Page 142 - [Uma_Sekaran]_Research_methods_for_business__a_sk(BookZZ.org)

126 THE RESEARCH PROCESS

TYPE OF INVESTIGATION: CASUAL VERSUS
CORRELATIONAL

A manager should determine whether a causal or a correlational study is needed
to find an answer to the issue at hand. The former is done when it is necessary
to establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship. However, if all that the
manager wants is a mere identification of the important factors “associated with”
the problem, then a correlational study is called for. In the former case, the
researcher is keen on delineating one or more factors that are undoubtedly caus-
ing the problem. In other words, the intention of the researcher conducting a
causal study is to be able to state that variable X causes variable Y. So, when
variable X is removed or altered in some way, problem Y is solved. Quite often,
however, it is not just one or more variables that cause a problem in organiza-
tions. Given the fact that most of the time there are multiple factors that influ-
ence one another and the problem in a chainlike fashion, the researcher might
be asked to identify the crucial factors associated with the problem, rather than
establish a cause-and-effect relationship.
The study in which the researcher wants to delineate the cause of one or more
problems is called a causal study. When the researcher is interested in delin-
eating the important variables associated with the problem, the study is called a
correlational study. It may be of interest to know that attempts are sometimes
made to establish cause-and-effect relationships through certain types of corre-
lational or regression analyses, such as cross-lagged correlations and path analy-
sis (Billings & Wroten, 1978; Namboodiri, Carter, & Blalock, 1975). Whether a
study is a causal or a correlational one thus depends on the type of research
questions asked and how the problem is defined. The following example will
illustrate the difference.

Example 6.9 A causal study question:
Does smoking cause cancer?
A correlational study question:
Are smoking and cancer related?
OR
Are smoking, drinking, and chewing tobacco associated with cancer? If so,
which of these contributes most to the variance in the dependent variable?

The answer to the first question will help to establish whether people who do
not smoke will not develop cancer. The answer to the second question will
determine if smoking and cancer are correlated. The third situation recognizes
that there are perhaps several other factors that influence cancer apart from the
three identified, but do these three help to explain a significant amount of the
variance in cancer? If they do, then which among the three variables examined
is the one that has the greatest association with it, which is the next, and which
the third? The answer to the correlational study would help determine the extent
of risk of cancer that people expose themselves to by smoking, drinking, and