Research Methods Flashcards
What is science? /5
a way to produce knowledge based on a specific method
begins with a theory
involves the using empirical observation to collect data
uses logic to compare the evidence yo the theory
social institution
What is a theory? /2
an idea about how the world works
may come from agreement reality
What is empirical observation?
personal experience
What is Natural Sciences?
study naturally occurring objects or phenomena
ex. light, objects, matter, earth, celestial bodies, human body
What are the natural sciences classified as disciplines? /6
physics - science of physical objects
chemistry - science of matter
geology - science of the earth
astronomy - science of celestial objects
biology - science of the human body
botany - science of plants
What is Social Science?
science of people or collections of people
ex. groups, individual or collective behaviour
What are the social sciences classified as disciplines? /5
psychology - science of human behaviour
sociology - science of culture
political science - science of politics and power
geography - science of humans in the natural world
economics - science of firms, markets, and economies
What is the Scientific Method? /5
a way of developing and testing theories by empirical observation
logical
confirmable
repeatable
scrutinizable
What does it mean when a theory is logical?
based on principles of reasoning
What does it mean when an theory is confirmable?
must match the observed evidence
What does it mean when an theory is repeatable? /2
other scientists should be able to independently replicate or repeat a scientific study
obtain similar or identical results
What does it mean when an theory is scrutinizable?
procedures used and the inferences derived must withstand critical scrutiny (peer review) by other scientists
What is a hypothesis? /2
a statement about something that is believed will happen or to be true
important step in the scientific method
What is the research process? /7
identify the research problems | review the literature | select a research method | collect data | analyze data | report findings | restart/is a loop
What types of study are there? /3
cross-sectional
longitudinal
comparative
What is a cross-sectional study?
information gathered at a single point in time
What is a longitudinal study?
information gathered at different points in time
What is a comparative study?
use data from different sources and compare them
What types of data are there? /2
quantitative data - based on numbers
ex. grades on a test
qualitative data - information that is not numerical
ex. how students feel before a test
What are the different techniques for collecting data? /6
experiments
surveys
interviews
secondary analysis
content analysis
field research
What are experiments? /4
carefully designed situations to test causes and effects
researcher can control other factors (pro)
not a realistic situation (con)
quasi-experiment
What is a quasi-experiment?
researcher creates a situation which could yield different results
What are surveys? /3
set of questions used to measure opinions or behaviours of a group of people
collect a lot of information from a large number of people quickly and easily (pro)
people say what they do, not what they ACTUALLY do (con)
What are interviews? /3
researcher asks orally and records the answers
gets more information and ask follow-up questions (pro)
take a lot of time (con)
What is a secondary analysis? /3
using and analyzing data collected by someone else
easy to get (pro)
not always what you need (con)
What is a content analysis? /3
studying cultural artifacts (i.e., texts or images)
free with no ethical issues (pro)
may take a long time to code (con)
What is a field research? /3
observing people where they live, work, and interact
realistic (pro)
takes a lot of time (con)
What is a variable?
anything that can be measured
ex. age, gender, marital status
What is an attribute?
a characteristic of a variable
ex. divorced, single, married are all attributes of the variable ‘marital status’
What is conceptualization? /2
clearly and specifically define what variables mean
can be easy or difficult depending on the subject
What is operationalization?
how to measure the concept being studied
allows us to measure a concept in an objective, empirical way
ex. how would you measure your income?
What is an independent variable?
hypothetically causes or affects the other variable
ex. studying
What is a dependent variable?
the effect or outcome
ex. improvement of grades
What is a population?
all members of a group
ex. all Canadians aged 18 and over
What is a sample?
smaller part of a population of interest
ex. 1000 Canadians aged 18 and over
How do you tell whether a group is a sample or a population? /2
identify the population based on what it is that you wish to study.
Remember that a sample is then selected from the population.
What are the different types of samples? /8
systematic
cluster
stratified
convenience
voluntary
representative
biased
random
What is a systematic sample?
Go through your entire population
choose every second, fifth, tenth, or nth member to be in your sample
What is a cluster sample? /2
subgroup of the whole population
you choose every member of one or more of these subgroups to be your sample
What is a stratified sample? /2
specific type of group within the population
proportional stratified sample- knowing the proportion of each type of stratum within the population
What is a convenience sample?
choosing the members of the population who are the easiest to reach
What is a voluntary sample?
when people volunteer to be in the sample
What is a representative sample?
relevant characteristics of the sample members are generally the same as the characteristics of the population
What is a biased sample? /2
certain characteristics are over-represented or under-represented
not accurate
What is a simple random sample? /2
best way to get a representative sample
each member of the population has the same chance of being selected
What are the ethics in research? /4
we cannot treat them the same way we would inanimate objects
established certain principles guiding research with people
must be given consent
respect of privacy (confidentiality and anonymity
What are the three principles guiding research with people? /3
Respect for the person
Concern for welfare
Justice
What is confidentiality?
researcher will know the person but will not publish any identifying information about them
What is anonymity?
even the researcher does not know the person
