Studiebegrippen Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Neuman, Van der Meide, Dahlberg & Dahlberg)

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering all 388 research methodology and lifeworld research concepts from Neuman, Van der Meide, and Dahlberg & Dahlberg.

Social research

Systematic investigation of people, social action, and societal phenomena using scientifically sound methods.

Scientific approach

Approach in which researchers systematically gather evidence, test arguments, and have conclusions critically evaluated.

Overgeneralization

Drawing a general conclusion based on too few or insufficiently representative observations.

Selective observation

Primarily noticing what supports existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory information.

Premature closure

Believing prematurely that a question has been answered and stopping critical investigation.

Halo effect

A single prominent positive or negative characteristic influences the judgment of other characteristics.

False consensus

Incorrectly viewing one's own beliefs or experiences as common among most other people.

Authority

Accepting knowledge simply because an authority asserts it; this is not automatically independent scientific evidence.

Tradition

Accepting something as true because it has long been believed or practiced.

Common sense

Everyday self-evident assumptions that may be useful, but do not have to be systematically scientifically tested.

Media messages

Information transmitted via media that can be incomplete, selective, or biased.

Social theory

Coherent system of concepts and propositions that helps understand or explain social phenomena.

Data

Information or observations that are collected and used as empirical material for research.

Empirical

Grounded in observable data or experiences from reality.

Pseudoscience

Claims or practices that appear scientific but do not meet fundamental scientific requirements.

Junk science

Substandard research, or the rhetorical label used to discredit research.

Innumeracy

Difficulty in correctly understanding or judging numbers, proportions, and statistical information.

Scientific literacy

The capacity to critically understand scientific claims, methods, and evidence.

Scientific community

The community of researchers who produce knowledge and critically evaluate one another.

Norms of the scientific community

Shared rules of conduct that support scientific quality and integrity.

Universalism

Evaluating scientific claims based solely on evidence and arguments, not on the status or background of the researcher.

Organized skepticism

Continuously, critically, and systematically challenging and questioning research claims.

Disinterestedness

Conducting and assessing research without allowing personal gain to determine the outcome.

Communalism

Sharing scientific knowledge and methods as widely as possible for collective scrutiny and development.

Honesty

Honestly reporting data, methods, analyses, and results.

Scholarly journal article

Scientific journal article in which researchers publish their methodology and findings.

Blind review

Evaluation of a manuscript where at least the identity of the reviewer remains concealed from the author; forms vary.

Peer review

Critical evaluation of scientific work by other independent experts.

Replication

Repeating a study to assess whether the original results can be obtained again.

Scientific method

Orderly, transparent, and verifiable approach to developing scientific knowledge.

Basic research

Research primarily directed toward the development of fundamental knowledge and theory, without requiring immediate practical application.

Applied research

Research directed toward addressing a concrete, practical problem or question.

Evaluation research

Research into the functioning, effects, or quality of policies, programs, or interventions.

Action research

Research in which knowledge development is directly linked to action and change in practical settings.

Participatory action research

Action research in which stakeholders actively participate in the inquiry and in changing their own circumstances.

Social impact assessment

Investigating in advance or during policies or projects what social consequences are to be expected or will occur.

Needs assessment

Systematically determining what needs, deficits, or requirements exist within a group or organization.

Cost-benefit analysis

Systematically weighing the expected costs and benefits of different alternatives.

Instrumental knowledge

Knowledge used to achieve concrete goals more efficiently or to solve problems technically.

Reflexive knowledge

Knowledge that helps people critically reflect on their own assumptions, values, goals, and societal conditions.

Commissioned research

Research funded or commissioned by an external sponsor or client.

Exploratory research

Exploratory inquiry designed to discover a little-known phenomenon, potential questions, or initial patterns.

Descriptive research

Descriptive research that maps out the characteristics or patterns of a phenomenon.

Explanatory research

Explanatory research that seeks to understand why something occurs or how factors relate causally.

Case-study research

In-depth investigation of one or a few clearly demarcated cases within their real-life context.

Cross-sectional research

Research design in which data are collected at a single point in time or during a single brief period.

Longitudinal research

Research examining change across time through observations made at multiple points in time.

Time-series research

Repeated measurements of a comparable variable or population over time; not necessarily examining the same individuals each time.

Panel study

Longitudinal study in which the exact same individuals or units are observed across multiple points in time.

Cohort study

Study of a demarcated group that shares a common defining starting characteristic or life event, such as a birth year.

Experimental research

Research in which a researcher actively manipulates a factor to study its causal effect on an outcome.

Control group

Comparison group that does not receive the experimental treatment under investigation, or receives an alternative condition.

Nonreactive research

Research in which the act of measurement or observation influences the observed behavior as little as possible.

Existing statistics research

Research that re-uses and analyzes existing statistical data to address a new research question.

Content analysis

Systematic analysis of the content, features, or characteristics of texts, visual images, or other communication media.

Survey research

Research that collects information from individuals through structured, standardized questions.

Field research

Research conducted in natural social settings, frequently relying on direct observation and participant interaction.

Historical-comparative research

Research analyzing historical processes and examining similarities or differences across historical eras and societies.

Qualitative research

Research emphasizing meanings, contexts, social processes, and non-numerical data.

Quantitative research

Research investigating phenomena through standardized measurements, numerical data, and statistical analyses.

Unit of analysis

The specific type of unit about which research claims and conclusions are formulated, such as individuals, organizations, or nations.

Theory

System of interconnected statements that describes, explains, or makes intelligible an empirical phenomenon.

Parsimony

Preference for the simplest possible, yet sufficiently powerful explanation without unnecessary assumptions.

Ideology

Coherent system of beliefs and values that interprets the social world and often guides social action.

Assumption

Starting premise accepted as given and true within an argument or theoretical framework.

Theoretical concept

Abstract idea with which a researcher identifies and names properties, structures, or processes in social reality.

Level of abstraction

The extent to which a concept or statement is general and theoretical rather than concrete and specific.

Concept cluster

Collection of interrelated concepts that together allow a researcher to comprehend a complex phenomenon.

Ideal type

Analytically constructed theoretical model that intentionally accentuates typical characteristics of a phenomenon.

Concept classification

Classification of observations or concepts into distinct categories based on shared characteristics.

Typology

Ordered system of types created by cross-classifying or combining two or more distinct dimensions.

Proposition

Theoretical statement asserting a relationship between two or more abstract concepts.

Hypothesis

Tentative, empirically testable statement predicting a specific relationship or difference.

Deductive direction

Form of reasoning that proceeds from general theoretical propositions down to specific empirical expectations.

Inductive direction

Form of reasoning that moves from concrete empirical observations upward to broader concepts, patterns, or theories.

Grounded theory

Inductive research approach in which formal or substantive theory is systematically developed from empirical data.

Meso-level theory

Theory operating at the intermediate level of groups, organizations, communities, or social institutions.

Micro-level theory

Theory focused on individual actions, psychological perceptions, and small-scale face-to-face social interactions.

Macro-level theory

Theory focusing on large-scale societal patterns, social institutions, social structures, and whole systems.

Formal theory

Broad, general theory designed to apply across diverse substantive domains or general types of social settings.

Substantive theory

Theory developed for and applied to a specific substantive empirical area or concrete social setting.

Theoretical explanation

Logical explanation using concepts and reasoned relationships to render an empirical phenomenon understandable.

Causal explanation

Explanation positing that specific factors directly produce a change, effect, or outcome.

Association

Empirical co-variation or relationship between phenomena or variables; does not constitute automatic proof of causality.

Causal mechanism

The precise process or intermediary link through which a primary cause produces a particular outcome.

Negative relationship

Relationship in which higher values on one variable correspond with lower values on another variable.

Positive relationship

Relationship in which higher values on one variable correspond with higher values on another variable.

Structural explanation

Explanation that understands a phenomenon through the position, arrangement, and relationships of parts within a larger structure.

Sequential theory

Theory in which a phenomenon is explained through an orderly succession of distinct stages, phases, or events.

Network theory

Theory emphasizing the pattern of ties, linkages, and social relationships interconnecting units within a network.

Functional theory

Theory explaining what function or specialized role parts fulfill to maintain an integrated social system.

Middle-range theory

Theory that extends beyond a single empirical case but is less all-encompassing than a grand theory of whole societies.

Interpretative explanation

Explanation that makes social phenomena intelligible by reconstructing the meanings and perspectives of participants.

Empirical generalization

An established empirical pattern observed across data, without yet offering an explicit theoretical explanation.

Theoretical framework

Coherent theoretical orientation that provides structure and direction to research questions, interpretation, and explanation.

Methodology

The system of philosophical assumptions, research principles, and analytical logic through which scientific knowledge is generated.

Ontology

Philosophical branch concerning the nature of being, reality, and what kinds of entities exist.

Epistemology

Philosophical branch concerning the nature, grounds, and limits of knowledge and how knowledge claims are justified.

Paradigm

Integrated, coherent framework of core assumptions and shared orientations that guides scientific inquiry.

Positivist social science (PSS)

Methodological approach aimed at discovering empirical regularities and causal laws through objective, systematic observation.