This paper aims to introduce matching in propensity score analysis (PSA) as an alternative statistical approach for researchers looking to make causal inferences using intact groups.
An illustrative example demonstrated the varying results of analysis of variance, analysis of covariance and PSA on a heuristic data set. The three approaches were compared by results and violations of statistical assumptions.
Through the illustrative example, it is demonstrated how different statistical approaches can produce varied results. Only PSA mitigated pre-existing group differences without violating the assumption of independence.
This paper attempts to answer calls in the literature for more robust statistical methodologies to better inform human resource development practice and theory.
