Research Methods Chapter 2 Flashcards
a form of qualitative research that is focused on providing a detailed account of one or more cases
Case study research
a variable that varies in type or kind
Categorical variable
a form of nonexperimental research in which the primary independent variable of interest is a categorical variable
Causal-comparative research
relationship in which one variable affects another variable
Cause-and-effect relationship
uses the deductive or confirmatory or “top down” scientific method; it is used primarily for description, explanation, and prediction.
Quantitative research
the “bottom up” or inductive exploratory method is used; it is used primarily for the purposes of description and exploration and to gain an understanding of how people think and experience their lives.
qualitative research
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Complementary strengths
an extraneous variable that was not controlled for and is the reason a particular “confounded” result is observed; an extraneous variable that systematically varies with the independent variable and also influences the dependent variable
Confounding variable
What is the difference between a categorical variable and a quantitative variable?
A categorical variable varies in type or kind and a quantitative variable varies in degree or amount. An example of the former is gender, and an example of the latter is class size.
Why is experimental research more effective than nonexperimental research when a researcher is interested in studying cause and effect?
Strong experimental research designs (i.e., the best experiments) include both manipulation and random assignment; nonexperimental research has neither of these. “Manipulation” is an action taken by the researcher in the world (e.g., providing a treatment to one group and a control condition to another group); manipulation allows us to see a manipulation first, and then observe the outcome or result of the manipulation. “Random assignment” makes the groups similar on ALL extraneous variables at the beginning of the experiment; hence, the only difference between the groups will be the level of independent variable received, allowing the differences observed after the experiment is completed to be attributed to the manipulated independent variable.
What are the main problems with the simple cases of causal-comparative and correlational research?
The problem with BOTH of these simple cases is that the researcher has no manipulation, no random assignment, and is only able to determine whether a statistical relationship is present. Observing a relationship is NOT enough information to attribute causation! To make a causal attribution, you need to meet three conditions: 1) show that there is a relationship, 2) show that you have the correct time ordering of your variables, that is, if A causes B then A must precede B in time, and 3) all alternative explanations must be ruled out. Again, all the simple cases give us is a relationship (i.e., condition 1). (On the other hand, a well conducted strong experiment satisfies all three conditions.)
a single value or category of a variable
Constant
Quantitative research has what two major subtypes?
experimental and nonexperimental
Qualitative research’s six major subtypes
phenomenology, ethnography, narrative inquiry, case study, grounded theory, and historical research.
a numerical index that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
Correlation coefficient
a form of nonexperimental research in which the primary independent variable of interest is a quantitative variable
Correlational research
a system of shared beliefs, values, practices, perspectives, folk knowledge, language, norms, rituals, and material objects and artifacts that members of a group use in understanding their world and in relating to others
Culture
a variable that is presumed to be influenced by one or more independent variables
Dependent variable
all events have causes
Determinism
a form of qualitative research focused on discovering and describing the culture of a group of people
Ethnography
research in which the researcher manipulates the independent variable and is interested in showing cause and effect
Experimental research
a variable that may compete with the independent variable in explaining the outcome; any variable other than the independent variable that might influence the dependent variable; a variable that you need to “control for” to eliminate it as a competing explanation for the observed relationship between an independent and a dependent variable
Extraneous variable
advises researchers to thoughtfully and strategically mix or combine qualitative and quantitative research methods, approaches, procedures, concepts, and other paradigm characteristics in a way that produces an overall design with complementary strengths (broadly viewed) and nonoverlapping weaknesses
Fundamental principle of mixed research
a qualitative approach to generating and developing a theory from the data that the researcher collects
Grounded-theory research
research about people, places, and events in the past; the process of systematically examining past events or combinations of events to arrive at an account of what happened in the past
Historical research
the description of how members of a group interact and how they come together to make up the group as a whole
Holistic description
the proposition that one cannot mix quantitative and qualitative research
Incompatibility thesis
a variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable
Independent variable
a variable occurring between two other variables in a causal chain (also known as a mediating variable)
Intervening variable
the idea that people see and understand the world through the lens of their local language; people’s thoughts are bound by their language (also called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)
Linguistic-relativity hypothesis
an intervention studied by an experimenter
Manipulation
research that involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or other paradigm characteristics
Mixed research
a variable that changes the relationship between other variables
Moderator variable
the study of experience when experience is understood as lived and told stories. It is a collaboration between researcher and participants, over time, in a place or series of places and in social interaction with their social milieus.
Narrative inquiry
the situation when scores on two variables tend to move in opposite directions
Negative correlation
research in which the independent variable is not manipulated and there is no random assignment to groups
Nonexperimental research
a form of qualitative research in which the researcher attempts to understand how one or more individuals experience a phenomenon
Phenomenology
the situation when scores on two variables tend to move in the same direction
Positive correlation
the philosophical position that what works is what is important or “valid
Pragmatism
a cause that usually produces an outcome; changes in variable A tend to produce changes in variable B
Probabilistic cause
research that relies primarily on the collection of qualitative data
Qualitative research
research that relies primarily on the collection of quantitative data
Quantitative research
a variable that varies in degree or amount
Quantitative variable
a perspective held by a community of researchers that is based on a set of shared assumptions, concepts, values, and practices
Research paradigm
a condition or characteristic that can take on different values or categories
Variable
a method of empathetic understanding of others’ viewpoints, meanings, intentions, and cultural beliefs
Verstehen
Concrete reality
Formulas and models
Generalizable patterns/trends/findings
Perspective: unbiased and detached researcher seeking to gain the objective truth
Positivism/post-positivism
Reality is individual/local/contextual
Focuses on understanding the constructed reality of the “other”
Exploring, gaining a better understanding
Perspective: the researcher co-constructs reality with participants to give voice to the story of participants
Constructivist
Variables like 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place
Ordinal
Variables: (name) used to put people/participants in groups
Nominal
Purpose of this research: determine and demonstrate cause and effect relationships.
Experimental research
Purpose of this research: determine the correlation of variables
Non experimental research
every single person had the same chance to be able to participate in the study
Random selection
In research, when there’s a relationship between one thing and another
Correlation
Three required conditions for causality
relationship, temporal order, and lack of alternative explanation.
