Q. What type of questions ask for correlational research design? Correlational research is a type of descriptive research (as opposed to experimental research).

There are two main situations where you might choose to do correlational research. 1. You want to find out if there is a relationship between two variables, but you don't expect to find a causal relationship between them. 2. You think there is a causal relationship between two variables, but it is impractical or unethical to conduct experimental research that manipulates one of the variables.

Discussion: For each of the following, decide whether it is most likely that the study described is experimental or correlational and explain why. Then find out (list) the variables that the research studies to find out whether those two variables correlate/ associate/relate.

1). You want to know if people who have higher incomes are more likely to be vegetarian. You don't think that income causes vegetarianism (or vice versa), but finding a relationship could lead to a better understanding of the factors that influence or limit people's dietary choices.

2). You want to know if there is any association between the number of children people have and which political party they vote for. You don't think having more children causes people to vote differently it's more likely that both are influenced by other variables such as age, religion, ideology and socioeconomic status. But a strong relationship could be useful for making predictions about voting patterns.

3). An educational researcher compares the academic performance of students from the "rich" side of town with that of students from the "poor" side of town.

4). A cognitive psychologist compares the ability of people to recall words that they were instructed to "read" with their ability to recall words that they were instructed to "imagine."

5). A researcher wants to find out if there is an association between gender and class participation, she observes college seminars, notes the frequency and duration of students' contributions, and categorizes them based on gender. She then statistically analyzes the data to determine whether men are more likely to speak up in class than women.

6). A food scientist studies the relationship between the temperature inside people's refrigerators and the amount of bacteria on their food.

7). Dr. Ayanna, wants to find out if working hours are related to mental health, she uses official national statistics, health records and scientific studies from several different countries to find data on average working hours and rates of mental illness. She then statistically analyzes the data to see if countries that work fewer hours have better mental health outcomes.