WEEK #1 - research methods Flashcards
what are the three goals of science ?
describe, predict and explain
define “describe” :
achieved through careful observation
define “predict” :
achieved after sufficient observation of behaviours or events that are systematically related to one another
define “explain” :
achieved by determining the causes of behaviours or events
basic vs applied research : what is basic research ?
conducted for the sake of achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of a behaviour or events without trying to address any practical problem
basic vs applied research : what is applied research ?
conducted to address a practical problem
what are the steps of the model of scientific research ?
informal observations/practical problems → research questions →research literature →research questions → empirical study → data analysis → conclusions → research literature
what are three important points in finding a research topic ?
- good research required a good foundation in the research question
- process to develop a research question can be stressful and difficult
- inspiration of good research questions can come from a variety of sources (clinical experience, theory and “unanswered questions” in professional literature”)
inspiration of good research questions can come from what three variety of sources ?
- clinical experience
- theory
- “unanswered questions” in professional literature”
TRUE OR FALSE
previous research is a common source of inspiration for research questions ?
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
it is not important to conduct a literature review early in the research process which involved a review of research literature ?
FALSE
it IS important to conduct a literature review early in the research process which involved a review of research literature ?
TRUE OR FALSE
reviewing the research literature requires you to find, read and summarize the published research ?
TRUE
what are some other ways reviewing research literature can also assist you in other ways ?
- it can tell you if a research question has already been answered
- it can help you evaluate the interestingness of a research question
- it can give you ideas for how to conduct your own study
- it can tell you how your study fits into the research literature
what are professional journals ?
a scholarly journal addressed to a particular professional audience such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, or accountants and published by a professional organization
TRUE OR FALSE
more professional journals require a double blind peer review ?
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
professional journals will publish a variety of article types but THREE main categories are empirical research reports and review articles ?
FALSE
professional journals will publish a variety of article types but TWO main categories are empirical research reports and review articles ?
what are the TWO main categories of professional journals ?
empirical research reports and review articles
what are empirical research reports ?
contains research based on observation and experience as opposed to belief or theory
what are review articles ?
summarize previously published research
professional journals typically publish in one of the following three ways :
1) closed access/traditional
2) open access with peer review
3) predator publishers/”pay to play”
define “close access/traditional” :
the reader pays for a subscription to the journal and authors publish for free
define “open access with peer review” :
the authors pay a fee to publish in the journal, articles go through a peer-review process and readers can access the journal for free
define “predatory publishers/pay to play” :
the authors pay a fee to publish and there is no peer-review process
what are scholarly books ?
are written by researchers and practitioners for use by other researchers and practitioners
what are monographs ?
is a specialist written work or exhibition on one subject or one aspect of a usually scholarly subject, often by a single author or artist (in a similar fashion to a research article)
what are edited volumes ?
have an editor who recruit many authors to write separate chapter son different aspects of the same topic
TRUE OR FALSE
generally, scholarly books undergo a similar peer review process to professional journals
TRUE
what are some examples of tools and resources to conduct a literature search ?
- journal websites
- electronic databases
- reference sections in articles
What are electronic databases ?
indexes multiple journals and allows you to search across them
FILL IN THE BLANK
__________ typically are the best approach for literature searching
electronic databases
what are some examples of electronic databases ?
- pubmed
- google scholar
- CINAHL
- scopus
when searching, focus on sources that help you accomplish what four basic things ?
1) refine your research question
2) identify appropriate research methods
3) place you research in the context of previous research
4) write an effective research report
TRUE OR FALSE
when searching you should limit your search to “recent” articles ?
TRUE
good research questions can be generated througha variety of means including …
clinical experience, theory, or unanswered questions from professional literature
good research questions should have one or more of the following objectives :
- evaluation fo measurement tools
- descriptive (characterizing clinical disorders)
- exploratory (investigating relationships)
- comparative (cause-effect relationships)
when we say “who are we studying” what does this mean ?
- what is the target population
- what is my sampling frame
- what characteristics should my sample include
- how should I draw my sample
TRUE OR FALSE
issues surrounding sampling are crucial to the development of a good question
TRUE
what do we ask when asking good questions ?
- who ?
- what ?
- why ?
- how ?
what do we mean by “the importance of context” ?
important to know what researchers have found in the past (literature searches, conference presentations, opinions of colleagues)
TRUE OR FALSE
researchers often generate more research questions than they can answer so its important to consider two criteria for evaluating research questions in order to use their time efficiently
TRUE
what three factors contribute to interestingness ?
- the answer is in doubt
- the answer fills a gap in the research literature
- the answer has important practical implications
what does “the answer is in doubt” mean ?
there must be a reasonable chance that the answer to the question will be something the tis now already known
what does “the answer fills a gap in the research literature” mean ?
if the question has not already been answered by scientific research and would make sense to people who are familiar with the research literature, then the question may be interesting
what does “the answer has important practical implications” mean ?
if the answer to a research question has practical implications, then it likely is an interesting research question
what does feasibility mean ?
the state or degree of being easily or conveniently done
what are some factors that affect feasibility ?
- time
- money
- equipment
- materials
- technical knowledge
- access to participants
what is a theory ?
is a coherent explanation on interpretation of one or more phenomena
TRUE OR FALSE
theories can be untested but also can be extensively tested, supported and accepted as an accurate description of the phenomena
TRUE
what is a hypothesis ?
a specific prediction about a new phenomenon that should be observed if a particular theory is accurate
TRUE OR FALSE
hypothesis are not often specific predictions about what will happen in a particular study
FALSE
hypothesis ARE often specific predictions about what will happen in a particular study
TRUE OR FALSE
hypothesis are developed by considering existing evidence and using reasoning to infer what will happen in the specific context of interest
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
hypothesis are often but not always derived from theories
TRUE
TRUE OR FALSE
hypothesis and theories always have this if-then relationship
TRUE
a hypothesis can be derived from a theory in multiple ways such as :
- a research question can be generated, and then relevant theories can be explored that may imply an answer to the question
- a component of the theory that has not been directly observed can become the focus of a hypothesis
what are three characteristics of a good hypothesis ?
1) testable and falsifiable
2) logical
3) positive
what does testable and falsifiable mean ?
the hypothesis must be evaluated Ising the methods of science and it must be possible to gather evidencethaet will disconfirm the hypothesis if it is false
what does logical mean hypothesis mean ?
hypotheses should be informed by previous theories or observations and logical reasoning
what does positive hypothesis mean ?
then hypothesis should make a positive statement about he existence of a relationship or effect, rather than a statement that a relationship or effect does not exist
