Examples of Causal, Correlational, Descriptive, and Exploratory Research Questions
Summary
TLDRThis video script addresses the alignment of research questions (RQs) with appropriate methodologies in academic research. It outlines four empirical research designs: causal, correlational, descriptive, and exploratory. The speaker clarifies that causal RQs imply a cause-and-effect relationship, requiring causal research designs for proper analysis. Correlational RQs examine relationships without assuming causality and are suited for correlational designs. Descriptive RQs aim to provide detailed accounts of subjects, often using quantitative measures. Exploratory RQs, often qualitative, seek to uncover unknown factors and are best approached with open-ended questions. The script emphasizes the importance of consistency between RQ formulation and research methodology for successful thesis assessment.
Takeaways
- 🔍 The video discusses the alignment of research questions (RQs) with appropriate research methodologies, highlighting the importance for student researchers.
- 🧐 Incongruence between the RQ and the research method can lead to unfavorable assessments of theses, emphasizing the need for consistency.
- 📊 The presenter outlines four types of empirical research designs: causal, correlational, descriptive, and exploratory, each suited for different types of RQs.
- ❓ A causal RQ implies a cause-and-effect relationship, suggesting the influence of an independent variable (IV) on a dependent variable (DV).
- 🔗 Correlational RQs focus on the relationship between variables without implying causation, aiming to understand associations.
- 📋 Descriptive RQs aim to provide detailed and precise descriptions of a subject matter, often using quantitative measures.
- 🔎 Exploratory RQs are typically qualitative, seeking to uncover previously unknown factors or aspects through open-ended inquiries.
- 📝 The video stresses that the phrasing of RQs should match the chosen research method to ensure a coherent research approach.
- 👨🏫 For specific research design questions, the presenter advises consulting with teachers or research advisors for personalized guidance.
- 👍 The video invites viewers to engage with the content by leaving comments and subscribing for more research-related content.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the video script related to student research?
-The main issue discussed is the incongruence between the research question (RQ) and the research method used in student theses, which can lead to unfavorable assessments.
What are the four types of empirical research designs mentioned in the script?
-The four types of empirical research designs mentioned are causal, correlational, descriptive, and exploratory.
How is a causal research question (RQ) characterized in the script?
-A causal RQ is characterized by implying a cause and effect relationship, where one can observe how an independent variable (IV) would cause or influence a dependent variable (DV).
What kind of research design is suggested for a causal RQ in the script?
-For a causal RQ, the script suggests using a causal research design, which could be an experimental design, a pre-test post-test design, or at least a correlational design.
What is the focus of a correlational research question according to the script?
-A correlational RQ focuses on the relationship or correlation between or among certain things without distinguishing between an independent variable and a dependent variable.
Why are descriptive research questions often not explored qualitatively?
-Descriptive research questions are often not explored qualitatively because they aim to describe a subject matter with accuracy or precision, which typically requires quantitative measurement rather than open-ended qualitative inquiry.
What is the primary goal of descriptive research as per the script?
-The primary goal of descriptive research is to provide a detailed and nuanced description of a subject matter, often involving measurement of key dimensions related to the subject.
Why is exploratory research typically qualitative according to the script?
-Exploratory research is typically qualitative because it involves uncovering previously unknown factors or aspects, which requires open questions and a flexible approach to let new insights emerge.
What kind of research questions are best researched qualitatively as per the script?
-Research questions that are exploratory in nature and where the researcher has no clear idea of what the data might show are best researched qualitatively.
What advice does the script give to student researchers regarding their research questions and methods?
-The script advises student researchers to ensure that the way they phrase their research question is consistent with their chosen research method and to consult with their teachers or research advisors for specific questions about their research design.
How does the script suggest handling the complexity of research questions and methods?
-The script simplifies the theory and provides stereotypical examples, but it encourages students to seek guidance from their faculty for specific questions about aligning their research questions with appropriate methodologies.
Outlines
📚 Research Question Congruence with Methodology
The speaker, a committee member assessing student research, emphasizes the importance of aligning research questions (RQs) with appropriate methodologies. They discuss the mismatch between causal RQs and exploratory qualitative methods, which can lead to negative assessments. The video aims to clarify the types of questions for different research designs: causal, correlational, descriptive, and exploratory. Causal RQs imply a cause-and-effect relationship, which should be investigated using causal research designs like experiments or correlational designs. Examples of causal RQs are provided, highlighting the need for a clear independent variable (IV) causing a dependent variable (DV).
🔍 Understanding Correlational and Descriptive Research
The speaker explains that correlational RQs focus on the relationship between variables without implying causality, such as the link between employee commitment and satisfaction. These require correlational designs to measure and calculate relationships. Descriptive research aims to provide detailed and precise descriptions of subjects, like employee satisfaction levels, and is typically quantitative but can sometimes be qualitative, especially when the research is more exploratory in nature.
🔬 The Role of Exploratory Research in Qualitative Studies
Exploratory research is characterized by its qualitative approach, as it seeks to uncover previously unknown factors or aspects. The speaker gives examples of exploratory RQs, such as managers' adaptation to diversity or reasons employees avoid team-building events. These questions are open-ended, aiming to surface new insights rather than relying on preconceived answers. The speaker stresses the importance of matching the RQ's phrasing with the chosen research method and advises students to consult with teachers or advisors for specific research design questions.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Research Question (RQ)
💡Research Method
💡Causal Research Design
💡Correlation
💡Descriptive Research
💡Exploratory Research
💡Independent Variable (IV)
💡Dependent Variable (DV)
💡Effect Size
💡Qualitative Research
Highlights
The importance of aligning research questions with appropriate methodologies to avoid unfavorable assessments.
Four types of empirical research designs: causal, correlational, descriptive, and exploratory.
Causal research questions imply a cause and effect relationship, requiring a clear IV and DV.
Examples of causal questions and how they should be phrased to imply causality.
The expectation for causal research questions to be investigated using causal research designs.
Correlational research questions focus on the relationship between variables without implying causality.
Descriptive research aims to provide detailed and accurate descriptions of a subject matter.
Exploratory research is generally qualitative, aiming to uncover previously unknown factors.
The necessity for qualitative methods in exploratory research due to the lack of clear expectations.
The overlap between descriptive and exploratory research questions and when each is appropriate.
The importance of consulting with teachers or research advisors for specific research design questions.
The video serves as a simplification of theory and includes stereotypical examples for educational purposes.
An invitation for viewers to leave their thoughts and comments in a civil and respectful manner.
A call to action for viewers to like and subscribe if they find the video interesting or helpful.
Transcripts
A BIG PART OF MY JOB IS BEING A MEMBER OF THIS COMMITTEE WHICH ASSESSES STUDENT RESEARCH
PROJECTS AND DISSERTATIONS.
A COMMON ISSUE THAT MY COLLEAGUES AND I ENCOUNTER IS THE INCONGRUENCE BETWEEN RESEARCH QUESTION
AND RESEARCH METHOD.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE SEE IN A STUDENT'S THESIS THAT THE RQ IS A VERY CAUSAL QUESTION, BUT
THE RESEARCH METHOD IS EXPLORATORY QUALITATIVE.
AND THIS INCONGRUENCE OR INCONSISTENCY CAN SOMETIMES LEAD TO UNFAVORABLE ASSESSMENT OF
THE THESIS.
SO IN THIS VIDEO I WISH TO QUICKLY AND HOPEFULLY CLEARLY HIGHLIGHT WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS SHOULD
BE FORMULATED FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESEARCH AND WHAT SORT OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES
WOULD BE BEST SUITED FOR THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RQS.
WE ARE GOING TO COVER FOUR TYPES OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH DESIGN -- CAUSAL, CORRELATIONAL,
DESCRIPTIVE, AND EXPLORATORY.
AND BTW, IF YOU DO NOT QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE TERMS MEAN, PLEASE WATCH MY OTHER VIDEO
ON RESEARCH DESIGN LINKED ABOVE AND BELOW.
A CAUSAL RQ IS ONE WHICH CLEARLY IMPLICATES CAUSE AND EFFECT.
IN OTHER WORDS, ONE SHOULD EASILY OBSERVE IN A CAUSAL QUESTION HOW AN IV WOULD CAUSE
OR INFLUENCE THE DV.
FOR INSTANCE: HOW DOES CLASSROOM TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE STUDENTS' ATTENTION SPAN?
OR: HOW DOES EMPLOYEE DIVERSITY INFLUENCE OCB?
OR: HOW DOES STUDENT IQ INFLUENCE THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT?
THESE QUESTIONS CAN ALSO BE PHRASED A BIT DIFFERENTLY: INSTEAD OF ASKING -- HOW DOES
CLASSROOM TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE STUDENTS' ATTENTION SPAN?
ONE COULD ALSO ASK: WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF CLASSROOM TEMPERATURE
ON STUDENTS' ATTENTION SPAN?
OR: TO WHAT EXTENT DOES CLASSROOM TEMPERATURE
IMPACT STUDENTS' ATTENTION SPAN?
ALTHOUGH THERE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT WAYS TO PHRASE SUCH A QUESTION AND THERE MAY ALSO
BE DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF IVS AND DVS INVOLVED, BUT IN GENERAL, AS LONG AS THE IV AND DV ARE
CLEARLY IMPLICATED IN THE RQ, AND A CLEAR CAUSALITY, OR CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIP,
IS INHERENT IN THE QUESTION, THEN ONE WOULD GENERALLY ACCEPT OR VIEW THIS RQ TO BE CAUSAL.
AND AS SUCH, GENERALLY SPEAKING, ONE WOULD EXPECT THAT THE RESEARCHER WOULD USE A CAUSAL
RESEARCH DESIGN TO INVESTIGATE AND ANSWER SUCH A CAUSAL RQ -- MAYBE AN EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGN, OR A PRE TEST POST TEST DESIGN, OR AT THE VERY LEAST, A CORRELATIONAL DESIGN,
SO THAT THE CAUSALITY, OR THE EFFECT SIZE, CAN BE PROPERLY CALCULATED AND IDENTIFIED.
>>>
NOW, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT CORRELATIONAL QUESTIONS.
A CORRELATIONAL RQ TYPICALLY DOES NOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN IV AND DV, RATHER, IT FOCUSES ON THE
RELATIONSHIP, OR THE CORRELATION, BETWEEN OR AMONG CERTAIN THINGS.
FOR INSTANCE:
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT AND EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION?
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOTEL ROOM OCCUPANCY AND OVERALL PROFITABILITY?
SO, A CORRELATIONAL QUESTION DOES NOT INVOLVE IMPLICATING ONE SPECIFIC VARIABLE AS THE PREDICTOR
AND THE OTHER AS THE OUTCOME.
MAYBE COMMITMENT INFLUENCES SATISFACTION, MAYBE SATISFACTION INFLUENCES COMMITMENT,
MAYBE THERE IS A BI-DIRECTIONAL RELATIONSHIP, OR MAYBE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE 2
VARIABLES IS SIMPLY THE RESULT OF A THIRD PREDICTOR WHICH IS NOT EVEN IMPLICATED IN
THIS RQ.
A CORRELATIONAL QUESTION DOES NOT ASSUME CAUSALITY, ONLY CORRELATION.
CORRELATIONAL RQS GENERALLY CALL FOR A CORRELATIONAL DESIGN.
BOTH VARIABLES SHOULD BE PROPERLY MEASURED SO THAT THE RELATIONSHIP CAN BE CALCULATED.
I WILL LINK ANOTHER VIDEO OF MINE ON THE TOPIC OF "MEASURING VARIABLES, CALCULATING RELATIONSHIPS".
THE LINK IS ABOVE AND BELOW.
>>>
AND NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH GENERALLY AIMS AT DESCRIBING A CERTAIN SUBJECT MATTER WITH HIGHER DEGREES
OF ACCURACY OR PRECISION, OR PROVIDING A MORE NUANCED AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECT.
FOR EXAMPLE:
WHAT IS THE CURRENT LEVEL OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IN THIS FIRM?
TO WHAT DEGREE ARE THE MANAGERS IN THIS FIRM EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT?
SUCH DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN IDENTIFYING CAUSAL EFFECTS OR CORRELATIONS,
THEY ARE PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH DESCRIBING SOMETHING.
IN THE SATISFACTION EXAMPLE, THE RESEARCHER WOULD PROBABLY SET OUT TO MEASURE EMPLOYEES'
OVERALL SATISFACTION AS WELL AS THE KEY DIMENSIONS OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION SUCH AS PAY, ADVANCEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES, RELATIONSHIP WITH COWORKERS AND SUPERVISORS, WORK CONTENT ITSELF, AND
SO ON.
CAN SOMETHING BE DESCRIBED QUALITATIVELY?
YES, BUT THAT'S RATHER RARE.
BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME, IF YOU ARE WRITING A RESEARCH THESIS, YOU HAVE ALREADY PERFORMED
A LIT REVIEW AND YOU TEND TO HAVE A RATHER CLEAR IDEA AS TO WHAT IT IS YOU ARE TRYING
TO DESCRIBE OR MEASURE, IF YOU ARE DOING DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH.
THERE CAN BE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE A QUALITATIVE APPROACH IS WARRANTED.
BUT IN THOSE CASES, ONE MIGHT ARGUE THAT THE CENTRAL QUESTION IS PROBABLY MORE OF AN EXPLORATORY
NATURE, RATHER THAN DESCRIPTIVE.
BECAUSE THERE IS BIT OF AN OVERLAP BETWEEN A DESCRIPTIVE RQ AND AN EXPLORATORY ONE.
>>>
SO, LET'S TALK ABOUT EXPLORATORY QUALITATIVE RQS.
THE REASON WHY EXPLORATORY RESEARCH IS GENERALLY QUALITATIVE IS THAT WHEN WE ARE PERFORMING
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH, WE HAVE NO CLEAR EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT WE WOULD FIND.
WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE ARE GOING TO UNCOVER.
THAT'S WHY WE EXPLORE.
WE WANT TO, THROUGH QUALITATIVE EXPLORATORY RESEARCH, LET PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN FACTORS OR
ASPECTS SURFACE.
AND THAT IS WHY QUALITATIVE EXPLORATORY RQS ARE MOSTLY OPEN QUESTIONS, NOT CLOSED QUESTIONS
WHICH CAN BE PERFECTLY ANSWERED QUANTITATIVELY.
QUALITATIVE EXPLORATORY RQS WILL PROBABLY BE SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
HOW DO MANAGERS ADAPT THEIR OWN BEHAVIORS IN RESPONSE TO AN INCREASINGLY DIVERSE EMPLOYEE
POPULATION?
OR: WHY DO SOME EMPLOYEES AVOID TEAM BUILDING EVENTS ORGANIZED BY THEIR COMPANIES?
THESE RQS ARE EXPLORATORY IN NATURE AND THEY ARE BEST RESEARCHED QUALITATIVELY BECAUSE
THE RESEARCHER HAS NO CLEAR IDEA AS TO WHAT THE DATA WOULD LIKELY SHOW.
FOR INSTANCE, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHY SOME EMPLOYEES ALWAYS STAY AWAY AND CHOOSE
NOT TO JOIN TEAM BUILDING DAYS AT WORK.
WHAT'S THEIR DEAL?
WHY?
I REALLY DON'T KNOW.
SO, I CANNOT GIVE THEM A SURVEY WITH A BUNCH OF REASONS ON THERE AND ASK THEM TO TICK THE
ONES THAT APPLY, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR REASONS MIGHT BE AT ALL.
THAT IS WHY I NEED TO TACKLE THIS QUESTION QUALITATIVELY -- I NEED TO TALK TO THEM, ASK
OPEN QUESTIONS, TRIGGER PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN ANSWERS, AND LET THESE PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN
THINGS SURFACE, SO THAT I GET TO FORM AN UNDERSTANDING AND AN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.
>>>
SO, THE POINT OF THIS VIDEO IS -- AS A STUDENT RESEARCHER, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE
WAY YOU PHRASE YOUR RQ IS CONSISTENT WITH YOUR CHOSEN
RESEARCH METHOD.
AGAIN, THIS VIDEO IS A SIMPLIFICATION OF THEORY AND IT ONLY INCLUDES SOME STEREOTYPICAL EXAMPLES.
WHEN YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH DESIGN, CONSULT WITH YOUR OWN TEACHERS
OR RESEARCH ADVISORS IN YOUR FACULTY.
>>>
ALL RIGHT, AS ALWAYS, I INVITE YOU TO LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS DOWN BELOW, BUT
PLEASE KEEP THEM CIVIL AND RESPECTFUL.
IF YOU FIND THIS VIDEO INTERESTING OR HELPFUL, PLEASE LIKE AND SUB.
THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS RR VID AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.
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