect

Back 1

The finding that one variable leads to change in another variable.

Front 2

Ceteris paribus

Back 2

Latin phrase meaning "other things being equal."

Front 3

What are the 5 criteria that should be considered in trying to establish a causal relationship?

Back 3

Empirical association, temporal priority of the independent variable, nonspuriousness, identifying a causal mechanism, and specifying the context in which the effects occur.

Front 4

Association (in establishing a causal effect)

Back 4

A criterion for establishing a causal relationship between two variables. Variation in one variable is empirically related to variation in another. (As one goes up, the other must go up at the same time.)

Front 5

Time order (in establishing a causal effect)

Back 5

The variation in the presumed cause (independent variable) must occur before the variation in the presumed effect (dependent variable).

Front 6

Nonspuriousness (in establishing a causal effect)

Back 6

A relationship between two variables is not due to variation in a third variable.

Front 7

Spurious

Back 7

Nature of a presumed relationship between two variables that is actually due to a third variable.

Front 8

Mechanism (in establishing a causal effect)

Back 8

The process that creates the connection between the variation in an independent variable and the variation in the dependent variable (that it is hypothesized to cause).

Front 9

Context (in establishing a causal effect)

Back 9

The larger set of interrelated circumstances in which a particular outcome should be understood.

Front 10

True Experiment

Back 10

An experiment in which subjects are assigned randomly to an experimental group that receives a treatment or other manipulation of the independent variable and a comparison group that does not receive the treatment or receives some other manipulation. Outcomes are measured in a posttest.

Front 11

What are 3 criteria that must be met for an experiment to be considered a True Experiment?

Back 11

1. Two comparison groups (which establish association
2. Variation in the independent variable before the assessment of change in the dependent variable, which establishes time order
3. Random assignment of the comparison groups, establishing nonspuriousness

Front 12

Comparison groups

Back 12

Groups that have been exposed to different treatments or values of the independent variable. (ie control group/experimental group).

Front 13

Experimental group

Back 13

The group in an experiment of subjects that receives the treatment or experimental manipulation.

Front 14

Control group

Back 14

A comparison group that receives no treatment.

Front 15

Random assignment (randomization)

Back 15

A procedure by which each experimental subject is placed in a group randomly.

Front 16

Matching

Back 16

A procedure for equating the characteristics of individuals in different comparison groups in an experiment.

Front 17

Quasi-experimental design

Back 17

A research design in which there is a comparison group that is comparable to the experimental group in critical ways, but subjects are not randomly assigned to the comparison and experimental groups.

Front 18

Nonequivalent control group design

Back 18

A quasi-experimental design in which there are experimental and comparison groups that are designed before the treatment occurs but are not created by random assignment.

Front 19

Before and after designs

Back 19

A quasi-experimental design consisting of several before and after treatment comparisons involving some variables but no comparison group.

Front 20

Ex post facto control group design

Back 20

A non-experimental design in which comparison groups are selected after the treatment, program, or other variation in the independent variable has occurred.

Front 21

Individual matching

Back 21

A selection method for the quasi-experimental design in which the treatment group are matched with similar individuals in the comparison group.

Front 22

Aggregate matching

Back 22

A selection method for the quasi-experimental design in which a comparison group is identified that matches the treatment group in the aggregate rather than trying to match individual cases.

Front 23

What is missing in a before and after design?

Back 23

A comparison group.

Front 24

Multiple group before and after design

Back 24

A type of quasi-experimental design in which several before and after comparisons are made involving the same independent and dependent variables but different groups.

Front 25

Repeated measures panel design

Back 25

A quasi-experiemental design consisting of several pretest and posttest observations of the same group.

Front 26

Time series design

Back 26

A quasi-experimental design consisting of many pretest and posttest observations of the same group.

Front 27

Advantages of open-ended questions

Back 27

respondents answer in their own terms, allow for new, unexpected responses, exploratory (generate fixed answer questions)