Mod 5, Research Fundamentals

Question 1

Define qualitative research.

Answer 1

Involves quantities, or things that can be described but not always measured
Uses statistical analyses to answer questions about different groups might be different from one another, or how much one factor contributes to an outcome to another
Criticisms: highly subjective, reliability and validity are hard to assess

Question 2

Quantitative Research

Answer 2

Distinguish between description and inference
Describing Data: getting a feel for what happened without trying to make generalizations to larger populations
More objective and controlled
Criticisms: can be artificial and too “lab controlled”

Question 3

Define Categorical Variables.

Answer 3

Represent distinct, non-overlapping categories or groups of individuals which are distinguished by a specific characteristic/ he numbers in the answer (1, female, 2 male) don’t have any meaning: the numbers are assigned to help enable to use these variables in software programs that run statistical analyses
NUMBERS HAVE NO REAL MEANING AND ARE PLACED ORDERS

Question 4

Nominal Variables

Answer 4

most basic type of variable and simply name categories, no need to place them in specific order (cats or dogs)

Question 5

Ordinal Variables

Answer 5

also involve naming categories, although these variables must have an ordered relationship: income levels, place in a competition (1st, second, third)

Question 6

Quantitative Variables

Answer 6

Values represent actual numbers with real meaning, such as age

Question 7

Interval Variables

Answer 7

Interval Variables: show us the order and direction of values, as well as the exact differences between the values on a scale (better than ordinal variables because it shows how far apart the three medalists were) HOW MUCH MORE (scores on standardized tests, temperature) DO NOT HAVE A TRUE ZERO: OR COMPLETE LACK OF THE ATTRIBUTE THEY MEASURE (someone can’t have an IQ of zero for completely lacking intelligence)

Question 8

Ratio Variables

Answer 8

represent real numbers with consistent intervals between values; have a real zero (temperature of zero), can be multiplied and divided

Question 9

Define Opinion/Belief Data.

Answer 9

Individual opinions/beliefs about a situation
Criticisms: limited confidence in the accuracy of opinions and beliefs because of limited reliability (limited consistent findings over time), social desirability may impact opinions

Question 10

Define attitude data.

Answer 10

Cannot be readily verified and changes over time
Opinion: outward expression of an attitude
Attitude: implicit, info about people’s reports of their perceptions, reactions, and feelings within a specified time period
ABC: affect (emotions, behavior and cognition)

Question 11

Define Behavioral data.

Answer 11

Most common type of data collected
Dependent variables examine human behavior
Reflects an individual’s actions or activities
Criticisms: memories of an individual’s behavior are not always accurate, the behavior does not always imply intention or explain why the behavior happened

Question 12

Define Direct Observation (primary data)

Answer 12

Watching and recording behavior, researcher is able to the be in the same area as participants
Criticisms: easy to miss instances of behavior you’re looking for, researcher presence may alter behavior), can be done in person or through film
Operationalized behavior to observe must be specified
Behavior should be explicitly and clearly defined
Observers must be trained to know what to looking for and how to record behavior
Requires Inter-Rater Reliability: process of testing two or more observes are rating the designated behavior in the same way

Question 13

Define Inter-Rater Reliability

Answer 13

Requires Inter-Rater Reliability: process of testing two or more observes are rating the designated behavior in the same way

Question 14

Define Survey (Primary data)

Answer 14

Surveys collect demographic info, info about the major variables being tested in the study
Can survey large amounts of people with a common method of data collection
Criticisms: ability to get a strong depth of info

Question 15

Define secondary data.

Answer 15

Uses data collected by another person for another purpose (data from the national survey on drug use and health, for example)
Advantage: already prepared for use/synthesized because the original researcher has used it already, methods are well defined and researchers can identify major problems with the study before using data
Limitation: no way to change the instruments or operationalization of the variables; this condition limits what research questions can be asked and what kinds of analysis can be conducted

Question 16

Define web-scraping techniques.

Answer 16

Web-Scraping Techniques: data collection techniques involving social media

Question 17

Behavioural Variability

Answer 17

how and why behavior varies between individuals

Question 18

Define outliers

Answer 18

significantly high or low values that skew the entire results

Question 19

Define frequency analysis

Answer 19

describe the characteristics of a single variable

Question 20

Central Tendency:

Answer 20

mean, median mode (mean is the average, median is the middle value when lining up numbers from smallest to largest, mode most frequently occurring

Question 21

Define Dispersion

Answer 21

how evenly the scores from participants on each variable are distributed across the values of the variable

Question 22

Define Low and High Dispersion.

Answer 22

High Dispersion: equal or near equal distribution across the values
Low Dispersion: values are highly concentrated in a single value of the variable (93 members of a group and 7 non members)

Question 23

Define Standard Deviation.

Answer 23

a small standard deviation indicates low dispersion, showing that the values in our dataset are all close to the mean

Question 24

Define correlation.

Answer 24

Require two interval or ratio variables: requires real numbers
Relationship between two variables and the direction of them
Correlation is used as a diagnostic test to ensure our data meets the statistical assumptions for more complex analyses

Question 25

Define variable directional relationship.

Answer 25

means that we predict not only that two variables are related but that the independent variable influences the dependent variable

Question 26

Define Null and Alternative Hypothesis.

Answer 26

Null Hypothesis: researchers begin testing their hypothesis by assuming there’s no relationship between the IV and DV
Alternative Hypothesis: hypothesis actually be tested; if this is true, then the null hypothesis must be false

Question 27

Define a P-value.

Answer 27

P-Value: probability value, cutoff is p< 0.05: likelihood of a finding being so extreme that it would lead to a rejection of the null hypothesis (5% likely)

Question 28

Defined Mixed Methods.

Answer 28

Collecting both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously around a set of research questions
Goal of qualitative research here: develop a deeper understanding of the process and lived experiences of individuals
Goal of the quantitative research her identifies difference between groups
Strengths: able to ask a series of research questions that address difference between groups and provides reasons for those differences
Limitations: takes more time as there is two combined methods, requires two distinct research protocols, different data analysis, researcher needs to best integrate the information from the two data sources so they complement each other