A researcher conducts a study in which students in Germany and in the United States are asked to rate the extent to which they would be disappointed if they weren't accepted into the college of their choice. The researcher predicts that there will be differences between the two groups of students on these variables. This study is best characterized as:

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This study is a quasi-experiment because the researcher is comparing two groups of students (in Germany and the United States), but cannot randomly assign participants to each group. Additionally, the researcher is predicting that there will be differences between the two groups, which suggests that this is not just a descriptive study (correlational) or a study in which the researcher is manipulating an independent variable (experiment). Finally, there is no mention of collecting data at multiple time points (longitudinal research).

A Researcher Conducts a Study in Which Students in Germany