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Bernard J. Koch; Tim Sainburg; Pablo Geraldo Bastías; Song Jiang; Yizhou Sun; Jacob G. Foster – Sociological Methods & Research, 2025
This primer systematizes the emerging literature on causal inference using deep neural networks under the potential outcomes framework. It provides an intuitive introduction to building and optimizing custom deep learning models and shows how to adapt them to estimate/predict heterogeneous treatment effects. It also discusses ongoing work to…
Descriptors: Artificial Intelligence, Statistical Inference, Causal Models, Social Science Research
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Thiem, Alrik – Sociological Methods & Research, 2022
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a relatively young method of causal inference that continues to diffuse across the social sciences. However, recent methodological research has found the conservative (QCA-CS) and the intermediate solution type (QCA-IS) of QCA to fail fundamental tests of correctness. Even under conditions otherwise ideal…
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Causal Models, Inferences, Risk
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Ulriksen, Marianne S.; Dadalauri, Nina – International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2016
Single case studies can provide vital contributions to theory-testing in social science studies. Particularly, by applying the process-tracing method, case studies can test theoretical frameworks through a rigorous research design that ensures substantial empirical leverage. While most scholarly contributions on process-tracing focus on either…
Descriptors: Case Studies, Hypothesis Testing, Social Science Research, Research Methodology
Morris, Don R. – 2001
The focus of this paper is causal inference in social and educational research. A concern with causality has had a profound impact on the kinds of questions that may be addressed in research, on how they must be formulated, and on the methodology that must be applied. In the social sciences the prevailing experimental paradigm is used to address…
Descriptors: Causal Models, Educational Research, Research Methodology, Social Science Research
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Lazar, Nicole A. – Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2004
The study of SLA, as is true for much social science research, aims broadly at answering questions of causality--for instance, "Is one learning context more likely than another to promote gains in second language learning?" Context-of-learning research in the study of SLA, however, often involves observational, rather than experimental,…
Descriptors: Social Science Research, Causal Models, Second Language Learning, Social Sciences
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Briggs, Derek C. – Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 2004
In the social sciences, evaluating the effectiveness of a program or intervention often leads researchers to draw causal inferences from observational research designs. Bias in estimated causal effects becomes an obvious problem in such settings. This article presents the Heckman Model as an approach sometimes applied to observational data for the…
Descriptors: Social Science Research, Statistical Inference, Causal Models, Test Bias
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Gorard, Stephen – Evaluation and Research in Education, 2002
This paper contains a consideration of the nature and role of warrants for research conclusions in educational research. The paper argues the need for an explicit warrant in the form of a logical and persuasive link between the evidence produced and the conclusions drawn (with appropriate qualifications and caveats). It describes social scientific…
Descriptors: Educational Research, Persuasive Discourse, Validity, Logical Thinking
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Carr, James E.; Austin, John – Teaching of Psychology, 1997
Provides a brief overview of single-subject research designs. This method exercises its power by examining changes in single subjects' responses over time across experimental conditions. Describes a classroom project in which students collect repeated measures of their own behavior and graph the data. (MJP)
Descriptors: Causal Models, Data Collection, Data Interpretation, Demonstrations (Educational)
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Lefevre, Pierre; de Suremain, Charles-Edouard; Rubin de Celis, Emma; Sejas, Edgar – Qualitative Report, 2004
The paper discusses the utility of constructing causal models in focus groups. This was experienced as a complement to an in-depth ethnographic research on the differing perceptions of caretakers and health professionals on child's growth and development in Peru and Bolivia. The rational, advantages, difficulties and necessary adaptations of…
Descriptors: Causal Models, Focus Groups, Health Personnel, Ethnography
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Johnson, David E. – Teaching of Psychology, 1996
Provides an exercise for introducing research methods to undergraduates. The students view a graph revealing that left-handed people are underrepresented in older age groups. Small group discussions attempt to explain this phenomenon. A follow-up class discussion focuses on the different approaches and methods available for interpreting the data.…
Descriptors: Causal Models, Critical Thinking, Data Interpretation, Factor Analysis
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Felson, Richard B. – American Sociologist, 1991
Criticizes the use of blame analysis rather than scientific analysis in sociological studies. Defines blame analysis as an approach to social science that (1) evaluates theories according to the extent that they blame protected groups; (2) equates cause with blame; (3) and rejects theoretical arguments that posit any causal role for the protected…
Descriptors: Attribution Theory, Battered Women, Causal Models, Evaluation Methods
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Smith, Harlan M., II – Journal of Economic Education, 1997
Illustrates how, using introductory-level microeconomic models, an instructor can show various economic theorists' explanations of short run employment and output fluctuations. Identifies the competing schools of thought as old Keynesian, new Keynesian, and new Classical (which includes real business cycle theorists). Includes illustrative graphs…
Descriptors: Business Cycles, Causal Models, Course Content, Economics