Unique Non- Experimental Research Designs; March 17th

Flashcards covering key research methods and concepts from the lecture notes.

Archival Research

Research involving the evaluation of existing data sources to answer questions about past events.

• evaluating existing data to answer a question about the past!

Content Analysis

A systematic, objective review of the content of various kinds of documents to determine validity.

• create a strict checklist and count exactly how many times a specific theme, word, or phrase shows up in a bunch of documents so you can prove a point with actual data.

Historical Research

Research that investigates past events to understand how they influence the present.

Philosophic Research

Research aimed at examining reality through reflective procedures using reasoning techniques.

Epidemiology Research

Field of study that investigates physical activity patterns and health-related behaviors.

Cohort Study

A longitudinal study that follows a group over time to assess changes.

Case Report

Describes a single patient's case to highlight unique clinical findings.

Case Series

A report describing characteristics of a group of patients with a similar condition.

Odds Ratio

A statistic comparing the odds of an event (like a disease) in exposed vs. unexposed groups.

Ecological Fallacy

Assuming that what is true for a group's average is automatically true for every single person in that group. You are stereotyping an individual based on big-picture data.

• assuming based on statistics

• taking a statistic about a massive crowd and forcing it onto one single person.

Synthesis Research

Integrates existing knowledge from various studies into a cohesive understanding.

• grabbing other research and coming to a conclusion about that topic

Narrative Review

A literature review synthesizing existing research into a cohesive story, often subjective.

• YouTuber talking to a camera for 20 minutes, bringing up a few specific scenes to tell you a subjective story about why they personally loved the movie.

Systematic Review

Reviews using predetermined criteria to minimize bias by including and excluding certain research.

Meta-Analysis

Combines results from multiple high-quality studies into one summary statistic for analysis.

What is External Criticism in research?

Proving the source is literally what it claims to be. You are not asking if the information is good yet; you are just asking, "Is this a fake, a forgery, or an imposter?

Internal Criticism

Ensuring that the document or article is valid and reliable not just if its written by someone credible

• Fact checking

Inductive reasoning

Going from small/ limited observations to create a conclusion regarding something of that topic

Deductive Reasoning

Going from broad universal rule and making it into one specific case to make it into a final conclusion

Speculative and Critical Reasoning

Breaking down/ proving an old rule is actually wrong and then inventing a new one to replace it

Case Control studies

Working backwards to solve a mystery. You gather a group of people who are already sick/injured (Cases) and a group of people who are completely fine (Controls). Then, you ask both groups about their past to figure out what caused the problem.

Retrospective Measurement of Exposure

The two ways a researcher actually gets the facts about the past: asking people to rely on their memory (interviews), or digging through old paperwork (administrative records).