In the article It’s Just an Observation, Robinson and Wainer (Educational Psychology Review 35, Robinson, D., & Wainer, H. (2023). It’s just an observation. Educational Psychology Review, 35(83), Published online: 14 August, 2023) lamented that educational psychology is moving toward the dark side of the quality continuum, with fewer intervention studies and randomized controlled trials and a tendency to make causal inferences based on more armchair research using observational data. This paper discussed the challenges of making causal inferences, even with intervention studies and randomized controlled trials. We argued the usefulness of causal assumptions and modeling based on observational data regarding causal discovery while acknowledging their limitations. More importantly, the research rigor can be achieved in experimental or intervention studies as well as in studies using observational data. Showing favoritism could also taint our field by limiting our perspectives, stifling creativity, and diminishing scholarly variety. We should not allow the undue overinterpretation of correlational evidence to undermine the entire field of observational studies.

在文章《这只是一个观察》中，Robinson 和 Wainer（教育心理学评论 35，Robinson, D., & Wainer, H. (2023)。这只是一个观察。教育心理学评论，35(83)，在线发布：8 月 14 日，2023）感叹教育心理学正在走向质量连续体的阴暗面，干预研究和随机对照试验越来越少，并且倾向于根据更多使用观察数据的纸上谈兵研究来做出因果推论。本文讨论了即使通过干预研究和随机对照试验进行因果推断的挑战。我们论证了基于有关因果发现的观察数据的因果假设和建模的有用性，同时承认它们的局限性。更重要的是，研究的严谨性可以通过实验或干预研究以及使用观察数据的研究来实现。表现出偏袒还可能会限制我们的观点、扼杀创造力和减少学术多样性，从而玷污我们的领域。我们不应该允许对相关证据的不当过度解释破坏整个观察研究领域。