Statistics Predictive and Explanatory Goals

Question

Which of the following research ideas has a predictive goal? (Check all that apply.)

	You want to see if federal grants are being distributed unequally across schools that serve different student populations.
	You want to know the early warning signs, in 10th grade, for students who may later drop out of high school.
	You want to see if a mentoring program helps teachers improve their practice.
	You want to identify the factors that influence retention of male college students.

Which of the following research ideas has an explanatory goal? (Check all that apply.)

	You want to know what factors lead students to participate in community service on college campuses.
	You want to know if a computer-based assessment program boosts classroom engagement elementary school students.
	You want to evaluate if a leadership development program for people who are incarcerated worked.
	You want to know if male and female students get different amounts of encouragement from teachers to study science.

Answer 1

A predictive goal involves studying something that has implications in the future. You want to see if a certain variable affects some other variable in the future.

The one that fits this best is the 2nd choice = You want to know the early warning signs, in 10th grade, for students who may later drop out of high school.

An explanatory goal is about finding a reason for something that already exists. It involves taking something that is already true and thinking about a variable that influences it.

The 4th choice makes the most sense = You want to know if male and female students get different amounts of encouragement from teachers to study science

This is because we know more men study science than women, so this study is trying to see if teacher encouragement can be the explanation behind it.