Mastering the Use of Control Variables: the Hierarchical Iterative Control (HIC) Approach

There has been growing criticism of the established practice of automatically including control variables into analyses, especially with survey studies. Several authors have explained the pitfalls of improper use and have provided some best practice advice. I build upon this foundation in suggesting...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business and psychology 2021-10, Vol.36 (5), p.737-750
Main Author: Spector, Paul E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Best practice
Business and Management
Community and Environmental Psychology
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Original Paper
Personality and Social Psychology
Psychology
Research design
Research methodology
Social Sciences
Variables
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Summary:There has been growing criticism of the established practice of automatically including control variables into analyses, especially with survey studies. Several authors have explained the pitfalls of improper use and have provided some best practice advice. I build upon this foundation in suggesting a programmatic approach to the use of control variables that can provide evidence to support or refute feasible explanations for why two or more variables are related. The hierarchical iterative control (HIC) approach begins by establishing a connection between two or more variables and then hierarchically adds control variables to rule in or out their possible influence. The HIC approach involves conducting a series of studies to iteratively test relationships among target variables, utilizing a variety of control variable strategies involving multiple methods. A 7-step programmatic approach is described beginning with development of the research question and background literature review and then conducting empirical tests in a hierarchical (within a study) and iterative (across studies) manner.
ISSN:0889-3268
1573-353X
DOI:10.1007/s10869-020-09709-0