7: Correlational Designs

a correlation design is in a _______ setting and has ___ control

natural, low

correlational designs

measure two or more variables and assess relationship between them

• no manipulation of any variable

• low control

• no causal inferences

  • directionality

  • third variable (spurious correlation)

distinction between correlational design and correlations

• simply using correlational tests does NOT mean that a study uses a correlational design

types of correlational designs depend on when the IV is assessed relative to the DV

• predictive

• concurrent

• postdictive

issues with postdictive designs

• selective sampling: some participants may no longer be available

• DV could influence IV (directionality problem)

correlational designs sometimes use archival data

• research has no control over how data were collected

• unknown quality of data

• usually not collected for scientific purposes

  • incomplete data, poorly measured constructs, subject to bias