Chp 3 - Research

Question 1

define DEDUCTIVE REASONING

Answer 1

specific research question leading to general/universal principle

Question 2

define INDUCTIVE REASONING

Answer 2

specific observation leading to general conclusion

Question 3

define LITERATURE REVIEW

Answer 3

reviewing existing studies of subject

Question 4

define REPLICATION STUDY

Answer 4

repeated research but on different group/time/place

Question 5

define HAWTHORNE EFECT

Answer 5

those who know they are being studied will behave differently

Question 6

define RESEARCH DESIGN

Answer 6

overall logic and strategy underlying research projects

Question 7

define QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Answer 7

interpretation and nuance of actions or observations

Question 8

define QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Answer 8

numerical analysis

Question 9

define VARIABLE

Answer 9

characteristic of person/group that can have more than 1 value/score

Question 10

define CONCEPT

Answer 10

abstract characteristic/attribute that can be measured

Question 11

define INDICATORS

Answer 11

variables studied pointing to/reflecting abstract concepts

Question 12

give examples of variables

Answer 12

age, income, social class, degree of prejudice

Question 13

give examples of indicators

Answer 13

social class and power

Question 14

define PRIMARY DATA

Answer 14

original data collected by researchers

Question 15

give examples of primary data

Answer 15

• questionnaire/survey results
• observation notes

Question 16

define SECONDARY DATA

Answer 16

data collected by another party

Question 17

give examples of secondary data

Answer 17

• national census
• national poll data

Question 18

define DATA ANALYSIS

Answer 18

organizing data to discover patterns and uniformities

Question 19

define SERENDIPITY

Answer 19

unexpected findings

Question 20

define GENERALIZATIONS

Answer 20

ability to draw conclusions from specific data and apply to population

Question 21

define SAMPLE

Answer 21

any subset of population

Question 22

define RANDOM SAMPLE

Answer 22

random subset of population

Question 23

define POPULATION

Answer 23

relatively large collection of people that is studied and which generations are made

Question 24

define RETURN RATE

Answer 24

percent of questionnaires returned

Question 25

a low return rate can indicate what

Answer 25

possible bias

Question 26

define SECONDARY ANALYSIS

Answer 26

analysis of secondary data

Question 27

list of research methods/designs

Answer 27

- surveys/questionnaires/polls/interviews - non-participant/participant observations - controlled experiments - historical research - content analysis - evaluation research

Question 28

what are the benefits of surveys/questionnaires/interviews/polls

Answer 28

- study many variables - results can be generalized if accurate

Question 29

what are the cons of surveys/questionnaires/interviews/polls

Answer 29

- difficult to focus on few variables - difficult to measure subtle nuances in attitudes

Question 30

what are the pros of participant and non-participant observation

Answer 30

- study behavior in natural setting - study in depth

Question 31

what are the cons of participant and non-participant observation

Answer 31

- time consuming - difficult to generalize

Question 32

what are the benefits of controlled experiments

Answer 32

- focus on 2-3 variables - able to study causation

Question 33

what are the cons of controlled experiments

Answer 33

- can only study few variables - potential artificial quality

Question 34

what are the pros of content analysis

Answer 34

- study cultural change/aspects - determines how groups are perceived at the time

Question 35

what are the cons of content analysis

Answer 35

studies products not attitudes

Question 36

what are the pros of historical research

Answer 36

- save time and expense w/data collection - takes differences over time into account

Question 37

what are the cons of historical research

Answer 37

- data reflects biases of original researcher - reflects cultural norms when data was collected

Question 38

what are the cons of evaluation research

Answer 38

- hard to focus deeply on few variables - hard to measure subtle nuances in attitudes

Question 39

what questions does evaluation research ask?

Answer 39

- what is the current situation? - who are the stakeholders? - what are the future goals? - what are the resources available?

Question 40

define PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

Answer 40

research is both participant and observer

Question 41

define COVERT PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

Answer 41

group doesn't know they are being studied

Question 42

define OVERT PARTICPANT OBSERVATION

Answer 42

group knows they are being studied

Question 43

define INFORMANT

Answer 43

person "in the know" and assisting the participant observer

Question 44

define CONTENT ANALYSIS

Answer 44

examine cultural artifacts of written/spoken/seen/heard experiences

Question 45

define HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Answer 45

examines themes over times through historical data

Question 46

define EVALUATION RESEARCH

Answer 46

assesses outcome/situation/effects of policies/programs w/intent to improve/achieve goals set by interested parties

Question 47

define POLICY RESEARCH

Answer 47

research to make policy recommendations; often an aspect of evaluation research

Question 48

define EXPERIMENTAL RANDOMIZATION

Answer 48

randomly assigning members of study to experimental group

Question 49

define PERCENTAGE

Answer 49

parts per 100

Question 50

define RATE

Answer 50

parts per some number

Question 51

define SPURIOUS CORRELATION

Answer 51

no meaningful causal connection between variables

Question 52

define CROSS-TABULATION

Answer 52

break down of 2 variables into categories for comparison to see relationship

Question 53

list common statistical mistakes

Answer 53

- correlation = causation - overgeneralizing - building bias - faking data - using data selectively - interpreting probability as certainty

Question 54

what are examples of fields of research

Answer 54

market, medical, academic, political