研究设计的用语.ppt

Exhibit 6-5 People without scientific training may think that a correlation is causation. However, just because two things change together does not imply a cause-and-effect relationship. The essential element of causation is that some external factor produces a change in the dependent variable: A produces B. Empirically, we never demonstrate causality with certainty because we do not prove causal linkages deductively. Empirical research conclusions are based on inferences or inductive conclusions. These conclusions are probability statements, based on what we observe and measure and what we conclude is likely to happen. There are three possible relationships that can occur between two variables. These are named in the slide. A symmetrical relationship is one in which two variables vary together but we assume the changes in neither variables are due to changes in the other. A reciprocal relationship exists when two variables mutually influence or reinforce each other. With asymmetrical relationships, we postulate that changes in one variable (independent variable) are responsible for changes in another (dependent variable). Exhibit 8-3 describes the four types of asymmetrical relationships and is provided on the next slide. Exhibit 8-3 details…relationship but students need to understand the foundations: A stimulus is an event or force (e.g., drop in temperature, crash of stock market, product recall, or explosion in factory). A response is a decision or reaction. A property is an enduring characteristic of a subject that does not depend on circumstances for its activation (e.g., age, gender, family status, religious affiliation, ethnic group, or physical condition). A disposition is a tendency to respond in a certain way under certain circumstances (e.g., attitudes, opinions, habits, values, and drives). A behavior is an action (e.g., consumption habits, work performance, interpersonal acts, and other kinds of performance). Exhibit 8-3 details the four types