RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT METHODS Flashcards
Linear Method
The linear method uses the change in population (increase or decline) over a period of time and extrapolates that change into the future, in a linear fashion. For example, if the population of Plannersville has grown an average of 1,000 people per year over the last 20 years, it would be assumed to grow by 1,000 people annually in the future.
Exponential Method
CURVE
The exponential method uses the rate of growth (or decline), i.e., the percentage change in population over a period of time to estimate the current or future population. In the same Plannersville example, the population has been increasing by 2% per year for the last 20 years. This percentage change is extrapolated into the future. Two percent of 2,000 people is larger than 2% of 1,000 people. The result is a curved line.
Modified Exponential Method
S SHAPED CURVE
A modified exponential projection assumes there is a cap to the change and that at some point the growth will slow or stop, resulting in an S-shaped curved line. The Gompertz Projection is a further modification of the modified exponential, where the growth is slowest at the beginning and speeds up over time.
Symptomatic Method
The symptomatic method uses any available data indirectly related to population size, such as housing starts, or new drivers licenses. It then estimates the population using a ratio, such as the average household size (from the U.S. Census). For instance, with the average household size at 2.5, data on 100 new single-family building permits that are issued this year, would yield an estimate of 250 new people will be added to the community.
Other sources of data for estimating population can include water taps, phone lines, voter registration, and utility connections.
Step Down Ratio Method
The step-down ratio method is a relatively simple way to estimate or project population. This method uses the ratio of the population in a city and a county (or a larger geographical unit) at a known point in time, such as the decennial Census.
This ratio is used to project the current or future population. For example, the population of Plannersville is 20% of the county population in 2000. If we know that the county population is 20,000 in 2005, we can then estimate the population of Plannersville as 4,000 (20%).
Distributed Housing Unit Method
This method multiplies Census Bureau data for the number of housing units by the occupancy rate and persons per household. This method is reliable for slow growth or stable communities but is less reliable in quickly changing communities.
Cohort Survival Method
Calculated for Men and Women in specific age groups
current population plus natural increases (births, deaths, Migration)
Population pyramid (elders on top)
age cohorts, with same year intervals, to keep consistency as cohorts age.
The general fertility rate
number of babies born per 1,000 females
Death Rate
death rate per 1000 people
Net Migration
Number of people moving in minus people moving out
what is the most accurate population projection method
Cohort Survival Method
Qualitative research
An approach for understanding the meaning individuals and groups ascribe to a human or social problem
Emerging questions
Flexible written report
Analysis building from particular data to general themes (inductive)
Quantitative Research
An approach for testing objective theories by examining the relationships among variables (deductive)
Numbered data which can be analyzed using statistical procedures
Structured written report
Mixed Methods Research
Collection of both qualitative and quantitative data
Integrating the two forms of data
May involve both philosophical assumptions and theoretical frameworks
Assumes a more complete understanding of a research problem than using one of the approaches alone
Case Study Method
A research method focusing on the study of a single case. Usually it is not designed to compare one individual or group to another, although sometimes a case study may be included in comparative analysis as a key or illustrative example.
Discourse Analysis
A study of the way versions or the world, society, events, and psyche are produced in the use of language and discourse. It is often concerned with the construction of subjects within various forms of knowledge/power. Semiotics, deconstruction, and narrative analysis are forms of discourse analysis.
Comparative Analysis
Analysis where data from different settings or groups at the same point in time or from the same settings or groups over a period of time are analyzed to identify similarities and differences.
e-research
Also known as e-Science or e-Social Science, e-Research is the harnessing of any digital technology to undertake and promote social research. This includes treating the digital sphere as a site of research by examining social interaction in the e-infrastructure.
Ethnography
A multi-method qualitative (participant observation, interviews, discourse analyses of natural language and personal documents) approach that studies people in their “…naturally occuring settings or ‘fields’ by means of methods which capture their social meanings and ordinary activities, involving the researcher participating directly in the setting…”
Field Research
a researcher goes to observe an everyday event in the environment where it occurs
Grounded Theory
An inductive form of qualitative research where data collection and analysis are conducted together. Theories remain grounded in the observations rather than generated in the abstract. Grounded theory is an approach that develops the theory from the data collected, rather than applying a theory to the data.
Narrative Analysis
Narrative analysis is a form of discourse analysis that seeks to study the textual devices at work in the constructions of process or sequence within a text.
In narrative research, the respondent gives a detailed account of themselves and is encouraged to tell their story rather than answer a predetermined list of questions. This method is more successful when people are discussing a life changing event.
Analysis of the narrative tells the researcher about the person’s understanding of the meaning of events in their lives.
Nominal Data
Nominal data are classified into mutually exclusive groups or categories and lack intrinsic order. A zoning classification, social security number, and sex are examples of nominal data. The label of the categories does not matter and should not imply any order. So, even if one category might be labeled as 1 and the other as 2, those labels can be switched.
Ordinal Data
Ordinal data are ordered categories implying a ranking of the observations. Even though ordinal data may be given numerical values, such as 1, 2, 3, and 4, the values themselves are meaningless. ONLY THE RANK COUNTS. It would be incorrect to infer, for example, that 4 is twice 2, despite the temptation. Examples of ordinal data include letter grades, suitability for development, and response scales on a survey (e.g., 1 through 5).
Interval Data
Interval data has an ordered relationship where the difference between the scales has a meaningful interpretation. The typical example of interval data is temperature, where the difference between 40 and 30 degrees is the same as between 30 and 20 degrees, but 20 degrees is not twice as cold as 40 degrees.
What kind of data are letter grades, and response scales 1-5
Ordinal Data
what is statistical variance and the equation?
The average of the squared differences from the mean
Divide by n if the population mean is known
divide by n-1 if mean is of a SAMPLE
(degree of freedom correction, n-1)
What is the standard deviation equation
Z score equation
What is the interquartile range
the range between Q1 and Q3
Outlier calculation
