Research Methods Terminology Flashcards
Validity
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.
Reliability
The reliability of a method refers to the extent to which, were the same study to be repeated, it would produce the same results.
Representativeness
Representativeness has been defined as the degree of similarity of a study population compared to an external population.
Generalisability
Generalisability is the extent to which the findings of a study can be applicable to other settings.
Target population
The target population is the group of individuals that the study intends to conduct research in and draw conclusions from.
Cross sectional study
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
Sample size
Sample size refers to the number of participants or observations included in a study.
Value laden
Value laden means that the researcher is weighed down by their values and cannot escape them.
Value free
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
Methodological pluralism.
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.
Attrition rate
A decrease in participation by research participants.
Confidentiality
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.
Ethnography
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.
Extraneous variables
Undesirable variables which are not of interest to the researcher but might interfere with the results of the experiment.
Focus groups
A type of group interview in which respondents are asked to discuss certain topics.
Going native
Where a researcher becomes biased or sympathetic towards the group he is studying, such that he or she loses their objectivity.
Hawthorne effect
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.
Content analysis
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.
Imposition problem
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.
Interviewer bias
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.
Leading questions
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.
Longitudinal studies
A study of a sample of people in which information is collected from the same people at intervals over a long period of time.
Likert scale
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.
Multistage sampling
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.
Objective knowledge
Knowledge which is free of the biases, opinions and values of the researcher, it reflects what is really ‘out there’ in the social world.
Operationalising concepts
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.
Pilot study
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.
Rapport
A close and harmonious relationship between researcher and respondents, such that both parties understand each other’s feelings and communicate well.
Sampling frame
A list from which a sample will be drawn from a target population.
eg through phone numbers.
Self-Selecting Sample Bias
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.
Socially constructed
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.
Stratified sampling
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
Subjective knowledge
Knowledge based purely on the opinions of the individual, reflecting their values and biases, their point of view.
Textual analysis
Involves examining how different words are linked together in order to encourage readers to adopt a particular view of what is being reported.
Thematic analysis
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.
Triangulation
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
Verstehen
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
Social desirability bias
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.
Interviewer effect
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.
Halo effect
Occurs when our positive impressions of people, brands, and products in one area lead us to have positive feelings in another area.
Sampling bias
Sampling bias is a type of survey bias that occurs when a research study does not use a representative sample of a target population.
Demand characteristics
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.
Researcher bias
Occurs when the researcher’s beliefs or expectations influence the research design or data collection process.
