Concept Test 1 Flashcards
(20 cards)
Dependent Variable:
A variable assumed to depend on or be caused by another (called the independent variable). If you find that income is partly a function of amount of formal education, income is being treated as a dependent variable.
Epistemology:
The science of knowing; systems of knowledge.
Independent Variable:
A variable with values that are not problematic in an analysis but are taken as simply given. An independent variable is presumed to cause or determine a dependent variable.
Methodology:
The science of finding out; procedures for scientific investigation.
Variables:
Logical sets of attributes. The variable sex is made up of the attributes male and female.
Hypothesis:
A specified testable expectation about empirical reality that follows from a more general proposition; more generally, an expectation about the nature of things derived from a theory. It is a statement of something that ought to be observed in the real world if the theory is correct.
Macrotheory:
A theory aimed at understanding the “big picture” of institutions, whole societies, and the interactions among societies. Karl Marx’s examination of the class struggle is an example of macrotheory.
Microtheory:
A theory aimed at understanding social life at the intimate level of individuals and their interactions. Examining how the play behavior of girls differs from that of boys would be an example of microtheory.
Operational Definition:
The concrete and specific definition of something in terms of the operations by which observations are to be categorized. The operational definition of “earning an A in this course” might be “correctly answering at least 90 percent of the final exam questions.”
Paradigm:
A model or frame of reference through which to observe and understand.
Cohort Study:
A study in which some specific subpopulation, or cohort, is studied over time, although data may be collected from different members in each set of observations. For example, a study of the occupational history of the class of 1970 in which questionnaires were sent every five years would be a cohort study.
Content Validity:
The degree to which a measure covers the range of meanings included within a concept.
Correlation:
An empirical relationship between two variables such that (1) changes in one are associated with changes in the other or (2) particular attributes of one variable are associated with particular attributes of the other. Correlation in and of itself does not constitute a causal relationship between the two variables, but it is one criterion of causality.
Cross-sectional Study:
A study based on observations representing a single point in time.
Longitudinal Study:
A study design involving the collection of data at different points in time.
Element:
That unit of which a population is composed and which is selected in a sample. Distinguished from units of analysis, which are used in date analysis.
Informant:
Someone who is well versed in the social phenomenon that you wish to study and who is willing to tell you what he or she knows about it. Not to be confused with a respondent.
Nonprobability Sampling:
Any technique in which samples are selected in some way not suggested by probability theory. Examples include reliance on available subjects as well as purposive (judgmental), quota, and snowball sampling.
Parameter:
The summary description of a given variable in a population.
Probability Sampling:
The general term for samples selected in accord with probability theory, typically involving some random selection mechanism. Specific types of probability sampling include EPSEM, simple random sampling, and systematic sampling.
