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Ritu was in charge of marketing a new protein drink about to be launched. The client wanted a causal-comparative study highlighting the drink’s benefits. They demanded that comparative analysis be made the main campaign design strategy. After carefully analyzing the project requirements, Ritu decided to follow a causal-comparative research design. She realized that causal-comparative research emphasizing physical development in different groups of people would lay a good foundation to establish the product.
What Is Causal Comparative Research?
Causal-comparative research is a method used to identify the cause–effect relationship between a dependent and independent variable. This relationship is usually a suggested relationship because we can’t control an independent variable completely. Unlike correlation research, this doesn’t rely on relationships. In a causal-comparative research design, the researcher compares two groups to find out whether the independent variable affected the outcome or the dependent variable.
A causal-comparative method determines whether one variable has a direct influence on the other and why. It identifies the causes of certain occurrences (or non-occurrences). It makes a study descriptive rather than experimental by scrutinizing the relationships among different variables in which the independent variable has already occurred. Variables can’t be manipulated sometimes, but a link between dependent and independent variables is established and the implications of possible causes are used to draw conclusions.
In a causal-comparative design, researchers study cause and effect in retrospect and determine consequences or causes of differences already existing among or between groups of people.
Let’s look at some characteristics of causal-comparative research:
- This method tries to identify cause and effect relationships.
- Two or more groups are included as variables.
- Individuals aren’t selected randomly.
- Independent variables can’t be manipulated.
- It helps save time and money.
The main purpose of a causal-comparative study is to explore effects, consequences and causes. There are two types of causal-comparative research design. They are:
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Retrospective Causal Comparative Research
For this type of research, a researcher has to investigate a particular question after the effects have occurred. They attempt to determine whether or not a variable influences another variable.
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Prospective Causal Comparative Research
The researcher initiates a study, beginning with the causes and determined to analyze the effects of a given condition. This is not as common as retrospective causal-comparative research.
Usually, it’s easier to compare a variable with the known than the unknown.
Examples Of Causal Comparative Research Variables
Researchers use causal-comparative research to achieve research goals by comparing two variables that represent two groups. This data can include differences in opportunities, privileges exclusive to certain groups or developments with respect to gender, race, nationality or ability.
For example, to find out the difference in wages between men and women, researchers have to make a comparative study of wages earned by both genders across various professions, hierarchies and locations. None of the variables can be influenced and cause-effect relationship has to be established with a persuasive logical argument. Some common variables investigated in this type of research are:
- Achievement and other ability variables
- Family-related variables
- Organismic variables such as age, sex and ethnicity
- Variables related to schools
- Personality variables
While raw test scores, assessments and other measures (such as grade point averages) are used as data in this research, sources, standardized tests, structured interviews and surveys are popular research tools.
However, there are drawbacks of causal-comparative research too, such as its inability to manipulate or control an independent variable and the lack of randomization. Subject-selection bias always remains a possibility and poses a threat to the internal validity of a study. Researchers can control it with statistical matching or by creating identical subgroups. Executives have to look out for loss of subjects, location influences, poor attitude of subjects and testing threats to produce a valid research study.
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