*ch 2

Question 1

independent variable

Answer 1

variables that cause changes in dependent variables

Question 2

dependent variable

Answer 2

a variable changed by other variables

Question 3

spurious variables

Answer 3

a mathematical relationship in which two events or variables have no direct causal connection, yet it may be wrongly inferred that they do, due to either coincidence or the presence of a certain third, unseen factor (referred to as a “confounding factor” or “lurking variable”)

Question 4

interpretivism (or anti-positivism)

Answer 4

seeks to understand people’s subjective human interpretation of the world (usually fieldwork, interview studies, historical research)

Question 5

quantitative data

Answer 5

represent research collected in numerical form that can be counted

Question 6

qualitative data

Answer 6

comprise information that is subjective and often based on what is seen in a natural setting

Question 7

validity

Answer 7

whether the measurement of a variable actually reflects what exists in the natural world

Question 8

reliability

Answer 8

a measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is
reproduced