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Social Research Methods > Final Exam > Flashcards

Final Exam Flashcards

1
Q

Quantitative Data Analysis

A

The process by which substantive findings are drawn from numerical data.

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2
Q

Statistics

A

The primary means by which societies collect and process information about themselves.

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3
Q

Univariate Analysis

A

Analysis of a single variable

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4
Q

Bivariate Analysis

A

Analysis of the relationship between two variables

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5
Q

Distribution

A

The set of different values of a variable that have been observed and how common each value is.

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6
Q

Frequency Distribution

A

A presentatation of the possible values of a variable and the number of observations for each value that was observed.

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7
Q

Frequency

A

The number of observations with a particular value of a variable.

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8
Q

Relative Frequency

A

The percentage of observations with a particular value of a variable.

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9
Q

Relative Distribution

A

A presentation of the possible values of a variable and the percentage of observations for each value that was observed.

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10
Q

Categorical Variable

A

A variable with a finite set of values that are distinct from one another and have unknown differences between them.

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11
Q

Continuous Variable

A

A variable with an infinite set of possible values.

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12
Q

Histogram

A

Type of graph that can be used to visualize the frequency distribution of a continuous variable.

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13
Q

Summary Statistic

A

A single value that summarizes some feature of a distribution.

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14
Q

Measures of Central Tendency

A

Summary statistics that indicate the middle of a distribution

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15
Q

Mean

A

The sum of all of a variable’s values divided by the number of observations.

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16
Q

Median

A

The middle value observed when observations are ranked from the lowest to the highest.

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17
Q

Skewed Distribution

A

An uneven distribution

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18
Q

Outliers

A

Extreme values

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19
Q

Ratio Variables

A

Variables with a continuum of values with meaningful distances/intervals between them and true zero.

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20
Q

3 Types of Categorical Variables

A
  • Dichotomous variable
  • Ordinal variable
  • Nominal variable
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21
Q

Dichotomous Variable

A

A variable with two categories

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22
Q

Ordinal Variable

A

A variable with values that can be ordered in some way, but have no known differences between them.

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23
Q

Nominal Variable

A

A variable with values that are parallel to one another and cannot be ordered/ranked.

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24
Q

Mode

A

The most common value of a variable (that is the closest measure to the “average” of a nominal variable).

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25
Q

Variation

A

The amount by which each observation in a distribution varies/differs from the others.

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26
Q

Range

A

The difference between the maximum value and minimum value of a distribution.

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27
Q

Standard Deviation

A

The average distance between the value of each observation and the overall mean.

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28
Q

Percentile

A

An indication of values at or below which a certain percentage of observations fall.

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29
Q

Margin of Error

A

The amount of uncertainty in an estimate (that is equal to the difference between the estimate and the boundary of the confidence interval).

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30
Q

Confidence Interval

A

A range of possible values for a variable that researchers can have a particular degree of confidence in.

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31
Q

Cross Tabulation

A

A presentation of distributions between two or more variables as a table.

The table presents the categories of one variable as rows and the categories of the other variable as columns.

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32
Q

Marginal Frequencies

A

Overall frequency distributions of the focal measure that do not take into account differences amongst subgroups.

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33
Q

Conditional Mean

A

A mean statistic calculated for observations that meet a particular condition, rather than being calculated for every occasion.

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34
Q

Bivariate Regression Analysis

A

Used to describe how the conditional mean of the dependent variable changes as the independent variable changes.

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35
Q

Regression Coefficient

A

A value that indicates the expected change in the outcome associated with a one-unit increase in the explanatory/independent variable.

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36
Q

Population Trends

A

Analyses that show how populations change or remain stable over time.

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37
Q

Cohort Replacement

A

A situation in which younger individuals (of a population) have systematically different attitudes than older individuals who exit a population (by death).

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38
Q

Age Effect

A

How an individuals’ opinions or other characteristics change as they get older.

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39
Q

Period Effect

A

A broad pattern in which all ages in a population exhibit a tendency toward change over the same historical period.

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40
Q

Materials

A

Preexisting information used as the basis for materials-based reasearch

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41
Q

Examples of Materials

A
  • Expert Analyses
  • Reports
  • Records
  • News Media
  • Written Accounts of Events
  • Maps
  • Preexisting Data Sets
  • Physical Objects
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42
Q

Materials-Based Methods

A

Social research methods that involve analyzing existing materials to the study the social world, rather than interviewing, surveying, or observing people.

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43
Q

Unobtrusive Methods

A

Social research methods that do not involve directly interactive with research subjects.

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44
Q

Macro-Level Phenomena

A

Social patterns or trends that are larger than any individual (such as societal composition, social structures, and political processes).

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45
Q

Societal Blind Spots

A

A tendency of individuals to romanticize the past or to presume that certain things are true even when the facts contradict them.

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46
Q

Expert Analyses

A

Published books and articles on the topic of interest of a particular researcher.

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47
Q

Reports

A

Syntheses of information that are typically compiled by governments or organizations as part of a review process.

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48
Q

Records

A

Documents that memorialize events or characteristics at a particular moment in time.

EX: Censuses and Statistics

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49
Q

News Media

A

Media that can be used by researchers to obtain the facts about important events and daily living.

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49
Q

News Media

A

Media that can be used by researchers to obtain the facts about important events and daily living.

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50
Q

Cultural Artifact

A

A material related to popular culture (including paintings, novels, songs, television shows, movies, magazines, and comic books).

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51
Q

First-Person Account

A

Primary evidence of how an event was experiencedor what people think about an event, gleaned from interviews, diaries, letters, journals, video blogs, or social media posts.

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52
Q

Physical Materials

A

Data other than written accounts that allow researchers to study life in a particular time and place.

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53
Q

Maps

A

A representation of a space/area that is used to study information of societal traces, spatial differences in phenomena, and the concentration of phenomena over an area.

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54
Q

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A

Systems of statistical software that take many pieces of quantitative data and associate them with locations on maps to understand how social phenomena are unfolding.

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55
Q

Data Set

A

A material that has been converted into quantitative data and preserved in files for analysis with statistical software.

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56
Q

Big Data

A

Data sets with billions of pieces of information that are typically created through individuals’ interactions with technology.

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57
Q

Primary Information

A

First-hand evidence in its original and unaltered form (including researchers’ direct observations and original first-person accounts).

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58
Q

Secondary Information

A

Indirect evidence of something that the researcher learns of through at least one other person.

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59
Q

Archive

A

A physical or web location where materials are brought together, organized by theme, preserved, and made available for inspection by scholars.

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60
Q

Aggregate Data

A

Summary statistics (e.g. the group mean) that describe people or organizations of a particular type or in a particular location.

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61
Q

Micro-Level Data

A

Individual-level data

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62
Q

Historical Research Methods

A

Methods that examines change over time to answer questions about how and why social processes unfold in particular ways.

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63
Q

Comparative Research Methods

A

Methods that use materials to examine change across locations to answer questions about how and why social processes unfold in particular ways.

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64
Q

Purposive Sampling

A

A sampling strategy in which cases/individuals are deliberately selected on the basis of features that distinguish them from other cases/individuals.

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65
Q

Counterfactuals

A

A thought exercise of imagining what might have happened but did not, which can help in determining the significance of a case.

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66
Q

Saturation

A

The point at which new materials fail to yield new insights and simply reinforce what the researcher already knows.

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67
Q

Content Analysis

A

A materials-based method that focuses specifically on the texts and images found in materials.

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68
Q

Quantitative Content Analysis

A

Testing hypotheses through the systematic review of materials that have been converted into a quantitative data set.

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69
Q

Critical Content Analysis

A

An interpretive analysis of media designed to uncover societal blind sports.

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70
Q

Coding

A

The process of translating written or visual material into standardized categories to operationalize key concepts into variables.

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71
Q

Coding Scheme

A

A document that lists all of the possible categories and outlines specific rules for how to apply those categories to the material in order to standardize the measurement of concepts.

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72
Q

Decision Rule

A

A rule that clearly distinguishes mutually exclusive categories of a variable in quantitative data analysis.

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73
Q

Codebook

A

A system of organizing information about a data set (including the variables of the set, the possible values for the variables, the coding schemes, and the decision rules).

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74
Q

Natural Language Processing

A

A method of using computer software and machine learning techniques to identify patterns and associations in big data sets of text.

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75
Q

Deconstruction

A

A critical interpretive approach to research that involves dissecting the content of some type of media to uncover hidden or alternate meanings.

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76
Q

Secondary Data

A

Pre-existing data sets

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77
Q

Quantitative Data Analysis

A

The process by which substantive findings are drawn from numerical data.

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78
Q

Sampling Weights

A

A sampling technique for secondary data sets in which values are assigned to each case so that researchers can construct an overall representative sample.

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79
Q

Ecological Fallacy

A

The assumption that everyone within a group possesses the average characteristics of that group.

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80
Q

Triangulation

A

The comparison of findings of studies on the same topic that were conducted using different methods to see if the differing methods produce consistent results.

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81
Q

In-Depth Interviewing

A

A qualitative method in which the researcher asks open-ended questions to elicit as much detail as possible about the interviewee’s experiences, understandings, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.

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82
Q

Focus Group

A

A group interview on a specific topic that is led by a moderator, which allows the researcher to observe/record the interactions among people and how their opinions/beliefs are constructed through opinions.

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83
Q

Structured Inteview

A

A survey

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84
Q

Semi-Structured Interview

A

A type of in-depth interview in which the researcher has prepared a list of questions and follow-up prompts, but is free to ask questions out of order, ask follow-up questions, and allow the conversation to unfold naturally.

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85
Q

Interview Schedule

A

A prepared list of questions and follow-up prompts that the researchers asks the respondent.

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86
Q

Unstructured Interview

A

A highly flexible type of in-depth interview in which the researcher has a general list of topics to cover, but has control over all of the questions and the flow of the interview.

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87
Q

Informal Interview

A

An informal conversation with people who have background knowledge relevant to a study.

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88
Q

Oral History

A

An unstructured or semi-structured interview in which people are asked to recall their experiences in a specific historical era or during a paricular historical event.

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89
Q

Life History Interview

A

An in-depth interview used to understand how lives unfold over time, the timing and sequencing of important life events, and other turning points in individuals’ lives.

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90
Q

Life Course Perpective

A

The study of human development over the life span while taking into how individual lives are socially patterned and affected by historical change.

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91
Q

Cognitive Interview

A

An interview with survey respondents to understand how the respondents interpret particular questions and terms, which involves them thinking aloud about their answers to questions.

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92
Q

Respondent

A

An ordinary individual who is being interviewed

93
Q

Informant

A

A person who has special knowledge about a research question based on their social or professional position.

94
Q

Expert Sample

A

The sample of respondents consisting of informants

95
Q

Elite Interview

A

An interview of an informant

96
Q

Case Study Logic

A

An approach to research in which the goal is to understand the case/person in depth, not as a representation of a wider population.

97
Q

Sampling for Range

A

A purposive sampling strategy in which researchers try to maximize respondents’ range of experiences with the phenomena under study.

98
Q

Snowball Sampling

A

A sampling stategy in which the researcher starts with one respondent who meets the requirements for inclusion and then asks the respondent to recommend another person to contact (who also meets the requirements for inclusion).

99
Q

Vignette

A

A short description of characters or situations that is presented to respondents in order to elicit a response.

100
Q

Reliability

A

A judgement of how dependable (or reproducible) a measure is

101
Q

Validity

A

A judgement of how accurate a measure is

102
Q

Homogeneity

A

The principle of selecting people of similar status or background when constructing a focus group.

103
Q

Moderator

A

A professionally trained person who leads the discussion of a focus group.

104
Q

Ethnography (Participant Observation)

A

A research method that involves researchers immersing themselves in the lives and social worlds of the people they want to understand.

105
Q

Subculture

A

A subset of people (within a larger culture) with beliefs and behaviors that differ from those of the larger culture.

106
Q

Globalization

A

The development of worldwide social and economic relationships.

107
Q

Community Study

A

A study that takes the entirety of social life into account, but within a bounded community (such as a small town or a neighborhood).

108
Q

Complete Participant

A

A role a researcher can adopt when doing fieldwork that involves the researcher “going undercover” by immersing themselves in a fieldwork site and keeping their identity as a researcher secret.

109
Q

Going Native

A

The threat that fieldworkers who completely immerse themselves in the world of their subjects will lose their original identity and forget they are researchers.

110
Q

Reactivity

A

The process of the behaviors and beliefs of research subjects changing due to the presence and actions of the researcher.

111
Q

Cognitive Dissonance

A

The unpleasant or distressing feeling individuals experience when they hold two discrepant beliefs or engage in behavior that violates their beliefs

112
Q

Participant Observer

A

A role a researcher can adopt when doing fieldwork that involves the researcher telling at least some of the people being studied about their real identity as a researcher.

113
Q

Informed Consent

A

The freedom for research subjects to say “yes” or “no” to participating in a study after all of the risks and benefits have been properly explained.

114
Q

Hawthorne Effect

A

The phenomenon whereby merely being observed changes subjects’ behavior in ways that limit what researchers can learn from the subjects.

115
Q

Observer

A

A role a researcher can adopt when doing fieldwork that involves the researcher telling people they are being observed, but does not take part in the subjects’ activities and lives.

116
Q

Covert Observer

A

A role a researcher can adopt when doing fieldwork that involves the researcher observing people who do not know they are being observed/studied.

117
Q

Systematic Observation

A

A method of observation in which the researcher follows a checklist and timeline for observing phenomena.

118
Q

Grounded Theory

A

A systematic and inductive approach to qualitative research proposing that researchers should extrapolate conceptual relationships from data rather than formulate testable hypotheses from existing theory.

119
Q

Extended Case Study Approach

A

An approach to theory in qualitative research in which the researcher starts with an established thery and chooses a field site or case to improve upon or modify the existing theory.

120
Q

Gatekeeper

A

A person with the authority to allow outsiders into (or ban them from) a research setting.

121
Q

Rapport

A

A close and harmonious relationship that allows people to understand one another and communicate effectively.

122
Q

Key Informant

A
  • A person who is central or popular within the research setting and shares their knowledge with the researcher.
  • A person with professional or special knowledge about the research setting.
123
Q

Field Notes

A

The data produced by a fieldworker (including observations, descriptions, dialogue, inferences, thoughts, analyses, and feelings) about what is experienced in the field.

124
Q

Realist Tale (Mainstream Ethnography)

A

A type of objective ethnographic writing that is written in the third-person and includes most of the discussion of methods and the ethnographer’s role in the introduction or appendix.

125
Q

Confession Tale (Postmodern Ethnography)

A

A type of ethnographic writing that is written in the first-person, includes a very personalized account of the field, and incorporates the researcher’s thoughts and feelings throughout.

126
Q

Advocacy Tale (Critical Ethnography)

A

A type of ethnographic writing that goes beyond reporting and observing people’s lives and instead documents a wrong and advocates for political change.

127
Q

Visual Ethnography

A

A form of ethnography that involves taking photos of and filming people in their daily lives.

128
Q

Team Ethnography

A

An ethnography conducted by two or more scholars working together.

129
Q

Cyberethnography (Netnography)

A

A form of ethnography that is focused on the study of online life.

130
Q

Inconvenience Sample

A

A sample of events and people that would call into question the researcher’s own interpretations of what happened in the field.

131
Q

Translation

A

The process of implementing the components of an evaluation research project on a larger scale.

132
Q

Social Intervention

A

A policy intervention or change that is intended to modify the outcomes/behaviors of individuals or groups.

133
Q

Evaluation Research

A

A type of social research method aimed at determining whether a social intervention produces its intended effects.

134
Q

Stakeholder

A

Any party who has an interest in the outcome of a social intervention.

135
Q

Social Desirability Bias

A

A type of bias occurring when study participants give responses that reflect social values rather than their honest opinions.

136
Q

Treatment Group

A

The group of the study that recieves the intervention to be studied.

137
Q

Control Group

A

The group of the study that is not exposed to the (manipulation of the) independent variable or intervention.

138
Q

Internal Validity

A

The degree to which the study establishes a causal relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable.

139
Q

External Validity

A

The degree to which the results of the study can be generalized.

140
Q

Randomized Field Experiment

A

An experiment that takes place in a natural setting and that involves participants being randomly assigned to the treatment condition or the control condition.

141
Q

Treatment Condition

A

The condition in an experiment where the indepedent variable is manipulated.

142
Q

Control Condition

A

The condition in an experiment where the independent variable is not manipulated.

143
Q

Quasi-Experimental Method

A

A research method involving a treatment condition and a control condition, but does not include random assignment of participants to either of the conditions.

144
Q

Biased Results

A

Results that either overstate or understate the true effects of an intervention.

145
Q

Nonequivalent Comparison Design

A

A study design in which the treatment groups and control groups are formed by a procedure rather than through randomization.

146
Q

Selection Bias

A

A type of bias occurring when the treatment group and control group differ on some characteristic (prior to the intervention) that effects the outcome of interest.

147
Q

Matching Procedure

A

A procedure that involves selecting pairs of participants who are indentical on specific characteristics and splitting them to form a treatment group and control group.

148
Q

Statistical Controls

A

A technique that adjusts for effects of additional variables that may differ between the treatment group and control group.

149
Q

Reflexive Controls

A

A technique that involves researchers comparing measures of an outcome variable on participants before and after an intervention.

150
Q

Pre-Post Design

A

A type of reflexive control design that involves the researcher measuring the outcome of interest both before and after the intervention.

151
Q

Time-Series Design

A

A type of reflexive control design that involves the researcher taking multiple measures of the outcome of interest over time.

152
Q

Multiple Time-Series Design

A

A type of reflexive control design that involves the researcher comparing the effects of an intervention over multiple times and locations.

153
Q

Formative Research

A

A type of evaluation research involving researchers collecting qualitative data to help them design effective survey instruments.

154
Q

Cost-Benefit Analysis

A

The process of comparing the estimated value of an intervention to the estimated cost of the intervention.

155
Q

Causality

A

The two-variable relationship in which one factor/variable is dependent upon the other factor/variable.

156
Q

Experiment

A

A method of manipulating one (or more) independent variable(s) to determine the effect(s) on a dependent variable.

157
Q

Independent Variable

A

The variable on which the dependent variable depends; it is the supposed cause of a causal relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable.

158
Q

Dependent Variable

A

The variable that is acted upon or affected by the independent variable; it is the outcome the researcher seeks to understand.

159
Q

Random Assignment

A

The distribution of individual differences equally across experimental conditions to ensure that the only difference between the experimental group and control group is the independent variable manipulated in the experimental group.

160
Q

Experimental Group

A

The group of a study that is exposed to the experimental manipulation.

161
Q

Spuriousness

A

An apparent relation between two concepts that is the result of of some third confounding concept influencing both of the studied concepts.

162
Q

Experimenter Effect

A

The event of a researcher subtly or unconsciously affecting the performance of a study participant.

163
Q

Laboratory Experiment

A

An experiment that takes place in a laboratory, which gives researchers the maximum amount of control over the environment in which the experiment is conducted

164
Q

Salience

A

The event of study participants noticing the experimental variation.

165
Q

Field Experiment

A

An experiment that takes place in (and includes partipants from) a natural or “real world” setting.

166
Q

Double-Blind Study

A

A study in which neither the researcher nor the participant is aware of the condition (i.e. experimental or control) they have been subjected to.

167
Q

Audit Study

A

A type of field experiment used to assess whether certain characteristics (such as gender, race, and sexual orientation) lead to discrimination in real labor and housing markets.

168
Q

Factorial Design Experiments

A

Experiments with two or more independent variables to allow researchers to measure various characteristics at once.

169
Q

Population-Based Survey Experiment

A

An experiment that is conducted using survey methods on a representative sample of the population of interest.

An experiment in which participants read a description of a scenario and then answer questions about how they would react to the given situation.

170
Q

Natural Experiment

A

An experiment in which the independent variable is manipulated by “nature” (rather than by the experimenter) and participants are assigned to conditions by natural forces (rather than by experimental procedures).

171
Q

Cover Story

A

A false reason for participation that is created by the researcher to ensure participant engagement.

172
Q

Confederates

A

Individuals who are trained by the researcher to pretend they are study participants.

173
Q

Between-Subject Design

A

A study design in which participants are randomly assigned to different levels of the independent variable.

174
Q

Within-Subject Design

A

A study design in which participants receive all levels of the independent variable.

175
Q

Behavioral Measures

A

Measures collected by observing the overt and observable actions of participants.

176
Q

Attitudinal Measures

A

Self-reported responses of participants to questions about their attitudes, opinions, emotions, and beliefs.

177
Q

Physiological Measures

A

Biological responses to stimuli (that help to understand how and why behavioral measures occur).

178
Q

Debrief

A

Telling participants the true purpose of the study

179
Q

Survey

A

A highly structured social research method in which researchers ask a sample of individuals to answer a series of questions.

180
Q

Primary Data Collection

A

Data collection that occurs when social researchers design and carry out their own data-collecting process

181
Q

Primary Data

A

Data that is collected by researchers for the purposes of their own study.

182
Q

Secondary Data

A

Data that was collected by another individual/researcher

Secondary Data Source: A resource that was collected by another individual/researcher.

183
Q

Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ)

A

A survey completed directly by respondents through the mail or online.

184
Q

Mode of Administration

A

The way in which a survey is administered (e.g. face-to-face, phone, mail, online).

185
Q

Close-Ended Questions

A

Questions that allow subjects to only respond in pre-set ways.

186
Q

Response Categories

A

The pre-set (and close-ended) answers on a survey

187
Q

Open-Ended Questions

A

Broad interview questions that allow subjects to respond in their own words rather than in pre-set ways.

188
Q

Cross-Sectional Survey

A

A survey in which data are collected at only one time point.

189
Q

Longitudinal Survey

A

A survey in which data are collected at multiple time points.

190
Q

Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey

A

A type of longitudinal survey in which data are collected at multiple time points, but from different subjects at each time point.

191
Q

Panel Survey

A

A type of longitudinal survey in which data are collected from the same subjects at multiple time points.

192
Q

Omnibus Survey

A

A survey that collects data on a wide range of topics related to social life (and may contain thousands of questions).

193
Q

Poll

A

A brief survey that collects data on a single topic.

194
Q

Split-Ballot Design

A

A survey in which a randomly selected subset of respondents receives one version of a module while another subset of respondents receives a different version.

195
Q

Nonresponse Error

A

A type of error that results when individuals choose not to participate in a survey or choose not to answer certain portions of the survey.

196
Q

Measurement Error

A

A type of error that occurs when the approach used to measure a particular variable affects the response(s) provided by participants.

197
Q

Coverage Error

A

A type of error that occurs when the sampling frame does not adequately capture all members of the target population.

Coverage error is the result of either systematically omitting certain respondents or including the same respondents multiple times.

198
Q

Sampling Error

A

A type of error that results when the characteristics of the sample differ from the characteristics of the population that the sample represents.

199
Q

Response Rate

A

The proportion of the individuals contacted about a survey who acutally complete the survey.

200
Q

Paradata

A

Information/observations about how and where an interview took place.

201
Q

Paper-And-Pencil Interview (PAPI)

A

A survey in which the researcher asks questions from and records the respondent’s answers in a pre-printed copy of the survey booklet.

202
Q

Computer-Assisted Personal Interview

A

A face-to-face interview where the researcher uses a tablet/computer that is pre-programmed with all of the survey questions and response categories.

203
Q

Showcard

A

A display-card used to help respondents answer questions that have many response categories.

204
Q

Skip Pattern

A

A question (or series of questions) associated with a conditional response to a prior question.

205
Q

Screener Question (Filter Question)

A

A question that serves as a gateway to a follow-up question.

206
Q

Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI)

A

A technology designed to facilitate the self-administered component of the face-to-face interview (by allowing the respondent to read/hear the survey questions directly from the computer and then answer the questions on the computer).

207
Q

Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview

A

A telephone interview where the researcher uses a tablet/computer that is preprogrammed with all of the survey responses and response categories.

208
Q

Mail Survey

A

A questionnaire that respondents receive in the mail and complete on their own.

209
Q

Online Survey

A

A survey accessed via an email link that takes respondents to a pre-programmed survey on a website.

210
Q

Mode Effects

A

The effects that the mode of administration has on the survey’s results.

211
Q

Stem

A

The portion of a question that presents the issue of discussion.

212
Q

Dichotomous Outcome

A

An answer with only “yes” or “no” choices

213
Q

Mutually Exclusive

A

The characteristic of there being no overlap betwen response categories.

214
Q

Exhaustive

A

The characteristic of response categories accounting for all possible responses a respondent could have for a particular question.

215
Q

Rating Scale

A

A series of ordered response categories

216
Q

Likert Scale

A

A type of rating scale that captures the respondent’s level or agreement or disagreement with a particular statement.

217
Q

Forced-Choice Question

A

A question that does not give respondents a neutral response category.

Forced-choice questions “force” the respondent to make a choice for their answer.

218
Q

Acquiescence Bias

A

Bias that results from a respondent’s tendency to agree with a survey statement without truly reflecting of their own position or the question itself.

219
Q

Ranking-Item Question

A

A type of close-ended questions that asks the respondent to rank-order their priorities or preferences.

220
Q

Composite Measure

A

A measure that combines multiple items to create a single value that captures a multifaceted concept.

E.g. An index or scale

221
Q

Index

A

A sum of responses to multiple survey items that capture the particular concept being measured.

222
Q

Scale

A

An average of responses to multiple survey items that capture the particular concept being measured.

223
Q

Double-Barreled Question

A

A question that asks about two or more ideas.

224
Q

Response Set

A

The tendency of respondents to select the same answer to several sequential questions (perhaps out of boredom or a desire to finish the survey quickly).

225
Q

Order Effects

A

A type of bias that occurs when the order in which questions appear influences the responses.

226
Q

Priming Effects

A

A type of order effect in which exposure to a particulare image, word, or emotion shapes/influences how respondents think and feel in the immediate aftermath.

227
Q

Pretest

A

A trial run of a survey administered to a group of people who are similar to the study sample.

228
Q

Cognitive Interview (Cognitive Pretest)

A

An interview with survey respondents to understand their thoughts and interpretations of particular questions/terms so that the researcher can improve the clarity of the survey.

229
Q

Frequency Distribution

A

A data set that indicates the number and proportion of respondents who chose each response category for each question.

230
Q

Confidentiality

A

The situation in which a participant’s identifying information is only accessible to the research team.

231
Q

Anonymity

A

The situation in which no identifying information can be linked to respondents (and even the researcher cannot identify them).

Social Research Methods (2 decks)

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