ERIC Number: EJ927583
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jun
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-726X
EISSN: N/A
Commentary on Causal Prescriptive Statements
Graesser, Arthur C.; Hu, Xiangen
Educational Psychology Review, v23 n2 p279-285 Jun 2011
Causal prescriptive statements are valued in the social sciences when there is the goal of helping people through interventions. The articles in this special issue cover different methods for testing causal prescriptive statements. This commentary identifies both virtues and liabilities of these different approaches. We argue that it is extremely difficult to confirm causal prescriptive statements because of the potentially infinite number of third variables in causal relationships and of confounding variables in experimental manipulations. All methodological approaches, including randomized control trials, have a simple view of causality that does not adequately solve the challenges of indeterminacy, interactions, combinatorial explosion, and dynamics. However, these challenges should not discourage researchers from formulating and testing causal prescriptive statements.
Descriptors: Research Methodology, Testing, Social Sciences, Intervention, Control Groups, Researchers, Causal Models
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A080589

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