Unit 10: The things you CHOOSE to measure, the questions you choose to ask. Digging deeper into variables and questions

35 RQs – Definition, Fact, Association, Causation

The next two chapters are about research questions and hypotheses. Specifically, they talk about different types of research questions and hypotheses. Research questions can help define things and establish facts. Both RQs and HYs can involve association and causation.

Should you believe it?

The criteria for establishing causality are good things to pay attention to in this unit. This is where you’re likely see a lot of violation between any given primary research and the popular press source applying that research to make a point.

Don’t fall asleep before you get to the discussion of directionality in hypotheses. It’s one of those things that seems so simple, but requires some of that Healthy External Skepticism.

I will admit that this is potentially not terribly exciting stuff. So in the lecture video, I reference a game. You can find it here.

[and now for your regularly scheduled student textbook authors]

Learning Objectives

What is a research question?


RQs – Definition, Fact, Association, Causation

What is a Research Question?

Research questions are composed of variables and each variable has a unique relationship to the RQ. These relationships could include an association, causation, definition, or a fact. Each are defined below.

Definition- A research question that seeks to define something.

Example: How do students use cell phones?

 

Fact- A research question that seeks to know if something has happened or if something is going to change

Example: Do people use cellphones as a form of communication?

 

Association*- means they are related, but one does not cause another.

Example: Are bad grades and cell phone use in class related?

*you’ll usually hear this described as “correlation”

 


Causation-
means there is a direct relationship of cause. It follows an A causes B model.

There are three rules a RQ must follow in order to test causation:
    1. Temporal: Cause must come before effect.
    2. It can’t be Spurious[1]: Some outside factor that is explainable which is causing A to cause B.
    3. Co-vary: Must be associated with each other (Co-variables).

Textbook Contribution: Julia, Rob, Grace, Katelyn Group 4 (2019)

Association- how one variable correlated with another variable?
Ex- How do temperatures below 50 degrees correlate to college class attendance?
Causation- what effects a cause on a variable
Ex- How is class attendance affected by weather – does cold weather cause student attendance to drop?
Fact- asks a yes or no question
Ex- Do fewer people attend classes when its cold?
Definition- a question that states the definition
Ex- How do college students define unpleasant weather?

 

Aside: I (DocMC) got a ring light somewhere between Units 9 and 10 and reviewing all the videos …well…I am not convinced that the ring light is a positive addition. Is it just me or does it make my skin look somewhat cartoonified? Or perhaps my health has taken an extreme turn for the worse…and these videos actually feature a cadaver. Very “Weekend at Bernies.”

Games from this video are in a separate chapter so that they don’t make this one an endless scroll.

Got ideas for questions to include on the exam?

Click this link to add them! [this course element is paused because ya’ll aren’t submitting many questions…]

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Unit 10: The things you CHOOSE to measure, the questions you choose to ask. Digging deeper into variables and questions

Paradigms — What’s in the box?

RQs – Definition, Fact, Association, Causation

HYs- Association, Causation, Direction

Independent and Dependent Variables Related to Causation

 


  1. Spurious: Shows a relationship between two things that does not prove it. Two variables could be independent from each other but may SEEM like they are distinctly related. Use of this word is most fun if you say it like a pirate. Spuuuuurios!
definition