Objectives of the Research Process Flashcards
What is a research topic, and how is it identified?
A research topic is narrowly focused on an important problem and identified from interests, experiences, coursework, or academic background.
What role does the research problem play in the research process?
The research problem represents the foundational need, describes the context, and addresses issues in literature, theory, or practice.
What are the characteristics of a well-developed research problem?
A well-developed research problem should be challenging, worthwhile, important, and feasible. Problems can be descriptive, predictive, or explanatory.
How can theory be used in the research process?
Theory is an explanation about relationships among phenomena, guiding research problems and questions, and acting as a foundation for connecting frameworks.
What is the distinction between theory and hypothesis?
A theory is extensively tested and generally accepted, while a hypothesis is a speculative guess that a researcher tests, making specific predictions about circumstances.
What are the types of reasoning, and how do they differ?
Inductive reasoning involves observations leading to predictions about general principles, while deductive reasoning uses generalized information, often within a theory, to explain specific events.
What is the purpose of a literature review?
The purpose of a literature review includes assembling relevant literature, identifying gaps for research, providing context for evaluation, and arguing for the originality of the study.
What is a systematic review, and how does it differ from meta-analysis?
A systematic review follows a strict method to analyze and synthesize results, while meta-analysis uses statistics to combine data from multiple studies into a single dataset.
What are the three phases of conducting a (narrative) literature review?
Phase 1: Gathering information, Phase 2: Critical literature review, Phase 3: Synthesizing and writing the review.
What does the literature review conclude with, and what should the purpose statement include?
The literature review concludes with a statement of the study’s purpose. The purpose statement is clear, concise, and identifies study variables or phenomena.
What follows the purpose statement in a research study, and what is the distinction between a hypothesis and a research question?
Following the purpose statement are hypotheses or research questions. A hypothesis is a prediction derived from theory or literature, while a research question is a broad inquiry about the central phenomenon.
In quantitative studies, what are the types of study variables?
Independent variable, Dependent variable, Moderator variable, Control variable, Mediator variable, and Extraneous variable.
What do qualitative studies focus on, and what is the central phenomenon?
Qualitative studies focus on a central phenomenon, which is the key construct or focal area to better understand or explore.
What does the mixed methods research purpose statement contain?
The mixed methods research purpose statement contains information from both quantitative and qualitative statements, including the type of mixed-methods study design.
What are the two main types of mixed-methods research designs mentioned?
The two main types are concurrent mixed-methods research design and sequential mixed-methods research design.
