METHODOLOGY Flashcards
(General methodology)
What is a problem statement?
A problem statement is the overall question you want to investigate.
(General methodology)
What are problem questions?
Problem questions help you answer the problem statement. They are typically more specific than the problem statement.
(General methodology)
What is a hypothesis?
An expectation of what the answer to your problem statement will be based on theory or existing knowledge. The purpose of hypothesising is to examine whether your expectation matches reality.
(General methodology)
What is an explanatory hypothesis?
A reasoned claim about a relationship in reality. It consists of an observation of something in reality, such as a pattern in a table, and an explanation for the observation.
(General methodology)
What is a unit of analysis?
The phenomenon or people we want to study. Units of analysis can be countries, political parties or individuals, while a unit of analysis is the individual respondent, text or interviewer.
(General methodology)
What is value?
Variables can have different values.
(General methodology)
What is operationalising?
Operationalising is a process of transforming abstract concepts into clearly defined variables. Operationalisation is a central part of the methodology in Social Studies. Concepts can be defined in many ways and it is important to think about how the choices you make affect your study. A good operationalisation is necessary if the study is to live up to the research criteria.
(General methodology)
Significance
A significant correlation means that the correlation is not random and that it applies to the entire population.
(Causality)
Causality
When one variable affects another variable. Synonym for causation
(Causality)
Causation
A causation is when one variable affects another variable.
(Causality)
Causality criteria
Criteria to assess whether a relation between two variables is causal.
(Causality)
Time order
The independent variable must come before the dependent variable in time.
(Causality)
Theoretical justification
There must be a theoretical justification for the independent variable affecting the dependent variable
(Causality)
Empirical correlation
There must be an empirical correlation between the independent and dependent variable.
(Causality)
Correlation
A correlation is another word for connection. In Social Studies, we use the term to describe the fact that we can see that the development of two variables follow each other. For example, if we can see that increases in social media consumption are often observed in correlation with increases in self-esteem issues. Correlation is not the same as causality.
(Causality)
Covariation
Covariation means that we can see a connection between two variables. Synonymous with correlation. Covariation is not the same as causation. Two variables can co-vary without the independent variable affecting the independent variable.
(Causality)
Spuriousness
We call a connection spurious if there is a covariation without causality.
(Variable)
Variable
A characteristic of our units of analysis that can vary. Examples include gender, income or education.
(Variable)
Dependent variable
The dependent variable is the variable we want to explain the variation in.
(Variable)
Independent variable
The independent variable is the variable we believe can explain the variation in the dependent variable. The independent variable always comes before the dependent variable in time.
(Variable)
Control variables
Control variables are a collective category for other types of variables we believe can affect the dependent variable.
(Variable)
An underlying variable
An underlying variable is a variable that comes before both the dependent and independent variables in time and affects both the dependent and independent variables.
(Variable)
In between variable
An in-between variable is a variable that comes between the independent and dependent variable in time. Affects only the dependent variable. Characterised by the fact that the effect of the independent variable goes through the in between variable. This means that the independent variable only has an indirect effect on the dependent variable. Also called an intermediate variable.
(Variable)
Alternative independent variable
An alternative independent variable helps to explain the variation in the dependent variable.
(Variable)
Interaction variable
An interaction variable is characterised by the fact that the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable depends on the interaction variable.
(The study criteria)
(The study criteria)
The study criteria are four criteria used in the social sciences to assess the quality of social science studies.
(The study criteria)
The four criteria
- Validity:
Validity means that there are no systematic errors - i.e. errors that are not random - in your study.
- Internal validity: Whether the year-to-year correlation is valid.
- Measurement validity: The correlation between our theoretical concepts and the way we measure them. If there is a good correlation, validity is high. - Reliability: When a study has high reliability, it means that repeated measurements give the same result. Reliability means the absence of random errors, such as incorrect data entry.
- Repeatability: A study with high repeatability means that it can be repeated so that it is possible to verify the results.
- Generalisability: High generalisability means that we can transfer our results to something more general than what we have studied.
(Quantitative data)
Quantitative data
Quantitative data is information that can be counted. It can be data that has always been numerical, e.g. GDP, or data that has been transformed into numbers, e.g. by numbering the response categories in our questionnaire.
(Quantitative data)
Registration data
Information that has been recorded and stored in registers.
- Advantage: Easily accessible and typically population data. I.e. data about the entire population. - Disadvantage: Data may not fit exactly what we want to investigate.
(Quantitative data)
Survey data
Data collected via questionnaires (surveys). Usually based on a sample of the population.
- Advantage: It’s easier to ask a sample of the population.
- Disadvantage: It can be difficult to ensure that your sample is representative.
(Quantitative data collecting)
What is a questionnaire?
A questionnaire is a survey where a representative group of people answer a series of questions.
(Quantitative data collecting)
What is a respondent?
A person who answers our questionnaire is a respondent.
(Quantitative data collecting)
What is The collective term for all the respondents relevant to a survey?
The population
(Quantitative data collecting)
We rarely have the opportunity to send our questionnaire to the entire population. What do we do instead?
Draw a sample. That is, an extract of the population. The larger the sample, the more representative it is. The smaller it is, the greater the statistical uncertainty.