How is a causal-comparative analysis different from a correlational analysis?

Answer 1

A correlational analysis aims to assess whether there is a relationship between two or more variables. Such studies stop short of making any claims about whether changes in variable one are the driving force behind changes in a second variable. On the other hand, the goal of causal-comparative analysis is to disentangle the nature of the relationship between a set of variables into "cause" and "effect". The question of interest in such studies is whether changes in one variable are caused by changes in a second variable. While both types of studies are useful, correlational analysis is less suited for good policy prescription because less is learned about the nature of the relationship between a set of variables as compared to conducting a causal-comparative analysis.