Causal Language and Statistics Instruction: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment
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| Title: | Causal Language and Statistics Instruction: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jennifer Hill (ORCID |
| Source: | Statistics Education Research Journal. 2024 23(1). |
| Availability: | International Association for Statistical Education and the International Statistical Institute. PO Box 24070, 2490 AB The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-70-3375737; Fax: +31-70-3860025; e-mail: isi@cbs.nl; Web site: https://iase-web.org/ojs/SERJ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 27 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Institute of Education Sciences (ED) |
| Contract Number: | R305D200019 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Statistics Education, Causal Models, Statistical Inference, College Students, Attribution Theory, Teaching Methods, Language Usage, Linguistics, Data Interpretation, Introductory Courses, Vignettes |
| ISSN: | 1570-1824 1570-1824 |
| Abstract: | Most current statistics courses include some instruction relevant to causal inference. Whether this instruction is incorporated as material on randomized experiments or as an interpretation of associations measured by correlation or regression coefficients, the way in which this material is presented may have important implications for understanding causal inference fundamentals. Although the connection between study design and the ability to infer causality is often described well, the link between the language used to describe study results and causal attribution typically is not well defined. The current study investigates this relationship experimentally using a sample of students in a statistics course at a large western university in the United States. It also provides (non-experimental) evidence about the association between statistics instruction and the ability to understand appropriate causal attribution. The results from our experimental vignette study suggest that the wording of study findings impacts causal attribution by the reader, and, perhaps more surprisingly, that this variation in level of causal attribution across different wording conditions seems to pale in comparison to the variation across study contexts. More research, however, is needed to better understand how to tailor statistics instruction to make students sufficiently wary of unwarranted causal interpretation. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| IES Funded: | Yes |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1435713 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Most current statistics courses include some instruction relevant to causal inference. Whether this instruction is incorporated as material on randomized experiments or as an interpretation of associations measured by correlation or regression coefficients, the way in which this material is presented may have important implications for understanding causal inference fundamentals. Although the connection between study design and the ability to infer causality is often described well, the link between the language used to describe study results and causal attribution typically is not well defined. The current study investigates this relationship experimentally using a sample of students in a statistics course at a large western university in the United States. It also provides (non-experimental) evidence about the association between statistics instruction and the ability to understand appropriate causal attribution. The results from our experimental vignette study suggest that the wording of study findings impacts causal attribution by the reader, and, perhaps more surprisingly, that this variation in level of causal attribution across different wording conditions seems to pale in comparison to the variation across study contexts. More research, however, is needed to better understand how to tailor statistics instruction to make students sufficiently wary of unwarranted causal interpretation. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-1824 1570-1824 |
