CAUSAL RESEARCH

The foremost goal of causal research (also referred to as experimental research) is to recognise and obtain evidence with regard to cause-and-effect relationships between variables in the problem model. Exploratory and descriptive research usually paves the way for cause-and-effect relationship studies. Whilst descriptive research is able to examine associations between variables, causal research has the potential to illustrate that a change in one variable causes some predictable change in another variable. In the latter research type, researchers typically have an anticipation about the relationship to be explained and must thus be quite knowledgeable about the subject in order to attempt to explain why things happen. Roughly speaking, causal research is suitable to be used in any of the following scenarios: to realise which variables are the cause (independent variables) and which variables are the effect (dependent variables) of a phenomenon; and to verify the nature of the relationship between the causal variables and the effect to be predicted. Causal research is characterized by a structured design and a considerable amount of planning. This design sees how various independent variables are manipulated in order to check how a dependent variable is affected within a relatively controlled environment something which other research approaches are not capable of doing. There are, however, disadvantages of causal research. Some of the most common issues include it being expensive, having administration problems, not always being a good market representation and that competitors are able to audit the prevailing results. Uses of Causal Research To understand which variables are the cause (independent variables) and which variables are the effect (dependent variables) of a phenomenon To determine the nature of the relationship between the causal variables and the effect to be predicted

Independent & Dependent Variables

Try the following exercise to see if you can identify the independent and dependent variables. A researcher wanted to study the effects of sleep deprivation on physical coordination. The researcher selected 25 year-old male college students and deprived some of the subjects to either 24, 36, or 45 hours of sleep. In the present study the independent variable was: a) the length of time the subjects were deprived of sleep. b) the age of the subjects. c) the gender of the subjects. d) the physical coordination skills of the subjects. In the present study the dependent variable was: a) the length of time the subjects were deprived of sleep. b) the age of the subjects. c) the gender of the subjects. d) the physical coordination skills of the subjects. Control & Experimental Groups In an experiment, researchers are typically concerned about the performance of subjects in the experimental group. If a researcher wants to know if a new drug helps improve memory, the researcher is most interested in the how people who are given the drug perform on the memory test. However, in order to conclude that the drug "improves" memory, people who take it must perform better than those who do not take the drug. The CONTROL GROUP serves as the BASELINE performance. The group given the drug serves as the EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. Extraneous Variables In order to isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable, researchers must rule out alternative explanations. In other words, only the independent variable can be allowed to vary. The term EXTRANEOUS VARIABLE is used to refer to any other factor that might affect the dependent variable.

1. Evidence to Support Causation Concomitant variation If X is supposed to cause Y, then the two variables must move together. If one variable changes, we should observe a resulting change in the other. Time order of occurrence If X is supposed to cause Y, then changes in X must precede changes in Y.

 Elimination of other possible causes If X causes Y, no other factor could have reasonably caused the change in Y at that moment. Must hold all other variables constant. 2. Experiments are the best way to satisfy elements of causation. 3. May be Field Experiment or Laboratory Experiment 4. Tradeoff between realism versus control 5. Examples of experimentation in marketing Market test (test marketing) Advertising response (recall, affect, attitude toward ad elements) Promotional design (consumer response to promotional deals, incentives, tie-ins Store layout and design Product positioning Color tracking and package design Basic principles of Experimental Designs: Prof. R. A. Fisher has enumerated three principles of experimental designs: 1. The principle of replication 2. The principle of randomization and 3. Principle of local control 1. The principle of replication: According to the principle of replication, the experiment should be repeated more than once. Thus, each treatment is applied in many experimental units instead of one. By doing so the statistical accuracy of the experiments is increased. For example if we are supposed to examine the effect of two varieties of rice. For this purpose we may divide the field into two parts and grow one veriety in one part and another variety in the other part. We can then compare the yield of the two parts and draw conclusion on that basis. But if we are going to apply principle of replication to this experiment, then we first divide the field into several parts, grow one variety on half of these parts and another in the other half. We the collect data of yield of the two varieties and draw conclusions comparing the same. The result so obtained will be more reliable than the result obtained without application of replication. The entire experiment can be repeated several times for getting better results. 2. The principle of randomization The principle of randomization provides protection, when we conduct an experiment, against the effects of extraneous factors by randomization. This principle indicates that we should design or plan the experiment in such a way that the variations caused by extraneous factors can all be combined under the general heading of chance For Example- if we grow one variety of rice in first half and another variety in other half, then it is possible that the soil fertility may be different in the first half in comparison to the second half. If so our results will not be realistic. In such a situation we may assign the variety of rice to be grown in different parts of the field on the basis of some random techniques. 3. The principle of local control

Under it the extraneous factor, the known source of variability, is made to vary deliberately over as wide a range as necessary and this needs to be done in such a way that the variability it causes can be measured and hence eliminated from the experimental error. According to principle of local control we first divide the field into several homogenous parts, known as blocks, and then each such block is divided into parts equal to number of treatment. Then the treatments are randomly assigned to these parts of a block. Dividing the field into several homogeneous parts is known as blocking. In general, blocks are the levels at which we hold an extraneous factor fixed, so that we can measure its contribution to the total variability of the data by means of a two-way analysis of variance. In brief, through the principle of local control we can eliminate the variability due to extraneous factor(s) from the experimental error. Here, Treatments: Rice Extraneous factor: Soil fertility Types of Experimental designs 1. Before-and-after without control design In such a design a single test group or area is selected and the dependent variable is measured before the introduction of the treatment. The treatment is then introduced and the dependent variable is measured again after the treatment has been introduced. The effect of the treatment will be equal to the level of the phenomenon after the treatment minus the level of the phenomenon before the treatment. The design can be represented thus:

Test area:

Level of phenomenon Before treatment (X)

Treatment introduced

Level of phenomenon after treatment (Y)

Treatment Effect = (Y)-(X)

2. After-only with control design In this design two group or areas (test area and control area) are selected and the treatment is introduced into the test area only. The dependent variable is then measured in both the areas at the same time. Treatment impact is assessed by subtracting the value of dependent variable in the control area from its value in the test area. The design can be shown as
Test area: Level of phenomenon Before treatment Treatment introduced Level of phenomenon after treatment (Y) Level of phenomenon after treatment (Z) Treatment Effect = (Y)-(Z)

Control area:

3. Before-and-after with control design In this design two areas are selected and the dependent variable is measured in both the areas for an identical time period before the treatment. The treatment is then introduced in the test area only, and the dependent variable is measured in both for an identical time period after the introduction of the treatment. The treatment effect is determined subtracting the change in the dependent variable in the control area from the change in the dependent variable in test area. The design can be shown as

Test area:

Level of phenomenon Before treatment (X) Level of phenomenon Without treatment (A) Treatment Effect = (Y-X) (Z-A)

Treatment introduced

Level of phenomenon after treatment (Y) Level of phenomenon after treatment (Z)

Control area: