midterm Flashcards
What are two ways of knowing or answering questions?
Doing the research or consulting an authority
Two kinds of authority are mentioned in chapter 1. What are they? Give a clear example of each.
Authority based on position: internet influencer, politician, judge, etc.
Authority based on knowledge: an expert in the field
List two reasons why people do research.
To review the authority’s research
To answer a question that no authority can effectively answer
What makes scientific knowledge better (different) than other types of knowledge?
It’s evidence based. There is observable, tangible proof of that knowledge.
List the four major disciplines (conducts) involved in the research process: (In the section “Research as a discipline”)
Creating a research question, honesty and accuracy, recordkeeping, and assessing limitations.
In the section “Research as a discipline” what are the two major properties of a researchable question?
The first major property is that the question is limited in scope. The second is that it identifies some observable, tangible, countable evidence that can be gathered through research.
What are theory and data?
Theories are ideas about the relationship of two other ideas. They can be proven by data, which are empirical facts. Data on its own doesn’t have much meaning until it is linked to a theory/research question.
Name two desirable features of theories
Simplicity and clarity
What are the two major kinds of research (and data)? What is the main difference between the two?
Qualitative and quantitative data. The first regards experiences. It can be gathered through interviews, for example: feelings, impressions or images. The second is more number-oriented. Everything which can be calculated or counted could be used to answer a quantitative research question.
What are the reasons for reviewing the literature on a particular subject?
To identify and prepare a good research question, to find appropriate theoretical and research design approaches, to define central variables, to advance personal knowledge on the topic, and to determine new directions for existing programs.
Why is it essential to identify the issues or factors involved in a subject, topic, or problem being considered for a research project?
The issues or factors have a significant impact on the collected data. To identify them will help to prepare and structure the research accordingly. Narrowing down how many factors to include in a specific research project can make it more understandable as well as easier to interpret.
Why is it necessary to select one issue from among the issues identified?
It denotes the ability of understanding the complexity of the chosen concept. Focusing on one allows the researchers to clearly find the answers to their question and leaving room for other studies to research the others. Too many issues in a single research project quickly becomes overwhelming and can cause the margin of error to grow.
What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis is an educated guess which has not yet been tested/proven to qualify the relationship between two concepts, a prediction about cause and effect Here is an example: longer sun exposure increases the body’s intake of vitamin D.
What is an independent and a dependent concept?
An independent concept is the concept which causes the dependent concept to shift in quantity in quantitative research.
What is a research objective?
A research objective is a statement in the form of a goal which aims to structure research towards observation to describe the topic of study, not explain it. It does not include testing the impact of something on something else. It is not a prediction like a hypothesis.
