Maria plans to study the relationship between self-esteem and being raised in a single-parent or a two-parent family. She decides she must use correlational research, rather than experimental research, to investigate this problem. What is the likely reason that Maria chose a correlational method?

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The likely reason that Maria chose a correlational method is that it can investigate factors that cannot be manipulated in an experimental study, such as being raised in a single-parent or two-parent family. Correlational studies examine the relationship between two variables without manipulating them, while experimental studies manipulate variables to investigate cause-and-effect relationships. In this case, it would be unethical and impractical to assign participants to different family structures, making a correlational design the most appropriate choice.

Maria Plans to Study the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Being