Research Methodology: Planning for your Research Investigation

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture on research methodology, design, sampling, data analysis, and design science.

Research Methodology

The overall plan for conducting research, including philosophy, strategies, and procedures used to investigate a question.

Research Design

The overall plan or scheme for conducting a study, detailing how to implement the design; distinct from methodology.

Replication

The ability to repeat procedures multiple times to estimate variation among observations.

Randomization

Assignment of subjects to treatment groups by chance to create comparable groups and reduce bias.

Local Control

Balancing, grouping, and blocking of experimental units to achieve homogeneous conditions within groups.

Control of Extraneous Variables

Ensuring identical conditions for control and experimental groups so outside factors don’t affect results.

Descriptive Research

Research aimed at describing characteristics of a population or phenomenon without causal inferences.

Correlational Research

Research that studies relationships between variables and uses correlation to assess association.

Quasi-Experimental Design

Designs aiming to infer causality but lacking full randomization or control.

One-Group Posttest-Only Design

A quasi-experimental design where a single group receives treatment and is measured only after.

One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design

A quasi-experimental design where a single group is measured before and after an intervention.

Non-Equivalent Groups Design

A quasi-experimental design with groups that are not randomly assigned; requires matching.

Time Series Design

A quasi-experimental design with data collected at multiple time points before and after an intervention.

Regression Discontinuity Design

A quasi-experimental design using a cutoff score to assign treatment and examine effects near the threshold.

Propensity Score Matching

A method to create comparable treatment and control groups by matching on propensity scores.

Interrupted Time Series Design

A design where an intervention is introduced at a specific time, with data before and after to assess impact.

Completely Randomized Design (CRD)

An experimental design with random assignment of treatments across subjects.

Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD)

Subjects are grouped into homogeneous blocks and treatments are randomized within blocks.

Pretest/Posttest Control Group Design

Two groups are tested before and after; one receives treatment and the other does not.

Design Science Research (DSR)

A research approach that creates artifacts to solve problems and evaluates their usefulness.

Artifact

An object, method, or service created to address a specific problem in design science research.

DSR Six Steps

Identify problem; define objectives; design artifacts; demonstrate use; evaluate results; communicate findings.

Ethics in Research

Principles and practices to protect participants, privacy, and safety in research.

Data Collection

Methods and tools used to gather information and data for analysis.

Data Analysis

Techniques used to interpret and draw conclusions from collected data.

Univariate Analysis

Analysis of a single variable to describe its distribution, often with weighted mean.

Weighted Mean

A mean calculated by weighting each value by its frequency.

Bivariate Analysis

Analysis of two variables to examine differences or relationships (e.g., t-test, correlation).

t-test

A family of tests comparing means to assess if groups differ; includes one-sample, independent, and paired types.

One-Sample t-test

Tests whether a population mean equals a specified value (H0: μ = α).

Two-Sample t-test (Independent)

Tests whether two independent population means are equal (H0: μ1 = μ2).

Paired t-test

Tests whether the mean difference between paired observations is zero.

z-test

A test for mean differences using known population variance; used with large samples.

ANOVA

Analysis of Variance; tests for differences among means across three or more groups.

Population

The total group of interest from which a sample is drawn.

Sample

A subset of the population selected for study.

Sampling

Process of selecting a representative portion of a population (sample).

Population vs Sample

Population is the entire group of interest; sample is the subset studied.

Probability Sampling

Sampling where every unit has a known, nonzero chance of selection (e.g., SRS, systematic, stratified, cluster).

Simple Random Sampling

Each unit has an equal chance of selection, often via lottery or random numbers.

Systematic Random Sampling

Selecting every kth unit from a list (K = N/n).

Stratified Random Sampling

Sample from strata with different characteristics, with proportional representation.

Cluster Sampling

Clusters are selected, and sampling occurs within clusters; cost-effective.

Nonprobability Sampling

Sampling where units do not have equal selection chances; chosen by judgement.

Convenience Sampling

Selecting readily available subjects for the study.

Snowball Sampling

Participants refer other potential participants to join the study.

Judgement Sampling

Subjects are chosen based on the researcher’s knowledge and judgment.

Quota Sampling

Ensuring fixed quotas for subgroups within the sample.

GANTT Chart

A timeline tool showing tasks and phases to guide study planning.

Timeline

A detailed chronological plan of events and milestones in a study.

Input-Throughput-Output

A data processing model describing stages from data input to results.