Research Methods Lecture Review

A collection of vocabulary flashcards designed to aid in understanding key concepts related to research methods.

Research Methods

Ways to collect, sort, and analyze information to draw conclusions.

Validity

The extent to which research accurately reflects the concept it is intended to measure.

Typology

A classification or categorization of objects, events, or concepts.

Descriptive Research

Research that relies on observation to examine situations and establish norms.

Evaluate

To make judgments about the quality of objects or events.

Correlate

To investigate the relationships between two phenomena to understand their influences.

Predict

To forecast future behavior or events based on known correlations.

Control

The ability to influence or regulate an event or situation based on understanding cause and effect relationships.

Historical Research

Systematic evaluation and synthesis of evidence to establish facts about past events.

Causal Relationship

A connection where one concept causes changes in another.

Experimental Research

Research that isolates and controls relevant conditions to observe their effects.

Simulation

The creation of a simplified model to manipulate situations and gauge effects.

Ethnological Research

Research focused on how subjects interpret their own behavior.

Feminist Research

A perspective that emphasizes the different experiences of men and women.

Cultural Research

Methodologies that analyze cultural texts for comparison and generalization.

Hypothesis

A testable statement that a theory can be expressed as.

Inductive Reasoning

Starting from specific observations and developing a general conclusion.

Deductive Reasoning

Beginning with general statements and arriving at a specific conclusion through logic.

Hypothetico-Deductive Method

A method that combines inductive and deductive reasoning to test hypotheses.

Positivism

The philosophical stance that knowledge is based on observable phenomena.

Relativism

The view that knowledge and reality are constructed by human perceptions.

Postmodernism

Challenges the ideas of meaning, knowledge, and universal truths in research.

Critical Realism

Focuses on discovering underlying orders through interpretation, especially in social sciences.