Do you know what causal research is? Do you know what different misconceptions most students have about this research design? Ohh, what? Are you hearing about this research design for the very first time? It is pretty sad to know. Telling cause from the effect by observing two variables has attracted researchers’ interest for over a decade, but are you hearing it for the first time? Okay, there is no need to worry because today, you will learn about this research design.
Although it is a pretty established research design, students still face some issues while exercising it in the research process due to misconceptions. It is why today’s topic of discussion is all about causal research and stating the misconceptions most of you have about it. However, before jumping on to the misconceptions, let’s define them first.
What Does It Mean By Causal Research? Explain With Importance
Causal research is a research design in which you look at the cause and effect relationship between two variables. Many researchers use this method to know the impacts of specific changes on existing norms. This research focuses on analysing the research problem and explaining the possible patterns. The data collection mostly used in this research method is experimentation. The researcher does some experiments on the targeted population and establishes the impact of changes applied.
Cause and effect research is an important method that allows you to understand the impacts a specific change can have on the existing practice. It enables you to identify the potential events causing changes in the existing practices. Additionally, identifying these things helps you solve complex problems. So, all these things make this research design an important one. Therefore, it becomes necessary to hire a dissertation writing service when working on this research type for your dissertation.
7 Misconceptions About Causal Or Cause And Effect Research
Misconceptions are commonly the things that hinder the research process and true understanding of the research design. Like all other research designs, cause and effect research also has some misconceptions. Such misconceptions do not let you establish the true relationship between the variables. Hence, knowing them is very important. A brief description of all the 7 misconceptions is as follows:
1. Preconceived Notions About The Research Problem
It is discussed earlier that many researchers fail to establish the relationship between the variables due to misconceptions. The first misconception that causes this is the preconceived notion about the research problem. Some variables in the research are so common that the researchers have a notion about their relationship even before the research starts. However, those notions may prove wrong upon experimentation. So, preconceived notions are the first misconception that students have about causal research.
2. Non-Scientific Beliefs About The Relationship
The second misconception that students have is that their beliefs are not scientific. They have learned those from other sources like family, society, or religion. Religious beliefs lead to the biggest misconceptions because no one is willing to accept something opposing their religion, even proved scientifically. For example, the research says that the planet earth is a by-product of a huge explosion that took place in space billions of years ago. So, the cause is explosions, and its effect is the earth. But then, religious beliefs give birth to misconceptions by stating that God makes the earth.
3. Experiments Are Necessary
Another misconception that exists among the students is that experiment is the only way to collect data for causal research. No, it is not the case, dear student. The experiment is not the ultimate data collection tool. In the case of social or psychological research, you use methods like observations, surveys, and questionnaires to study the problem and establish the relationship between the variables. Hence, believing in experiments as the only way to collect data is a misconception of most students.
4. Causal Research Defines The Relationship Fully
Many students believe that after conducting causal research, there is no need to research the variables again. They think that the relationship established now will be true in the coming years. Additionally, they think that the relationship has been defined fully. No, it is not always true. It might be true in the case of nature or relationships between natural things. However, if you are studying the cause and effect of physical things, then know that it is prone to change with time. A relationship established today can alter after maybe 10 or 20 years. So, considering a discovered relationship full and final is a misconception.
5. A Proven Relationship Can Be A law
The cause and effect relationship discovers the relationship between two or more variables. In order to do so, you first establish a hypothesis or a relationship between the intended variables. If your research approves of your relationship, it is great. But this is exactly where a misconception about this research design generates. Students think that the proven relationship is the law. However, a law is something that can never be changed, but your established relationship can alter in a few years. So, it is a misconception about this method.
6. If No Relationship Is Proven, Research Is Useless
It is very common in research that students think that their research is useless if there is no relationship proven after experimentation. It is just a misconception of those students who think that like that. There may or may not exist a relationship between two variables. So, thinking that your research is useless is just a misconception.
7. Relationships Are Prone To Bias
Although this misconception of students is pretty much true about this method, most of the time, it is just a misconception. It is because thoroughly conducted research establishes the true relationship between the research variables. There is no impact of bias in it. If you think that you can conduct such research, then it is just a misconception that relationships are prone to researcher bias.
Conclusion
Conclusively, causal research is a type of research in which the researcher tries to uncover the relationship between two or more variables. However, many misconceptions like thinking the found relationship are the final thing that hinders the research process. Other misconceptions are also listed above. Read them out and try to avoid them when conducting this research.
