Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each design by whether it can, on its own, establish causation.
Groups: Can establish causation · Cannot establish causation on its own
- True experiment with random assignment
- Quasi-experiment without random assignment
- Correlational study
- Archival analysis of existing records
- Case study of a single individual
Hints
- Only one design controls confounds well enough to justify a strong causal claim.
- Without random assignment (and often without manipulation), confounds remain uncontrolled.
Show the answer
Can establish causation: True experiment with random assignment
Cannot establish causation on its own: Correlational study, Case study of a single individual, Quasi-experiment without random assignment, Archival analysis of existing records
Why
Only the true experiment, through random assignment, controls confounds well enough to support causation. Correlational, case, quasi-experimental, and archival designs can suggest relationships but cannot, by themselves, establish which variable causes which.
Practise Quasi-Experimental and Non-Experimental Designs
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