3. Quick Recap: Confounding Variables

3. Quick Recap: Confounding Variables

Foundations of Quantitative Research in Political Science

Quick Recap: Confounding Variables

Confounding Variables: Three Criteria

  1. Cause change in the dependent variable.
  2. Correlated with the independent variable
  3. Causally prior to the independent variable: a confounding variable comes before the independent variable, not after.

confounding diagram.png

Dig Deeper

  • Galderisi, Peter. Understanding Political Science Statistics: Observations and Expectations in Political Analysis. Routledge, 2015.
    • Chapter 10: "Research Design and the Use of Control Variables"
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