Research Methods Terminology

Question 1

Validity

Answer 1

Valid research reveals a true picture.
Data that is high in validity tends to be qualitative and is often described as “rich”. It seeks to provide the researcher with verstehen, a deep, true understanding of their research object.

Question 2

Reliability

Answer 2

The reliability of a method refers to the extent to which, were the same study to be repeated, it would produce the same results.

Question 3

Representativeness

Answer 3

Representativeness has been defined as the degree of similarity of a study population compared to an external population.

Question 4

Generalisability

Answer 4

Generalisability is the extent to which the findings of a study can be applicable to other settings.

Question 5

Target population

Answer 5

The target population is the group of individuals that the study intends to conduct research in and draw conclusions from.

Question 6

Cross sectional study

Answer 6

A snapshot of a particular group of people at a given point in time. Unlike longitudinal studies, which look at a group of people over an extended period, cross-sectional studies are used to describe what is happening at the present moment.
eg questionnaires

Question 7

Sample size

Answer 7

Sample size refers to the number of participants or observations included in a study.

Question 8

Value laden

Answer 8

Value laden means that the researcher is weighed down by their values and cannot escape them.

Question 9

Value free

Answer 9

Value freedom refers to the ability of researchers to keep their own personal biases and opinions out of the research which they are conducting.
eg Positivist

Question 10

Methodological pluralism.

Answer 10

Combines elements of quantitative research and qualitative research in order to answer your research question. Mixed methods can help you gain a more complete picture than a quantitative or qualitative study, as it integrates benefits of both methods.

Question 11

Attrition rate

Answer 11

A decrease in participation by research participants.

Question 12

Confidentiality

Answer 12

Ethical factor
The idea that the information respondents give to the researcher in the research process is kept private. This is usually achieved through anonymity.

Question 13

Ethnography

Answer 13

An in-depth study of the way of life of a group of people in their natural setting. Ethnographies are typically long-term studies and aim for a full account of the culture of a group . Participant observation is typically the main method used, but researchers will use all other methods available to get even richer data – such as interviews and analysis of any documents associated with that culture.

Question 14

Extraneous variables

Answer 14

Undesirable variables which are not of interest to the researcher but might interfere with the results of the experiment.

Question 15

Focus groups

Answer 15

A type of group interview in which respondents are asked to discuss certain topics.

Question 16

Going native

Answer 16

Where a researcher becomes biased or sympathetic towards the group he is studying, such that he or she loses their objectivity.

Question 17

Hawthorne effect

Answer 17

Where respondents alter their behaviour because they know they are being observed. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of overt laboratory and field experiments.

Question 18

Content analysis

Answer 18

A quantitative approach to analysing mass media content which involves developing a system of classification to analyse the key features of media sources and then simply counting how many times these features occur in a given text.

Question 19

Imposition problem

Answer 19

Imposition problem limits the validity of social surveys. It is where respondents may not be able to express their true feelings about the topic under investigation because the questions and responses, which have been pre-determined by the researcher limits what they are able to say, and may not reflect the issues that respondents themselves feel are important.

Question 20

Interviewer bias

Answer 20

where the values and beliefs of the researcher influence the responses of the interviewee. If an interviewer feels strongly about a subject, then he or she might ask leading questions, or even omit certain questions in order to encourage particular responses from a respondent.

Question 21

Leading questions

Answer 21

Questions which subtly prompt a respondent to provide a particular answer when interviewed. Leading questions are one way in which interviewer bias can influence the research process, reducing the validity of data collected.

Question 22

Longitudinal studies

Answer 22

A study of a sample of people in which information is collected from the same people at intervals over a long period of time.

Question 23

Likert scale

Answer 23

Used to measure strength of opinion or feeling about a statement in social surveys. For example respondents might be asked whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with a particular statement.

Question 24

Multistage sampling

Answer 24

Multistage sampling, a researcher selects a sample by using combinations of different sampling methods. For example, in Stage one, a researcher might use systematic sampling, and in Stage two, he might use random sampling to select a subset for the final sample.

Question 25

Objective knowledge

Answer 25

Knowledge which is free of the biases, opinions and values of the researcher, it reflects what is really ‘out there’ in the social world.

Question 26

Operationalising concepts

Answer 26

The process of defining a concept precisely so that it can be easily understood by respondents and measured by the researcher. The term may also be applied to the process of determining variables in experiments.

Question 27

Pilot study

Answer 27

A test study carried out before the main research study and on a smaller scale, to uncover and iron potential problems which may occur in the main programme of research.

Question 28

Rapport

Answer 28

A close and harmonious relationship between researcher and respondents, such that both parties understand each other’s feelings and communicate well.

Question 29

Sampling frame

Answer 29

A list from which a sample will be drawn from a target population.
eg through phone numbers.

Question 30

Self-Selecting Sample Bias

Answer 30

Individuals choose whether they take part in the research and the results end up being unrepresentative as certain types of people are more willing or able do participate in the research.

Question 31

Socially constructed

Answer 31

Interpretivists argue that official statistics are socially constructed – that is they are the result of the subjective decisions made by the people who collect them rather than reflecting the objective underlying reality of social life. For example Crime Statistics do not reflect the actual crime rate, only those activities which are defined as crimes by the people who notice them and who then go on to report those activities to the police.

Question 32

Stratified sampling

Answer 32

Attempts to make the sample as representative as possible, avoiding the problems that could be caused by using a completely random sample. To do this the sample frame will be divided into a number of smaller groups.
Individuals are then drawn at random from these groups.

social class, age, gender, ethnicity etc

Question 33

Subjective knowledge

Answer 33

Knowledge based purely on the opinions of the individual, reflecting their values and biases, their point of view.

Question 34

Textual analysis

Answer 34

Involves examining how different words are linked together in order to encourage readers to adopt a particular view of what is being reported.

Question 35

Thematic analysis

Answer 35

Involves trying to understand the intentions which lie behind the production of mass media documents by subjecting a particular area of reportage to detailed investigation.

Question 36

Triangulation

Answer 36

More than one method in social research. For example a researcher might combine structured questionnaires with more in-depth interviews.

used to verify the validity of other data sources and reliabilty

Question 37

Verstehen

Answer 37

A German word meaning to ‘understand in a deep way’ – in order to achieve ‘Verstehen’ a researcher aims to understand another person’s experience by putting themselves in the other person’s shoes.

Empathetic undertanding

Question 38

Social desirability bias

Answer 38

A type of response bias that is the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others.

Question 39

Interviewer effect

Answer 39

The tendency for interview participants to give responses that will be viewed favourably by the interviewer or other participants. It occurs in all types of interviews and surveys.

Question 40

Halo effect

Answer 40

Occurs when our positive impressions of people, brands, and products in one area lead us to have positive feelings in another area.

Question 41

Sampling bias

Answer 41

Sampling bias is a type of survey bias that occurs when a research study does not use a representative sample of a target population.

Question 42

Demand characteristics

Answer 42

Cues that might indicate the study aims to participants. These cues can lead participants to change their behaviors or responses based on what they think the research is about.

Question 43

Researcher bias

Answer 43

Occurs when the researcher’s beliefs or expectations influence the research design or data collection process.