Chapter 3: Key Concepts and Steps in Research

Question 1

In a QUALITATIVE study, are the people being studied known as subjects or study participants? Yes or No?

Answer 1

No, these terms are for a QUANTITATIVE study

Question 2

In a QUANTITATIVE study, are the people being studied known as informants/key informants or study participants? Yes or No?

Answer 2

No, these terms are for a QUALITATIVE study

Question 3

True or False: In BOTH qualitative and quantitative studies, the person undertaking the study is known as a researcher or investigator?

Answer 3

True (As an FYI, there are also PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS (PI) that direct the study and CO-INVESTIGATORS when there is a team of researchers. REVIEWERS provide feedback by critiquing studies and PEER REVIEWERS are when the reviewers are at a similar level to the researchers)

Question 4

“Research can be undertaken in a variety of _________ (the specific places where information is gathered, and in one or more _______ (the overall location for the research). Fill in the blanks.

Answer 4

1) settings 2) sites

Question 5

NATURALISTIC and LABORATORY are two examples of ___________?

Answer 5

Settings

Question 6

A community (i.e. a Haitian neighborhood in Miami) and an institution (i.e. a hospital in Toronto) are two examples of ____________?

Answer 6

Sites

Question 7

In a QUALITATIVE study, that which is being investigated can be referred to as phenomena or concepts? Yes or No?

Answer 7

Yes

Question 8

In a QUANTITATIVE study, that which is being investigated can be referred to as concepts/constructs/variables? Yes or No?

Answer 8

Yes

Question 9

True or False – abstractions are essentially concepts/phenomenon?

Answer 9

True…think about it this way – “Research involves abstractions. For example, pain, quality of life, and resilience are abstractions of human behavior and characteristics.” These abstractions are in turn called concepts/phenomena, depending on the study. (p. 50)

Question 10

Do quantitative or qualitative studies usually begin with a theory/theoretical framework/ conceptual framework/ conceptual model and then make predictions based on how the concepts will behave in the real world if the theory is true? (hint: you can think about the word choices in the question to help lead you to this answer)

Answer 10

Quantitative

Question 11

In quantitative or qualitative studies, is the theory sometimes the product of the research?

Answer 11

Qualitative (As an FYI, the researchers “use information from participants inductively to develop a theory rooted in the participants’ experiences”)

Question 12

Is it the goal of quantitative or qualitative studies to develop a theory that explains phenomena as they exist, not as they are preconceived?

Answer 12

Qualitative

Question 13

Does this describe heterogeneity or homogeneity in a group under study (variable being studied is height): in a group of 10 high school students, all students are the same height.

Answer 13

Homogeneity

Question 14

Does this describe heterogeneity of homogeneity in a group under study: In a group of 10 people, 5 are white, 3 are African-American, and 2 are Asian?

Answer 14

Heterogeneity (FYI: degree of variability or heterogeneity has implications for study design)

Question 15

Name the type of variable (discrete, continuous, or categorical): the values of weight between 1 and 2 pounds.

Answer 15

Continuous (on a continuum)

Question 16

Name the type of variable (discrete, continuous, or categorical): Blood types A, B, O, AB.

Answer 16

Categorical (variables that take on a discrete nonquantitative value)

Question 17

Name the type of variable (discrete, continuous, or categorical): the number of children Sally has.

Answer 17

Discrete (finite number of values between any two points)

Question 18

True or False: A dichotomous variable only takes on two different values (i.e. gender is dichotomous – male or female)?

Answer 18

True

Question 19

The term outcome variable is another name for dependent variable. True or False?

Answer 19

True

Question 20

“Frequently the terms independent variable and dependent variable are used to indicate direction of influence rather than a causal mechanism” True or False

Answer 20

True

Question 21

“A _________ definition presents the abstract or theoretical meaning of the concepts being studied.” Is it operational or conceptual?

Answer 21

Conceptual

Question 22

In quantitative or qualitative studies, are conceptual definitions of key phenomena the end product of the research, which reflects the intent to have the meaning of concepts defined by those being studied?

Answer 22

Qualitative

Question 23

“An ____________ definition of a concept specifies the operations that researchers must perform to measure it.” Is it conceptual or operational?

Answer 23

Operational

Question 24

In quantitative or qualitative studies, do researchers clarify and define concepts at the beginning?

Answer 24

Quantitative - this needs to be done because researchers need to indicate how variables will be observed and measured

Question 25

Data collected as numerical values: quantitative or qualitative?

Answer 25

Quantitative

Question 26

Data collected as narrative descriptions: quantitative or qualitative?

Answer 26

Qualitative

Question 27

Do both qualitative and quantitative studies examine relationships between concepts? Yes or No

Answer 27

Yes

Question 28

Qualitative studies examine cause and effect and functional relationships between concepts. True or False.

Answer 28

False - qualitative studies examine patterns of association. Quantitative studies examine cause and effect and functional relationships between the independent and dependent variables

Question 29

When little is known about a topic, which kind of study is better - quantitative or qualitative?

Answer 29

Qualitative

Question 30

In which type of experiment are researchers considered bystanders? Experimental or nonexperimental?

Answer 30

Nonexperimental - they collect data without intervening

Question 31

In which type of experiment are researchers actively introducing an intervention or treatment? Experimental or nonexperimental?

Answer 31

Experimental

Question 32

Experimental studies in medical and epidemiological research is also known as what?

Answer 32

A clinical trial (a randomized control trial is a type of clinical trial)

Question 33

Nonexperimental studies in medical and epidemiological research is also known as what?

Answer 33

Observational study

Question 34

What type of qualitative descriptive research does this describe: “seeks to describe and understand the key social psychological processes that occur in a social setting”

Answer 34

Grounded theory tradition (FYI most of these studies focus on a developing social experience - social and psych aspects that make up a particular event/episode…core variable that explains what is going on in the social scene)

Question 35

What type of qualitative descriptive research does this describe: “concerned with the lived experiences of humans”

Answer 35

Phenomenology

Question 36

What type of qualitative descriptive research does this describe: “provides a framework for studying the lifeways and experiences of a defined cultural group”

Answer 36

Ethnography (FYI ethnographers engage in extensive fieldwork in order to learn from members of a cultural group, understand their world view, and describe their customs/norms)

Question 37

There are 5 phases to a quantitative study. Can you name the 5 phases?

Answer 37

1) Conceptual phase 2) Design & Planning phase3) Empirical phase4) Analytic phase5) Dissemination phase

Question 38

These steps describe which phase of a quantitative study:- Formulating and delimiting the problem- Reviewing the related literature- Undertaking clinical fieldwork- Defining the framework/developing conceptual definitions- Formulating hypotheses

Answer 38

Conceptual phase

Question 39

These steps describe which phase of a quantitative study:- Collecting the data- Preparing the data for analysis

Answer 39

Empirical phase

Question 40

These steps describe which phase of a quantitative study:- Selecting a research design- Developing intervention protocols- Identifying the population- Designing the sampling plan- Specifying the methods to measure research variables- Developing methods to safeguard subjects- Finalizing the research plan

Answer 40

Design & Planning phase

Question 41

These steps describe which phase of a quantitative study:- Communicating the findings- Utilizing the findings in practice

Answer 41

Dissemination phase

Question 42

These steps describe which phase of a quantitative study:- Analyzing the data- Interpreting the results

Answer 42

Analytic phase

Question 43

“A ______________ is a statement of the researcher’s expectations or predictions about relationships among study variables”

Answer 43

Hypothesis (the research question identifies the study concepts and asks how the concepts might be related; a hypothesis is the predicted answer)

Question 44

What does this describe: specifying exactly what will happen in the research (i.e. who will administer, how frequently, the duration, what the alternative conditions are etc.)

Answer 44

Intervention protocol

Question 45

“Researchers collect data from a ________, which is a subset of the ________”

Answer 45

1) sample 2) population

Question 46

Can you name the 3 primary methods of data collection for a quantitative study?

Answer 46

Self-reports, observations, biophysiologic measurements

Question 47

What does this describe: “process of translating verbal data into numeric form”

Answer 47

Coding

Question 48

“Quantitative researchers do not collect data until the research design has been finalized” True or False.

Answer 48

True

Question 49

“Qualitative researchers do not collect data until the research design has been finalized” True or False.

Answer 49

False - qualitative researchers use an emergent design that materializes during the course of data collection

Question 50

What does this describe: “when themes and categories in the data become repetitive and redundant, such that no new information can be gleaned by further data collection”

Answer 50

Data saturation

Question 51

Which kind of study puts raw data into its reports - quantitative or qualitative?

Answer 51

Qualitative (usually a lot of verbatim description from the study participants)

Question 52

Journal articles tend to follow an IMRaD format to organize the information. What does IMRaD stand for?

Answer 52

Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion

Question 53

“When researchers report that results are STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, it means the findings are not probably reliable and cannot be replicable with a new sample” True or False.

Answer 53

False, it means the findings ARE reliable and CAN be replicable

Question 54

“Research also reports LEVELS OF SIGNIFICANCE, which is an index of how probable it is that the findings are reliable” True or False.

Answer 54

True

Question 55

Evidence that is rooted in objective reality and gathered through the senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell)

Answer 55

empirical evidence

Question 56

Is this quantitative or qualitative?: a home-based nurse-coached inspiratory muscle training intervention in heart failure –> evaluate the effectiveness of a 12 week nurse-coached inspiratory muscle training program for men and women with chronic heart failure

Answer 56

Quantitative study

Question 57

Is this quantitative or qualitative?: the purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of socioeconomically disadvantaged women in the first 4 weeks after postpartum hospital discharge

Answer 57

Qualitative study