Overview of Research Terms Flashcards
inductive reasoning
makes broad generalizations from specific observations
deductive reasoning
starts out with a general statement, or hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion
hypothesis
a written, declarative statement in the present tense of a prediction of the relationship between two or more variables. used in quantitative research (not in qualitative)
null hypothesis
predicts there is no relationship between the variables stated in the hypothesis. not acknowledging a null hypothesis threatens overall study validity. careful sample selection using power analysis can help prevent these errors.
Type I error
when the null hypothesis is rejected when it should not be
Type II error
when the null hypothesis is not rejected when it should be, since a relationship between the studied variables does exist.
Quantitative research
grounded upon the scientific method of theory testing, this focuses on objective evidence. Focused on determining cause and effect; research is tightly controlled. Uses numbers and statistics, people are referred to as subjects.
independent variables
treatment, intervention, or experimental value; the “cause”
dependent variables
outcome, effect; ruling out of extraneous effects
extraneous variables
unplanned effect on an outcome in a research study
Hawthorne effect
example of extraneous variable; psychological effect when study subjects change behaviour from normal because they know they are being observed
survey research
using interviews and questionnaires; may address knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, attitudes, feelings, experiences, behaviours.
questions should be clear and simple, ordered from general to specific
questionnaire pros and cons
can be written or electronic; low response rates and does not allow for clarification
attitude scales
structured, self-report measures to learn more about the attitudes of the subjects
e.g. Likert scale, Semantic differential
Likert scale
attitude statements of 5-7 pts, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. scores are summed to one total score
Semantic differential scale
pairs of 2 opposite adjectives are placed on lines with seven point scale between; subjects mark point that best represents their attitude
Four types of quantitative research designs
Descriptive, correlational; quasi-experimental and experimental
Descriptive studies
describe characteristics of a topic
correlational studies
examine relationships between variables/subjects and the strength and direction of the relationship
quasi-experimental studies
examine causality but there is no random assignment and/or control group
experimental studies
examine causality and do have random assignment of subjects, with both an experimental and a control group
clinical trials
experimental research studies which assess the effects of specific new or revised clinical interventions; safety and efficacy are studied. randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are viewed as the gold standard for evidence-based practice
cross sectional studies
look at one phenomenon at one point in time across multiple separate populations that differ in a clear characteristic; allows for a picture of the phenomenon as it exists in the present
longitudinal prospective cohort study
follows subjects over a period of time in the future; data is collected at 2+ points in time
prospective study
study of interest is identified in the present and subjects are followed for a given time frame in the future
cohort study
type of longitudinal study in which subjects come from similar background or were born in the same time period
retrospective study
uses past data which has already been collected about events that have already occured
pilot study
smaller scale version of a planned study which identifies and prevents a problem that could occur in the larger study. testing of methods and procedures done to test feasibility and accuracy of larger planned study
double-blind experiment
neither the subjects nor the researchers know who the control group and who the experimental group is
control group
group of subjects comparable to experimental group but not receiving experimental intervention/is given an alternate treatment; provides a baseline to measure the effects of the treatment
sampling
process that selects representative units of a population for a study, as it is rarely feasible or necessary to sample the entire populations of interest to obtain accurate and meaningful information
eligibility criteria
descriptors of population which provide a basis for selection of the sample
target population
entire set of cases whom the researcher would like to make generalizations about
random sampling
ensures sample is representative of population from which it was chosen and is representative of the population; allows for generalisability of the findings
types of random sampling
simple, stratified, cluster, systematic
simple random sampling
random numbers are used to select subjects from total population
stratified random sampling
subgroups are selected from the population based on certain characteristics and a representative sample from each subgroup or stratum is then randomly chosen
cluster sampling
entire groups are randomly selected in stages and subjects are then randomly selected only from those groups or clusters
systematic random sampling
predetermined sampling intervals are used to select subjects from the population
measures of central tendency
mean: average value of a data set
median: midpoint of a data set
mode: most frequent value of a data set
4 levels of measurement
nominal: lowest/least rigorous measurement
ordinal: rank ordering
interval: consistent distance between ranks
ratio: true or natural zero point
correlations
focus on the relationship between variable; 0 = none; +1 = perfect positive, -1 = perfect negative/inverse relationship.
scatter plots help see correlations
inferential statistics
uses data from samples to make inference about a population. e.g. t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square test, level of significance
minimum acceptable level of significance
0.05 or 0.01
0.01 and 0.001 are used when decision to be made has important consequences for treatment
quantitative validity (2 types)
internal validity: degree to which effect can be attributed only to the cause and not extraneous variables
external validity: generalizability of the findings of an experimental study to other people and settings
qualitative research
focused on discovering and interpreting the subjective meaning of an experience to an individual or group. participants are not randomly selected and rather are purposefully sampled (handpicked for their perceived representation of the population of interest)
types of qualitative research (2)
phenomenological and ethnographic
phenomenological research
describes experiences or phenomena from the POV of the individuals involves; “lived experiences”
ethnographic research
focuses on the understanding of the culture of a group of people; researcher becomes an active culture
bracketing
method used to control for researcher bias to help ensure clear and accurate observations; researchers reflect on their personal thoughts and feelings and set them, aside
trustworthiness
measure of truth and rigor; 4 criteria – credibility, dependability, confirmability, transferability
data saturation
point in qualitative studies when there are no new ideas noted in the data analysis and it is noted that saturation of themes/categories has occurred
field notes
reflective notes documented by the researcher’s reflections on strategies and methodologies used, analysis of observations, and personal feelings
focus group
small group of 6-12 people for their similarities to discuss thoughts, feelings, etc; researchers observe participants for verbal and nonverbal behaviors and interactions
report
written in an informal style; direct quotes used, adding to credibility and trustworthiness; themes are identified
interview
more personal than questionnaires; can have any level of structure, provide for increased depth of information but may cost more.
