Quantitative Research Flashcards
What is a Construct?
In relation to theory
A construct is a non-observable variable. We *cannot directly observe *a certain level of ”customer satisfaction”. We can define it however, and figure out ways to measure it.
Example of construct: Customer satisfaction
What is a hypothesis?
A proposition related to theoretical constructs.
For every hypothesis there is at least one implicit alternative hypothesis.
What is the null hypothesis?
Null hypothesis: The default position is that there is no relationship between what we are trying to measure.
The null hypothesis is generally assumed to be true until evidence indicates otherwise.
Can you prove a hypothesis right?
No!
Remember falsifiability: we can only fail to reject the hypothesis.
If many attempts have been made to falsify a hypothesis, and it has failed to do so, then our confidence in the hypothesis increases.
What is a dependent variable?
What is being measured in the experiment, the expected effect of the independent variable
What is an independent variable?
What the experimenter is manipulating in the experiment.
The independent variable (IV) can be likened to a light switch and the dependent variable (DV) can be likened to a light bulb.
An experiment compares the results of exposure of one (independent) variable upon another (the dependent variable).
What happens when we turn on the switch?
What is a Experimental group?
Participants in the study/experiment who are exposed to the independent variable
What is a Control group?
“Comparison group”, participants in the study who do not experience the independent variable
Participants are randomly assigned to these groups (experimental group and control group)
Quality critera in quantiative research
Reliability
How accurate or consistent is the measure?
Would two people understand a question in the same way?
Would the same person give the same answers under similar circumstances?
Validity
Does the concept measure what it is intended to measure?
Does the measure actually reflect the concept?
Do the findings reflect the opinions, attitudes, and behaviors of the target population?
Reliability
Reliability is concerned with the question of whether the results of a study are repeatable. The term is commonly used to address the question of whether or not the measures that are applied to concepts in business and management (such as team working, employee motivation, organizational effectiveness) are consistent. Reliability is a particular concern in quantitative research. The quantitative researcher is likely to be concerned with whether or not a measure is stable. Example: IQ-tests must be consistent and repeatable, otherwise they would not be reliable.
What are the different types of Validity?
Four different types
(1) Measurement validity: Measurement validity is also often referred to as construct validity. Essentially, this type of validity is concerned with whether a measure captures the phenomenon which it is intended to capture. For example, does the IQ test really measure intelligence?
(2) Internal validity: This type of validity relates mainly to the issue of causality. Internal validity is concerned with understanding whether a conclusion that incorporates a causal relationship between two or more variables holds. If we suggest that x causes y, can we be sure that it is x that is responsible for variation in y, and not something else that is producing an apparent causal relationship? In discussing issues of causality, it is common to refer to the factor that has a causal impact as the independent variable and the effect as the dependent variable.
(3) External validity: This issue is concerned with the question of whether the results of a study can be generalized beyond the specific research context. External validity is one of the main reasons why quantitative researchers are so keen to generate representative samples.
(4) Ecological validity: This criterion is concerned with the question of whether or not social scientific findings are applicable in everyday, naturally occurring social settings. If research findings lack ecological validity, they are of limited value in enabling understanding of how things work in the real world. The conclusions deriving from a study using questionnaires may have measurement validity and a reasonable level of internal validity, and they may be externally valid (in the sense that the findings can be generalized to other samples using the same questionnaire), but the unnaturalness of having to answer a questionnaire may mean that the findings have limited ecological validity.
What is a two-sided hypothesis?
When you suggest that two constructs are significantly related, you have a two-sided hypothesis.
What is a one-sided hypothesis?
When you suggest that two constructs are positively or negatively related you have a one-sided hypothesis.
What is a Type 1 Error?
The probability of rejecting Hypothesis (H1,2,,) when actually true
What is a Type 2 Error?
The probability of not rejecting hypothesis (H1,2,,) when actually false
