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Research Methods for Business > Glossary > Flashcards

Glossary Flashcards

1
Q

Action Research

A

A research strategy aimed at initiating change processes, with an incremental focus, for narrowing the gap between the desired and actual states.

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2
Q

Alternate hypothesis

A

An educated conjecture that sets the parameters one expects to find. The alternate hypothesis is tested to see whether or not the null is to be rejected.

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3
Q

Ambiguous questions

A

Questions that are not clearly worded and are likely to be interpreted by respondents in different ways.

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4
Q

ANOVA

A

Stands for analysis of variance, which tests for significant mean differences in variables among multiple groups.

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5
Q

Applied research

A

Research conducted in a particular setting with the specific objective of solving an existing problem in the situation.

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6
Q

Area sampling

A

Cluster sampling within a specified area or region; a probability of sampling design.

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7
Q

Argument

A

A set of statements that includes a conclusion (or a claim) and premises (‘the evidence’) which support the conclusion.

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8
Q

Basic research

A

Research conducted to generate knowledge and understanding of phenomena (in the work setting) that adds to the existing body of knowledge (about organizations and management theory).

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9
Q

Bias

A

Any error that creeps into the data. Biases can be introduced by the researcher, the respondent, the measuring instrument, the sample, and so on.

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10
Q

Bibliography

A

A listing of books, articles, and other relevant materials, alphabetized according to the last name of the authors, referencing the titles of their works, and indicating where they can be located.

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11
Q

Big data

A

Term commonly used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data from digital sources inside and outside the organization.

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12
Q

Canonical correlation

A

A statistical technique that examines the relationship between two or more dependent variables and several independent variables.

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13
Q

Case study

A

Focuses on collecting information about a specific object, event, or activity, such as a particular business unit or organization.

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14
Q

Categorization

A

The process of organizing, arranging, and classifying coding units (in qualitative data analysis).

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15
Q

Category (in qualitative data analysis)

A

A group of coding units that share some commonality.

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16
Q

Category reliability

A

The extent to which judges are able to use category definitions to classify qualitative data.

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17
Q

Category scale

A

A scale that uses multiple items to seek a single response.

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18
Q

Causal study

A

A research study conducted to establish cause-and-effect relationships among variables.

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19
Q

Chi-square test

A

A nonparametric test that establishes the independence or otherwise between two nominal variables.

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20
Q

Classification data

A

Personal information or demographic details of the respondents such as age, marital status, and educational level.

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21
Q

Closed questions

A

Questions with a clearly delineated set of alternatives that confine the respondents’ choice to one of them.

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22
Q

Cluster sampling

A

A probability sampling design in which the sample comprises groups or chunks of elements with intragroup heterogeneity and intergroup homogeneity.

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23
Q

Coding

A

The analytic process through which the qualitative data that you have gathered are reduced, rearranged, and integrated to form theory (compare Data coding)

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24
Q

Coding scheme

A

Contains predetermined categories for recording what is observed. Such schemes come in many forms and shapes.

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25
Q

Combination of an information and consensus problem

A

There is little or no knowledge about how the problem can be solved, but there is also insufficient agreement about what the problem is and/or about the constraints that the solution must meet.

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26
Q

Comparative scale

A

A scale that provides a benchmark or point of reference to assess attitudes, opinions, and the like.

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27
Q

Complex probability sampling

A

Several probability sample designs (such as systematic and stratified random), which offer an alternative to cumbersome, simple random sampling.

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28
Q

Computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI)

A

Interviews in which questions are prompted onto a PC monitor that is networked into the telephone system, to which respondents provide their answers.

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29
Q

Concealed observation

A

Members of a social group under study are not told that they are being observed.

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30
Q

Concealment of observation

A

Relates to whether members of a social group are told that they are being observed.

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31
Q

Conceptual analysis

A

Establishes the existence and frequency of concepts (such as words, themes, or characters) in a text.

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32
Q

Conclusion

A

The researcher’s informed judgment about (how) the organizational problem (can be solved).

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33
Q

Concurrent validity

A

Relates to criterion-related validity which is established at the same time the test is administered.

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34
Q

Confidence

A

The probability estimate of how much reliance can be placed on the findings; the usual accepted level of confidence in social science research is 95%

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35
Q

Conjoint Analysis

A

A multivariate statistical technique used to determine the relative importance respondents attach to the attributes and the utilities they attach to specific levels of attributes.

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36
Q

Consensus problem

A

There is sufficient knowledge about how to solve the problem, but due to, for example, conflicting interests or different value systems, beliefs or ethical standpoints, every viable solution to the problem is blocked.

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37
Q

Consensus scale

A

A scale developed through consensus or the unanimous agreement of a panel of judges as to items that measure a concept.

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38
Q

Constant sum rating scale

A

A scale where the respondents distribute a fixed number of points across several items.

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39
Q

Construct validity

A

Testifies to how well the results obtained from the use of the measure fit the theories around which the test was designed

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40
Q

Constructionism

A

An approach to research that is based on the idea that the world as we know it is fundamentally mental or mentally constructed. Constructionists aim to understand the rules people use to make sense of the world by investigating what happens in people’s minds.

41
Q

Content analysis

A

An observational research method that is used to systematically evaluate the symbolic contents of all forms of recorded communication.

42
Q

Content validity

A

Establishes the representative sampling of a whole set of items that measures a concept, and reflects how well the dimensions and elements thereof are delineated.

43
Q

Contextual factors

A

Factors relating to the organization under study such as the background and environment of the organization, including its origin and purpose, size, resources, financial standing, and the like.

44
Q

Contrived setting

A

An artificially created or “lab” environment in which research is conducted.

45
Q

Control group

A

The group that is not exposed to any treatment in an experiment

46
Q

Controlled observation

A

Controlled observation occurs when observational research is carried out under controlled conditions.

47
Q

Convenience sampling

A

A nonprobability sample design in which information or data for the research are gathered from members of the populations conveniently accessible to the research.

48
Q

Convergent validity

A

That which is established when the scores gathered from two different instruments measuring the same concept, or by measuring the same concept two different ways, are highly correlated.

49
Q

Correlation matrix

A

A correlation matrix is used to examine relationships between interval and/or ratio variables.

50
Q

Correlational study

A

A research study conducted to identify important factors associated with the variables of interest.

51
Q

Criterion-related validity

A

That which is established when the measure differentiates individuals on a criterion that it is expected to predict.

52
Q

Criterion Variable

A

The variable of primary interest to the study, also known as the dependent variable.

53
Q

Critical literature review

A

A step-by-step process that involves the identification of published and unpublished work from secondary data sources on the topic of interest, the evaluation of this work in relation to the problem, and the documentation of this work.

54
Q

Critical realism

A

A school of thought combining the belief in an external reality (an objective truth) with the rejection of the claim that this external reality can be objectively measured. The critical realist is critical of our ability to understand the world with certainty.

55
Q

Cross-sectional study

A

A research study for which data are gathered just once (stretched though it may be over a period of days, weeks, or months) to answer the research question.

56
Q

Data coding

A

In quantitative research data coding involves assigning a number to the participants’ responses so that can be entered into a database.

57
Q

Data display

A

Taking the reduced qualitative data and displaying them in an organized, condensed manner.

58
Q

Data editing

A

Data editing deals with detecting and correcting illogical, inconsistent, or illegal data and omissions in the information returned by the participants of the study.

59
Q

Data mining

A

Helps to trace patterns and relationships in the data stored in the data warehouse.

60
Q

Data reduction

A

Breaking down data into manageable pieces.

61
Q

Data transformation

A

The process of changing the original numerical representation of a quantitative value to another value.

62
Q

Data warehouse

A

A central repository of all information gathered by the company.

63
Q

Deductive reasoning

A

In deductive reasoning, if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true. Deductive arguments are either valid or invalid.

64
Q

Deductive research

A

A research approach aimed at testing theory.

65
Q

Delphi technique

A

A forecasting method that uses a cautiously selected panel of experts in a systematic, interactive manner.

66
Q

Dependent variable

A

The variable of primary interest to the study, also known as the criterion variable.

67
Q

Descriptive statistics

A

Statistics such as frequencies, the mean, and the standard deviation, which provide descriptive information about a set of data.

68
Q

Descriptive study

A

A research study that describes the variables in a situation of interest to the researcher.

69
Q

Dichotomous scale

A

Scale used to elicit a Yes/No response, or an answer to two different aspects of a concept.

70
Q

Directional hypothesis

A

An educated conjecture as to the direction of the relationship, or differences among variables, which could be positive or negative, or more or less, respectively.

71
Q

Discriminant analysis

A

A statistical technique that helps to identify the independent variables that discriminate a nominally scaled dependent variable of interest.

72
Q

Discriminant validity

A

That which is established when two variables are theorized to be uncorrelated, and the scores obtained by measuring them are indeed empirically found to be so.

73
Q

Disproportionate stratified random sampling

A

A probability sampling design that involves a procedure in which the number of sample subjects chosen from various strata is not directly proportionate to the total number of elements in the respective strata.

74
Q

Double‐barreled question

A

Refers to the improper framing of a question that should be posed as two or more separate questions, so that the respondent can give clear and unambiguous answers.

75
Q

Double‐blind study

A

A study where neither the experimenter nor the subjects are aware as to who is given the real treatment and who the placebo.

76
Q

Double sampling

A

A probability sampling design that involves the process of collecting information from a set of subjects twice – such as using a sample to collect preliminary information, and later using a subsample of the primary sample for more information.

77
Q

Dummy variable

A

A variable that has two or more distinct levels, which are coded 0 or 1.

78
Q

Efficiency in sampling

A

Attained when the sampling design chosen either results in a cost reduction to the researcher or offers a greater degree of accuracy in terms of the sample size

79
Q

Electronic questionnaire

A

Online questionnaire administered when a microcomputer is hooked up to computer networks.

80
Q

Element

A

A single member of the population.

81
Q

Epistemology

A

Theory about the nature of knowledge or how we come to know.

82
Q

Ethics

A

Code of conduct or expected societal norms of behavior.

83
Q

Ethnography

A

A research process in which the anthropologist closely observes, records, and engages in the daily life of another culture and then writes accounts of this culture, emphasizing descriptive detail.

84
Q

Evidence

A

Information used to convince someone of a certain point of view.

85
Q

Exogenous variable

A

A variable that exerts an influence on the cause‐and‐effect relationship between two variables in some way, and needs to be controlled.

86
Q

Experimental design

A

A study design in which the researcher might create an artificial setting, control some variables, and manipulate the independent variable to establish cause‐and‐effect relationships.

87
Q

Experimental group

A

The group exposed to a treatment in an experimental design.

88
Q

Expert panel

A

A group of people specifically convened by the researcher to elicit expert knowledge and opinion about a certain issue.

89
Q

Exploratory research

A

A research study where very little knowledge or information is available on the subject under investigation.

90
Q

Ex post facto experimental design

A

Studying subjects who have already been exposed to a stimulus and comparing them to those not so exposed, so as to establish cause‐and‐effect relationships (in contrast to establishing cause‐and‐effect relationships by manipulating an independent variable in a lab or a field setting).

91
Q

External consultants

A

Research experts outside the organization who are hired to study specific problems to find solutions.

92
Q

External validity

A

The extent of the generalizability of the results of a causal study to other field settings.

93
Q

Faces scale

A

A particular representation of the graphic scale, depicting faces with expressions that range from smiling to sad.

94
Q

Face‐to‐face interview

A

Information gathering when both the interviewer and interviewee meet in person.

95
Q

Face validity

A

An aspect of validity examining whether the item on the scale, on the face of it, reads as if it indeed measures what it is supposed to measure.

96
Q

Factorial validity

A

That which indicates, through the use of factor analytic techniques, whether a test is a pure measure of some specific factor or dimension.

97
Q

Field experiment

A

An experiment that was done to detect cause‐and‐effect relationships in the natural environment in which events normally occur.

98
Q

Field study

A

A study conducted in the natural setting with a minimal amount of researcher interference in the flow of events in the situation.

99
Q

Fixed rating scale

A

See the Constant sum rating scale.

A scale where the respondents distribute a fixed number of points across several items.

Research Methods for Business (1 decks)

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