Question

What are the two reasons that limit the ability of correlational studies to provide information on causal relations between measured variables?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) (1) Confounding variable – When there is a confounding variable involved, it would generally prove that “A” does not cause “B” but rather is caused by “C.”

A confounding variable is a variable that is directly or indirectly related to both, the independent or independent variable. Example: It can be assumed that the older one gets, the fatter they become.

Here – Purported Cause – Age

Purported Effect – Weight gain.

But, in fact, the real problem could be that older people are sedentary due to their jobs. Lack of physical activity causes them to gain weight.

Actual Cause – Lesser activity.

(2) Control groups – When researchers have a control group, they make less room for other variables to sufficiently interact with the dependent variable. In such cases, insufficient or improper data would lead to wrong conclusions.

For instance, there is a study conducted to find out if ocean water has fish. To do this, researchers collect a small tub of ocean water to analyse. This would function as the “control group.” This small tub of water does not have fish and so the researchers conclude that the ocean has no fish.