Unit 0 Flashcards
1
Q
What is a method?
A
a procedure, technique or way of doing something, especially in accordance with a definite plan
2
Q
What is methodology?
A
systematic approach one takes to solve the research question (entire research process)
3
Q
What is the scientific method?
A
a systematic approach used by scientists to investigate natural phenomena, acquire knowledge and formulate and test hypotheses
4
Q
What is Psychology?
A
a general approach to understanding on aspect of the natural world = human behavior
5
Q
What does general research procedure provides?
A
basic keys that are adaptable to the specific needs of different disciplines
6
Q
What is empirical research based on?
A
the observation of facts
7
Q
What does systematic and controlled research procedure require?
A
rigorous planning and implementation, where the recording of observations is dones in an orderly and controlled manner to obtain reliable data
8
Q
What should critical research procedure be?
A
reviewable, open to evaluation by others and self-correcting
e.g.: knowledge should be public
9
Q
What does the scientific method distinguishes?
A
research from speculation and scientific knowledge from ordinary knowledge
10
Q
What is ordinary knowledge?
A
the knowledge of the reality that surrounds us is obtained and transmitted in many ways, such as cultural traditions, customs
-> knowledge based on experience
11
Q
What is scientifc knowledge?
A
concrete, organized and systematic knowledge (obtained through a well-defined process), reproducible, verifiable, refutable (not definite knowledge - can be challenged or questioned through new studies)
12
Q
What is the systematic and dynamic process of scientific resesarch?
A
researcher formulates research question, conducts study design, analyzes the resulting data, draws conclusions and publishes results
-> cycle: new research leads to new questions, which lead to new research and so on
13
Q
What does research methods refer to?
A
the procedures that are used to collect and analyze data
-> systematic and organized plan followed by researchers to investigate a particular phenomenon
14
Q
What does research design refer to?
A
the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby ensuring you will effectively address the research problem
e.g.: experimental design
15
Q
What does Techniques refer to?
A
specific procedures or tools used within a broader method
-> practial applications or actions that researchers employ to implement a chosen research method
16
Q
What is one of the specific steps of method taken to solve the research question?
A
Technique
17
Q
What is the purpose of qualitative research?
A
To explore and understand the meaning that individuals or groups assign to social or human problems (Creswell, 2013)
18
Q
What is the structure of a final report in qualitative research?
A
It has a flexible structure or framework
19
Q
Which perspective is used in qualitative research?
A
An inductive style that focuses on individual meanings and translates the complexity of a problem
20
Q
What are some of the characteristics of qualitative research?
5 characteristics
A
- natural environment
- researcher as a key instrument
- multiple sources of data
- inductive data analysis
- the meaning of the participants
21
Q
What does the characteristic natural environment mean?
A
collect field data at the locations where participants experience the problem or issue to be studied
22
Q
What does the characteristic the researcher as a key instrument mean?
A
researchers generally do not use instruments or questionnaires made by other researchers
23
Q
What does the characteristic inductive data analysis mean?
A
patterns an themes are built form the ground up (inductive)
24
Q
What are some similarities between qualitative methods?
A
- the words as reference
- the point of view of the participants
- the close investigator
- the theories that emerge
- the process
- the understanding of the context
- the rich and deep data
- the micro
- the meanings
25
How can we define Quantitative research?
it is the process of collecting and analyzing numerical data
26
What can quantitative research be used for?
to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test causal relationships and generalize results to wider populations
-> can be used for descriptive, correlational or experimental research
27
What do you seek in descriptive research?
an overall summary of your study variables
28
What do you investigate in correlational research?
relationships between your study variables
29
What do you examine systematically in experimental research?
whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between variables
30
What do we do in Inductive research?
* Specific observation
* Pattern recognition
* Conclusion
31
What do we do in deductive research?
* Literature
* Existing theory
* Problem
* Hypothesis
* Collect data
* Analyse
* HO/H1
32
How do we decide about the method?
| (questions)
* What do we want?
* Why?
* How?
33
what are some questions in developing quantitative research?
where is the problem? - can i measure it?
can i isolate it? - can i interpretate their results
34
What is the hypothetic-deductive (HD) method or model?
it is a scientific method
-> cyclic pattern of reasoning and observation used to generate and test proposed explanations (e.g. hypotheses) of puzzling observations in nature
35
How are hypotheses tested in hypothetic-deductive methods?
tested by gathering and analyzing data and the theory is then either supported or refuted by the results
36
# Hypothetic-deductive method
What is the philosophical principle of positivism?
the only objects worthy of study are those that are observable and measurable
37
What are some characteristics of quantitative research?
* Large sample size
* Measurability
* Close-ended
questions
* Reusability
* Reliability
* Generalization
38
What can Quantitative research be divided into?
- experimental design: quasi-experimental design
- non-experimental design: descriptive studies, correlational design, predictive design
39
# Quantitative Research
what are the experiments used to study?
causal relationships
40
# Quantitative Research
How do we measure the effect one variable has on the other?
we manipulate one or more independent variables and see what effect it has on one or more dependent variable
41
# Quantitative Research
What do experimental designs create?
a set of procedure to systematically test a hypothesis
42
# Quantitative Research
What are the 3 steps in experimental design?
1. we manipulate
2. we observe
3. we control
43
# Quantitative Research
What is Step one in experimental design?
question and variables
-> you should begin with a specific research question and a simple definition of variables
44
# Quantitative Research
What is step 2 in experimental designs?
writing the hypothesis to adress the research question
45
# Quantitative Research
What is step 3 in experimental design?
designing experimental treatments
-> how to manipulate the ID
46
# Quantitative Research
What is step 4 in experimental design?
assigning subject to treatment groups
-> study size, how many individuals will be included
47
# Quantitative Research
What are the specific steps in step 4 of experimental designs?
- the more subjects included, the greater the experiments statistical power -> better results
- randomly assign subjects to treatment groups -> each with different level of treatment
- include a control group -> receives no treatment
48
# Quantitative Research
What is step 5 in experimental design?
measure the dependent variable
-> how precicely you measure it affects the kinds of statistical analysis you can use on your data
49
# Quantitative Research
What does a quasi-experimental design aims to establish?
a cause-and-effect relationship between dependent and independent variable
50
# Quantitative Research
What does a quasi-experiment does not rely on unlike a true experiment?
does not rely on random assignment
-> instead: subjects are assigned to groups based on non-random criteria
-> useful for ethical or practical reasons
51
# Quantitative Research
What is non-experimental research usually?
desriptive or correlational
-> no need to manipulate any variables or randomly assign participants to a control or treatment group
-> without this level of control you cannot determine any causal effects
52
# Quantitative Research
What does a correlational research design (non experimental) investigates?
relationships between variables without the researcher controlling or manipulating any of them
-> reflects the strength and/or direction of the relationship between two or more variables
-> can be positive or negative
53
# Quantitative Research
What is correlational research ideal for?
gathering data quickly from natural settings
-> helps you generalize your findings to real-life situations in an externally valid way
54
What are the key words for qualitative research?
complexity, contextual, inductive logic, discovery, exploration
55
What are the keywords of quantiative research?
experiment, random assignment, independent/dependent variable, causal/correlational, validity, deductive logic
56
What is the purpose of each - qualitative and quantitative research?
qualitative: understand a phenomenon
quantitative: discover causal realtionships or describe a phenomenon
57
What is the sample like in each - qualitative and quantitative research?
qualitative: purposive sample, small
quantitative: random sample, large
58
What is the data used in each - qualitative and quantitative research?
qualitative: focus groups, interviews, field observation
quantitative: tests, surveys, questionnaires
59
What methods/designs are used in each - qualitative and quantitative research?
- qualitative: phenomenological, grounded theory, ethnographic, case study, historical/narrative reasearch, participatory research, clinical research
- quantitative: experimental, quasi-experimental, descriptive, methodological, exploratory, comparative, correlational, developmental
60
What is problem identification in the research process?
- identifying potential issues and gaps as research problems
- pinpointing a problem and formulating research questions
- involves thorough literature review, discussions with experts and considering practical implications
61
What are the 4 different research question types?
- description and classification
- relationship
- description-comparison
- question of causality
62
What are the 2 types of research objectives?
- general objectives: state what the research expects to achieve overall (main goal)
- specific objectives: break this down into smaller, logically connected parts, each of which addresses various parts of the research problem.
63
What does the hypothesis states?
predictions about what your research will find
-> tentative answer to your research question that has not been tested yet
-> sometimes you need multiple hypotheses
64
What should the research question be based on?
already existing theories and knowledge
-> also has to be testable, means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods
65
What do hypotheses propose?
a relationship between two or more types of variables
66
Which kind of studies usually do not formulate hypotheses?
studies with descriptive or exploratory objectives
67
What are the 3 basic steps of developing a hypothesis?
step 1: ask a question
step 2: do some preliminary research
step 3: formulate hypothesis
68
What is the null hypothesis?
the default position that there is no association between the variables
-> assumption based on inadequate evidence
-> needs and requires more experiments and testing for confirmation
69
What is the alternative hypothesis?
claims that there is an effect in your variables
-> often the same as as the research hypothesis
70
what are variables in research?
any characteristics that can take on different values such as height, age, temperature or test scores
71
What is an extraneous variable?
any variable that you are not investigating that can potentially affect the outcomes of you research study
-> if left uncontrolled, extraneous variables can lead to inaccurate conclusions about the relationship between independent and dependen variables
72
What is data analysis?
the practice of working with data to glean useful information which can then be used to make informed decisions
-> helps reduce a large chunk of data into smaller fragments
73
What are 3 essential things occuring during the data analysis process?
1. data organization
2. data reduction
3. data analysis
74
There are 4 differen analysis theories in qualitative data, which ones?
- content analysis: used to analyze the documented information from text, images
- discourse analysis: used to analyze the interactions with people
- narrative analysis: used to analyze content gathered from various sources such as personal interviews, field observations
- grounded theory: applied to study data about the host of similar cases occuring in different settings
75
When do we use descriptive statistics in quantitative data?
to describe the basic features in research
-> presents data in meaningful way that pattern in data starts making sense
76
What are 4 measures of descriptive statistics in quantitative data?
- measures of frequency: count, percent, frequency (how often response given)
- measures of central tendency: mean, median, mode (demonstrate distribution)
- measures of dispersion or variation: range, variance, standard deviation (helps identify depth until which data is spread)
- measures of position: percentile ranks, quartile ranks (for comparison of scores with average count)
77
When do we use inferential statistics in quantitative data?
to make predictions about a larger population after research and data analysis of the representing population’s collected sample
-> Show the relationship between different variables
78
what are 2 significant areas of inferential statistics?
*Estimating parameters: how many people enjoyed a movie
*Hypothesis test: if the multivitamin capsules help children to perform better at games.
79
What are 4 measures of inferential statistics in qualitative data?
- Correlation
- Cross-tabulation: used to analyze the relationship between multiple variables
- Frequency tables: analyze the way the data is distributed across different values.
- Analysis of variance: statistical procedure is used for testing degree to which two or more vary or differ in an experiment.
80
what is the section of interpretation of the results in our study?
where you explain the meaning and implications of your findings in relation to your research objectives, questions, and hypotheses
-> how results fit with the existing literature, theory, and practice in your field
81
What is conclusion validity?
the degree to which the conclusion we reach is credible or believable
-> statistical inference issue but also relevant for qualitative research
82
What are the 4 types of conclusion validity?
- internal
- external
- construct
- statistical conclusion validity
83
What is Validity in Research?
refers to how well a study measures what it intends to measure.
84
How many types of validity are there?
| Which ones?
4 Types
- Construct Validity
- Internal Validity
- Statistical Conclusion Validity
- External Validity
85
What is Construct Validity about?
about how well a test measures the concept it was designed to evaluate. It’s crucial to establishing the overall validity of a method
86
When is construct validity especially important?
when you’re researching something that can’t be measured or observed directly, you need multiple observable or measurable indicators to measure those constructs
87
What should you do for the construct validity?
be clear on how you define your construct and how the dimensions relate to each other before you collect or analyze data
-> helps ensuring that any measurement method you use accurately assesses the specific construct as a whole
88
What are ways to measure construct validity?
best way: pilot study
-> a trial run of your study. you test out measure with small sample to check festibility, reliability and validity
-> helps to figure out wether you need to tweak or revise your measure to make sure you are accurately testing your construct
89
What is often applied to test construct validity with data from your measures?
statistical analyses
90
What are the threats to Construct Validity?
- Poor understanding or definition of the theoretical construct
- Inadequate measurement of the theoretical construct
91
What is Internal Validity?
the extent to which you can be confident that a cause-and-effect relationship established in a study cannot be explained by other factors
92
What happens without high internal validity?
an experiment cannot demonstrate a causal link between two variables
93
How can you check if your study has internal validity?
| 3 points
- The IV and DV (treatment and response) must change together
- treatment precedes change in your response variable
- no confounding or extraneous factors can explain the results of your study
94
What are the threats to Internal Validity?
- Differential Selection (Groups were already different before the study)
- Participant Loss (Dropouts affect results)
- Regression to the Mean (Extreme scores naturally move closer to the average)
**- Instrumentation** (Measurement changes over time)
**- Test Retesting** (Participants improve just by taking the test multiple times)
**- Maturation** (Changes happen naturally, not because of the experiment)
**- History **(External events affect results)
95
What is Statistical Conclusion Validity?
adequate statistical methods are used whose small-sample behavior is accurate, besides being logically capable of providing an answer to the research question
-> holds when conclusions of research study are founded on adequate analysis of the data
96
What does Statistical conclusion validity refer to according to cook and campbell?
to inferences about whether it is reasonable to presume covariation given a specified alpha level and the obtained variances
97
What is covariance in statistics?
a measure of the relationship between two random variables
-> metric evaluates how much, to what extent, the variables change together
-> essentially a measure of the variance between two variables
98
What are 4 strategies to improve statistical conclusion validity?
- appropriate sample size (large enough to detect meaningful effects)
- random sampling (use random sampling techniques to create representative sample)
- reliable measurements (employ reliable and valid measurement instruments to minimize measurement errors)
- transparent reporting (clearly document methds and procedures used in the study)
99
What are the threats to Statistical Conclusion Validity?
- Errors of mean (Calculation mistakes)
- Range variability restrictions (Data doesn’t capture full variation)
- Inadequacy of statistical tests (Wrong statistical methods)
- Low statistical power (Sample size too small to detect real effects)
100
What is External Validity?
the extent to which you can generalize the findings of a study to other situations, people, settings, and measures
-> can you apply the findings of your study to a broader context??
101
What is external validity referred to as in qualitative studies?
transferability
102
What are the threats to External Validity?
- sampling bias: sample is not representative of the population
- history: unrelated event influences outcomes
- observer bias: characteristics or behaviors of experimenters influences outcomes
- hawthorne effect: tendency for participante to change behaviors because they know they are being studied
- testing effect: administration of pre-or por-test effects the outcomes
- aplitude treatment: interactions between characteristic of group and individual variables infuence DV
- situation effect: factors like setting, time of day, location and so on limit generalizability of findings
103
How can we counter threats to external validity?
- replications
- field experiments
- probability sampling
104
What do Internal Validity and External Validity have in common?
- ensure research accuracy
- can be affected by bias
- require careful study design
105
What is the key difference between Internal Validity and External Validity?
- Internal Validity = Ensures "Truth in the study" (Did X really cause Y?)
- External Validity = Ensures "Truth in real life" (Do these results apply outside the study?)
106
What is a construct?
abstract concepts not directly observable (e.g., anxiety, intelligence, stress, etc.) but that we can infer indirectly through situations that can inform us of their presence and their degree or magnitude
