Terms and Definitions

Question 1

Accuracy

Answer 1

The degree to which the result of a measurement,calculation, or specification conforms to the correct value or a standard.

Question 2

Applied research

Answer 2

Research designed to find a solution to an immediate practical problem

Question 3

Attrition effect

Answer 3

The loss of participants over the course of a study, which can create bias by changng the composition of the sample initially drawn

Question 4

Basic research

Answer 4

Research designed to extend the base of knowledge in a discipline for the sake of knowledge production or theory construction, rather than for solving an immediate problem.

Question 5

Before-after/pre-post test design

Answer 5

Before-after design: A design in which data are collected from subjects both before and after the introduction of an intervention

Question 6

Case-control design

Answer 6

A nonexperimental research design involving the comparison of “case” (i.e., a person with the condition under scrutiny, such as lung cancer) and a matched control (a similar person without the condition)

Question 7

Censored data

Answer 7

When the value of a measurement is only partially known.

Question 8

Cluster sample

Answer 8

A form of sampling in which large groupings (“cluster”) are selected first (e.g., nursing schools), typically with successive subsampling of smaller units (e.g., nursing students) in a multistage approach.

Question 9

Coding

Answer 9

The process of transforming raw data into standardized form for data processing and analysis; in quantitative rsearch, the process of attaching numbers to categories; in qualitative research the process of identifying and indexing recurring works, themes, or concepts within the data.

Question 10

Cohort

Answer 10

A defined group of people. Cohort design is a nonexperimental design in which a cohort is followed over time to study outcomes for subsets of the cohorts: also called a prospective design.

Question 11

Concurrent validity

Answer 11

The degree to which scores on an instrument are correlated with an external criterion, measured at the same time

Question 12

Construct validity

Answer 12

The validity of inferences from observed persons, settings, and interventions in a study to the constructs that these instances might represent; with an instrument, the degree to which it measures the construct under investigation.

Question 13

Content validity

Answer 13

The degree to which the items in an instrument adequately represent the universe of contenct for the concept being measured

Question 14

Control variable

Answer 14

The variable that holds constant extraneous influences on the dependent variable under study

Question 15

Convenience sample

Answer 15

Selection of the most readily available persons as participants in a study; sometimes called accidental sampling.

Question 16

Cross-sectional study

Answer 16

a type of observational study that involves data collecction from a population, or representative subset, at one specific point in time.

Question 17

Dependent variable

Answer 17

The variable hypothesixed to depend on or be caused by another variable (the independent variable); the outcome variable of interest.

Question 18

Descriptive research

Answer 18

Research that typically has as its main objective the accurate protrayal of people’s characteristics or circmstances and/or the frequency with which certain phenomena occur

Question 19

Directional hypothesis

Answer 19

A hypotheses that makes a specific prediction about the direction of the relationship between two variables.

Question 20

Double-blind experiment

Answer 20

An experimental procedure in which neither the subjects of the experiment nor the persons administering the experiment know the critical aspects of the experiment; used to guard against both experimenter bias and placebo effects.

Question 21

Endogenous variable

Answer 21

In path analysis, a variable whose variation is determined by other variables within the model

Question 22

Exogenous variable

Answer 22

In path analysis, a variable whose determinants lie outside the model

Question 23

Experimental design

Answer 23

a method of research in the social sciences in which a controlled experimental factor is subjected to a special treatment for purposes of comparision with a factor kept constant.

Question 24

Experimental mortality

Answer 24

the loss of subjects

Question 25

Explanatory research

Answer 25

Explanatory research can be defined as a method or style of research in which the prinicipal objective is to know and understand the trait and mechanisms of the relationship and association between the independent and dependent variable.

Question 26

Exploratory research

Answer 26

A study that explores the dimensions of a phenomenon or that develops or refines hypotheses about relationships between phenomena

Question 27

External validity in terms of design

Answer 27

The degree to which study results can be generalized to settings or samples other than the one studied

Question 28

Face validity

Answer 28

The extent to which a measuring instrument looks as though it is measuring what it purports to measure

Question 29

Forced-choice question

Answer 29

A question requiring respondents to choose between two statements that represent polar positions

Question 30

Group Matching

Answer 30

Matching: The pairing of subjects in one group with those in another group based on their similarity on one or more dimension, to enhance the overall comparibility of the group

Question 31

Hawthorne effect

Answer 31

The effect on the dependent variable resluting from subjects' awareness that they are participants under study

Question 32

History effect

Answer 32

History threat: the occurrence of events external to an intervention, but concurrent with it, that can affect the dependent variable and threaten the study's internal validity

Question 33

Hypothesis

Answer 33

A statement of predicted population parameters or relationships between variables

Question 34

Independent variable

Answer 34

The variable that is believed to cause or influence the dependent variable; in experimental research, the manipulated (treatment) variable

Question 35

Instrumentation effect

Answer 35

Instrumentaiton threat: The threat to the internal validity of the study that can arise if the researcher changes the measuring instrument between two points of data collection

Question 36

Internal validity in terms of design

Answer 36

The degree to which it can be inferred that the experimental intervention (independent variable), rather than uncontrolled, extraneous factors, is responsible for observed effects.

Question 37

Interview

Answer 37

A data collection method in which an interviewer asks questions of a respondent, either face-t-face or by telephone

Question 38

Longitudinal study

Answer 38

A study designed to collect data at more than one point in time, in contrast to a cross-sectional study

Question 39

Maturation effect

Answer 39

Maturation thread: A threat to the internal validity of a study that results when changes to the outcome measure (dependent variable) result from the passage of time

Question 40

Measurement

Answer 40

The assignment of numbers to objects according to specified rules to characterize quantities of some attribute

Question 41

Non-equivalent design

Answer 41

A quasi-experimental design involving a comparison group that was not created through random assignment

Question 42

Null hypothesis

Answer 42

A hypothesis predicting no relationship between the variables under study; used primarily in statistical testing as the hypothesis to be rejected

Question 43

One-to-one matching

Answer 43

the process of combining observations from two or more data sets into one observation, using two or more SET statements to read observations independently from each data set. (match-merging)

Question 44

Open-ended question

Answer 44

A question in an interview or questionnaire that does not restrict respondents' answers to preestablished alternatives

Question 45

Panel study

Answer 45

A longitudinal survey study in which data are collected from the same people (a panel) at two or more points in time

Question 46

Policy research

Answer 46

Social scientific research which has non-university groups as its main intended audience. Attempts to apply social scientific findings to solution of problems identified by the client.

Question 47

Population

Answer 47

The entire set of individuals or objects having some common characteristice (e.g., all RNs in Canada); sometimes called universe

Question 48

Power

Answer 48

The ability of a design or analysis strategy to detect true relationships that exist among variables

Question 49

Precision

Answer 49

In statistics, the extent to which random errors have been rduced, usually expressed in terms of the width of the confidence interval around an estimate

Question 50

Predictive validity

Answer 50

The degree to which an instrument can predict a criterion observed at a future time

Question 51

Pretest

Answer 51

(1) the collection of data prior to the experimental intervention; sometimes called baseline data. (2) The trial administraiton of a newly developed instrument to identify problems or assess time requirments.

Question 52

Primary data

Answer 52

Data observed or collected directly from first-hand experience.

Question 53

Probability sample

Answer 53

The selection of sampling units (e.g., participnats) from a population using random procedures (e.g., simple random sampling)

Question 54

Prospective study

Answer 54

Watches for outcomes, such as the development of a disease. Usually involves taking a cohortof subjects and watching them over a long period.

Question 55

Questionnaire

Answer 55

A document used to gather self-report data via self-administration of questions

Question 56

Quota sample

Answer 56

A nonrandom sampling method in which "quotas" for certain sample characterstics are established to increase the representativeness of the sample

Question 57

Random sample

Answer 57

The selection of a sample such that each member ofa population has an equal probability of being included

Question 58

Reactivity

Answer 58

A measurement distortion arising from the study participant's awareness of being observed, or, more generally, from the effect of the measurement procedure itself

Question 59

Reliability

Answer 59

The degree of consistency or dependablity with which an instrument measures an attribute

Question 60

Research design

Answer 60

The overall plan for addressing a research question, including specifications for enhancing the study's integrity

Question 61

Retrospective study

Answer 61

looks backwards and examines exposures to suspected risk or protection factors in relation to an outcome that is established at the start of the study.

Question 62

Sample

Answer 62

A subset of a population comprising those selected to participate in a study

Question 63

Sample weights

Answer 63

A statistical correction factor that compensates for a sample design that tends to over-or under-represent various segments within a population.

Question 64

Sampling error

Answer 64

The fluctuation of the value of a statistic from one sample to another drawn from the same population

Question 65

Sampling frame

Answer 65

A list of all elements in the populatoin, from which the sample is drawn

Question 66

Secondary data

Answer 66

Data collected by someone other than the user.

Question 67

Selection effect

Answer 67

Selection threat (self-selection): A threat to the internal validity of the study resulting from preexisting differences between groups under staudy; the differences affect the dependent variable in whays extraneous to the effect of the independent variable

Question 68

Self-fulfilling prophesy

Answer 68

A prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.

Question 69

Statistical conclusion validity

Answer 69

The degree to which inferences about relationships from a statistical analysis of the data are correct

Question 70

Statistical inference

Answer 70

The process of drawing inferences about the population based on information from a sample, using laws of probabliity

Question 71

Stratified sample

Answer 71

A sample drawn from a number of separate strata of the population, rather than at random from the whole population, in order that it should be representative.

Question 72

Survey

Answer 72

Designed to obain information about the prevalence, distribution, and interrelations of phenomena within a population

Question 73

Testing effect

Answer 73

Testing threat: A threat to a study's internal validity that occurs when the administration of a pretest or base-line measure of a dependent variable results in changes on the variable, apart from the effect of the independent variable

Question 74

Type I (alpha) error

Answer 74

An error created by rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true (i.e., the researcher concludes that a relationship exists when in fact it does not - a false positive)

Question 75

Type II (beta) error

Answer 75

An error created by accepting the null hypothesis when it is false (i.e., the researcher concludes that no relationship exists ehn in fact it does - a false negative)

Question 76

Unit of observation analysis

Answer 76

The Unit desribed by one's data

Question 77

Validity

Answer 77

A quality criterion referring to the degree to which inferences made in a study are accurate and well-founded: in measurement, the degree to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure

Question 78

rater-interrater reliability

Answer 78

Degree of agreement among raters.

Question 79

Sampling Strategy

Answer 79

probability vs non-probability, Randomized vs non-randomized, purposeful

Question 80

Qualitative Research

Answer 80

The investigation of phenomena, typically in an in-depth and holistic fashion, through, through the collection of rich narrative materials using a flexible research design.

Question 81

CV

Answer 81

a way to control variance

Question 82

Quantitative Research

Answer 82

The investigation of phenomena that lend themselves to precise measurement and quantification, often involving a rigorous and controlled design.

Question 83

Phenomenological

Answer 83

A qualitative research tradition, with roots in philosophy and psychology, that focuses on the lived experience of humans.

Question 84

non experimental

Answer 84

no randomization,no manipulation

Question 85

concurrent study

Answer 85

A study design for a mixed methods study in which the qualitative and quantitative strands of data collection occur simultaneously; symbolically designated with a plus sign, as in QUAL + QUAN

Question 86

Outcomes Research

Answer 86

Investigates the outcomes

Question 87

Intervention

Answer 87

IV is intervention

Question 88

Self report bias

Answer 88

influenced by social desirability

Question 89

nonprobability sampling

Answer 89

The selection of sampling units (e.g., participants) from a population using non-random procedures (e.g., convenience and quota sampling).

Question 90

Fidelity

Answer 90

re interventions= are they what they are meant to be. Not well described and questionable methods of administration of IV. Are you doing what you say you're doing? An internal validity issue.

Question 91

Parametric tests

Answer 91

A class of statistical tests that involve assumptions about the distribution of the variables and the estimation of a parameter

Question 92

Parameter

Answer 92

A characteristic of a population (e.g., the mean age of all U.S. citizens).

Question 93

Nonparametric tests

Answer 93

A class of statistical tests that do not involve stringent assumptions about the distribution of critical variables.

Question 94

Post hoc test

Answer 94

A test for comparing all possible pairs of groups following a significant test of overall group differences (e.g., in an ANOVA).

Question 95

Wilcoxon signed ranks test

Answer 95

A nonparametric statistical test for comparing two paired groups, based on the relative ranking of values between the pairs.

Question 96

within-subjects design

Answer 96

A research design in which a single group of subjects is compared under different conditions or at different points in time (e.g., before and after surgery).

Question 97

Factor analysis

Answer 97

A statistical procedure for reducing a large set of variables into a smaller set of variables with common underlying dimensions.

Question 98

Factor rotation

Answer 98

The second phase of factor analysis which, during which the reference axes for the factors are moved to more clearly align variables with a factor.

Question 99

Factorial design

Answer 99

An experimental design in which two or more independent variables are simultaneously manipulated, permitting a separate analysis of the main effects of the independent variables and their interaction.