Research Methods and Research Ethics

Comprehensive practice flashcards defining core vocabulary terms covering research methodology, experimental design, validity frameworks, and foundational research ethics.

Variable

Any entity that can take on different values across different units of analysis (e.g., age, price, job satisfaction, or academic motivation).

Independent Variable

The variable that represents the presumed cause or manipulation in a study, such as a treatment or educational program.

Dependent Variable

The presumed effect or outcome variable that is affected or influenced by the independent variable.

Mediating Variable (Mediator)

A variable that explains the mechanism or process by which an independent variable exerts an effect on a dependent variable.

Moderating Variable (Moderator)

A variable that alters the direction or strength of the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable.

Interaction Effect

An effect occurring when the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable changes depending on the level of a moderator variable.

Covariable (Control Variable)

An extraneous variable on which data is collected, allowing researchers to statistically account for and cancel out its confounding influence.

Third Variable

An unmeasured extraneous variable on which no data has been collected, preventing researchers from ruling out or canceling out its alternative explanation.

Curvilinear Relationship

A relationship between two variables whose direction or rate of change varies across the range of the variables, such as dosage level versus severity of illness.

Conclusion Validity

The degree to which the conclusion or statistical inference regarding whether a relationship exists between two variables is correct.

Internal Validity

The degree to which a demonstrated relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable can be substantiated as causal.

Translational Research

A systematic effort to transition research discoveries from initial laboratory or basic findings to practical applications, and ultimately to societal impacts ('bench to bedside').

The Research-Practice Continuum

The bidirectional pathway through which research progresses from discovery to societal impacts, consisting of basic research, applied research, implementation & dissemination research, policy research, and impact research.

Research Synthesis

A systematic study combining and summarizing multiple independent research investigations addressing the same topic or research question to inform practice.

Meta-Analysis

A quantitative research synthesis approach that uses formal statistical techniques to pool and analyze numerical results from similar studies.

Systematic Review

A research synthesis approach employing preplanned, explicit methods to identify, select, critically appraise, and summarize findings from multiple studies to address a specific question.

Practice Guideline

A systematically developed set of evidence-based recommendations designed to guide clinical or professional practice, often rating the strength of supporting evidence.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

A movement encouraging or requiring practitioners to integrate findings from research syntheses or practice guidelines into professional decision-making.

Evolutionary Epistemology

A philosophical framework conceptualizing the progression of research as an evolutionary system where competing scientific ideas and discoveries survive based on natural selection.

Peer Review

An evaluation process wherein submitted manuscripts are sent by an editor to independent expert reviewers—frequently anonymized—to assess scientific rigor and credibility prior to publication.

Request for Proposals (RFP)

An official call issued by government bodies, foundations, or companies detailing a problem to investigate, requested methodologies, and allocated funding amounts.

Descriptive Study

A research study designed primarily to document, observe, and summarize the characteristics or current state of a phenomenon without evaluating relationships.

Relational Study

A study designed to investigate the association or correspondence between two or more variables.

Causal Study

A study designed to determine whether one or more independent variables directly cause or alter one or more outcome variables.

Cross-Sectional Study

A research design in which data is collected from participants at a single discrete point in time.

Longitudinal Study

A research investigation that tracks and measures the same participants across two or more distinct points in time.

Time Series Design

A longitudinal research design characterized by extensive repeated observations across time, typically requiring at least 20 measurement waves.

One-Tailed Hypothesis

A directional research hypothesis whose null hypothesis encompasses both no observed difference and differences occurring in the opposite direction of the prediction.

Two-Tailed Hypothesis

A non-directional research hypothesis positing that a difference exists without specifying whether the outcome will increase or decrease.

Unit of Analysis

The central entity or level of aggregation (such as an individual, group, artifact, or geographic area) being analyzed in an empirical study.

Deductive Reasoning

A top-down reasoning process moving sequentially from a broad theoretical foundation to a testable hypothesis, specific observations, and final confirmation.

Inductive Reasoning

A bottom-up reasoning process progressing from specific empirical observations to identified patterns, tentative hypotheses, and general theoretical models.

Operationalization

The process of translating abstract theoretical constructs into concrete, observable real-world implementations, programs, and measurement procedures.

Construct Validity

The degree to which the operationalized programs and empirical measures accurately represent the theoretical cause and effect constructs of interest.

External Validity

The degree to which findings and causal conclusions from a study can be generalized across diverse populations, settings, and time periods.

Four Types of Validity

A foundational four-step hierarchical framework for evaluating research quality: Conclusion validity, Internal validity, Construct validity, and External validity.

Nuremberg Code

A 10-point code of ethics created during the Nuremberg trials requiring voluntary informed consent, justifiable scientific grounds, and the minimization of harm in human experimentation.

Stanley Milgram's Obedience Studies

Experiments examining submission to authority via simulated electric shocks that exposed risks of psychological distress, ethical concerns regarding deception, and introduced systematic debriefing.

Thalidomide Tragedy

The European medical disaster involving an unapproved morning sickness sedative that caused severe fetal limb deformities, prompting the 1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendments in the United States.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

A 40-year study by the U.S. Public Health Service where African American sharecroppers were deliberately withheld available curative treatment for syphilis under the pretense of receiving free medical care.

The Belmont Report

A landmark 1979 United States ethical document formulating three universal ethical principles for research involving human subjects: Respect for Persons, Beneficence, and Justice.

Respect for Persons

A Belmont principle requiring that individuals be recognized as autonomous decision-makers and that vulnerable populations with compromised autonomy receive specialized protections.

Informed Consent

An ethical procedure ensuring research participants voluntarily decide to participate after receiving complete information and demonstrating adequate comprehension.

Beneficence

A Belmont principle obligating researchers to protect participant well-being by systematically maximizing research benefits while identifying and minimizing potential harms.

Minimal Risk

A risk threshold wherein the anticipated magnitude and probability of research harm are no greater than those encountered in daily life or routine examinations.

Justice

A Belmont principle demanding equitable and fair distribution of research burdens and benefits, avoiding the exploitation of vulnerable populations for convenience.

Anonymity

A privacy condition where no personally identifying information is collected, rendering it impossible to connect data records to individual respondents.

Confidentiality

An agreement wherein the researcher collects identifying information but explicitly promises not to disclose or share it outside the study protocol.

Debriefing

A post-experimental session where participants receive full disclosure regarding the true aims and deceptive elements of a study, with the opportunity to ask questions or retract their data.