Academic skills

Question 1

List the features of qualitative methods of research

Answer 1

• words, understanding
• purposive sampling
• social sciences, soft, subjective
• inquiry from inside
• meaning of behaviours, broad focus
• discovery, gaining knowledge, understanding actions
• practitioner as human instrument to gather data, prescriptive, personal

Question 2

List the features of quantitative methods of research

Answer 2

• numbers, explanation
• statistical sampling
• physical science, hard, objective
• inquiry from the outside
• cause and effect relationships
• theory/explanation testing and development
• researcher descriptive, impersonal

Question 3

What are the common types of quantitative research designs?

Answer 3

• descriptive
• comparative
• relationship/causal

Question 4

What is a descriptive research design?

Answer 4

• wanting to understand a situation, facts
• describe your study participants
• when you want to describe what is going on or what exists

Question 5

What is a comparative research design?

Answer 5

two or more things are compared with the aim of finding something about one or all of them

Question 6

What is causal/relationship research design?

Answer 6

• relationship or the causal associations between variables
• understand the nature of and relationships between variables
• most relevant when thinking about interventions

Question 7

What is the order of the research process?

Answer 7

• specify
• design
• collect
• visualise
• build
• analyse
• report

Question 8

Define statistics

Answer 8

science that involves collecting, summarising, analysing and interpreting data

Question 9

What is a statistic?

Answer 9

a single number summarising a variable of interest

Question 10

Define data

Answer 10

collection of facts or information

Question 11

What are the 2 types of variable?

Answer 11

• independent or explanatory
• dependent or response

Question 12

What is a independent/explanatory variable?

Answer 12

what you are manipulating OR what you think is associated with outcome

Question 13

What is a dependent/response variable?

Answer 13

outcome variable

Question 14

What are the 2 data types?

Answer 14

• qualitative (non numerical)
• quantitative (numerical)

Question 15

What are the 2 types of qualitative data types?

Answer 15

• categorical (nominal) –> named categories (non numeric), no order
• ordered categorical (ordinal) –> numbered/named categories, natural order

Question 16

What are the 2 types of quantitative data types?

Answer 16

• discrete (interval) –> whole numbers, doesn’t start at 0
• continuous (ratio) –> variables can take any value and start at 0

Question 17

What are the 2 types of hypothesis testing?

Answer 17

• null hypothesis
• alternative hypothesis

Question 18

What is a null hypothesis?

Answer 18

• default position
• no relationship
• no difference

Question 19

What is a alternative relationship?

Answer 19

• relationship
• difference

Question 20

Define population

Answer 20

a total set of observations that can be made

Question 21

Define sample

Answer 21

a selected subgroup of a population

Question 22

What are the 3 types of sample?

Answer 22

• simple random
• stratified random
• convenience

Question 23

What is a parameter

Answer 23

a single number that summarises a variable of interest

Question 24

What is internal validity?

Answer 24

problems due to manipulation or other causes

Question 25

What is external validity?

Answer 25

generalisability to a wider population, comparability with other literature

Question 26

Define population total

Answer 26

sum of all the elements in the sample frame

Question 27

Define population mean?

Answer 27

the average of all elements in a sample frame or population (usually only estimated)

Question 28

Define sampling frame?

Answer 28

a list of all the units in the population from which the sample is selected

Question 29

What are the 3 types of sampling error?

Answer 29

- sampling variability - sampling error - non-sampling error

Question 30

Define sampling error

Answer 30

the mean of a sample will not be the same as the mean of a population, can be minimised but not eliminated using good selection criteria

Question 31

Define sampling variability

Answer 31

different samples from the same population do not always produce the same mean and SD

Question 32

Define non-sampling error

Answer 32

errors not connected with the sampling method

Question 33

Define hypothesis

Answer 33

an assumption, theory or tentative statement based on limited evidence or a relationship between variables which can be tested, verified or falsified

Question 34

Define methodology

Answer 34

the strategy or plan of action which lies behind the choice and use of particular methods

Question 35

Define positionality

Answer 35

the stance or position of the researcher in relation to the context of the study, or the population being studied

Question 36

What is research?

Answer 36

the systematic gathering, presenting and analysing of data

Question 37

What is a paradigm?

Answer 37

a "basic belief system or worldview"

Question 38

What are the 4 types of paradigm?

Answer 38

- ontology - epistemology - axiology - methodology

Question 39

What is ontology?

Answer 39

"the study of being"

Question 40

What is axiology?

Answer 40

- philosophical approach to making decisions of value - ethical issues that need to be considered when planning research proposals

Question 41

What is epistemology?

Answer 41

philosophical study of how knowledge is acquired

Question 42

What is methodology?

Answer 42

refers to the research design, methods, approaches and procedures used in an investigation

Question 43

What are the 2 epistemology's that we need to know?

Answer 43

- positivism - interpretivism

Question 44

Define positivism

Answer 44

knowledge is discovered

Question 45

Define interpretivism?

Answer 45

knowledge is constructed

Question 46

What are the 2 ontology's that we need to know?

Answer 46

- realism - constructivism

Question 47

Define realism

Answer 47

objective and independent

Question 48

Define constructivism

Answer 48

shaped by perception and social context

Question 49

What is the equation for working out the Z score?

Answer 49

Z = X - mean/ sd

Question 50

When is something considered to have a normal distribution?

Answer 50

if a continuous (ratio-interval) random variable has a symmetric bell-shape curve

Question 51

For working out population from graphs what is one factor you need to remember?

Answer 51

area = population