SFL 290 Exam 1 Munk

what is Research

a process through which new knowledge is discovered

What is a scientific theory?

helps us organize information into a coherent body; a set of related ideas

What is a hypothesis?

educated guess; statements that express the relationship between variables

What is a variable?

a behavior, trait, or belief that is measured, manipulated or observed in research

What is social science?

the systematic study of people through observation and experiment

T/F science is active, not static.

True

Intuition

gut, emotions and/or instincts (spirit)

Authority

statements from authority figures

rationalism

logic and reasoning

empiricism

knowledge and personal experience

Scientism

The belief that science is the only or best way to know truth

Confirmation Bias

tendency to look for, interpret, and give more credence to information that supports prior beliefs and values

General Sources

- provides overview of topic

- acts as a lead to where more information can be found

- not peer reviewed

ex. newspaper, trade books, popular magazines

Secondary Sources

- information "once removed" from the original work

- some type of peer review process

ex. review articles, textbooks

Primary Sources

- original report of study

- contains all details necessary to duplicate study

- peer reviewed

ex. journal on original research, scholarly books

What is a theory?

an explanation that puts together assumptions, constructs, hypotheses, and facts in order to explain previous findings.

General Theory

- perspectives or orientations

- they offer explanations for a relatively broad range of events and can be applied to substantive concerns

Middle Range Theories

- substantive theories

- offer explanations regarding a more specific subject area

Inductive Reasoning

- specific -> general

- reasoning proceeds from specific data to a general theory.

- used in QUALITATIVE

Deductive Reasoning

- general -> specific

- reasoning proceeds from a general theory to specific

- used in QUANTITATIVE

Qualitative Research

- some type of text, spoken word

- based on open ended responses

- smaller samples

- quality (words not numbers)

Quantitative Research

- uses larger samples

- data is usually collected in questionnaires

- numerically

- quanitity (numbers)

Basic Research

- intent is to extend knowledge base

- no immediate application at time it is completed

Applied Research

- suggests specific solutions to practical problems

Conceptual Definition

- similar to dictionary definition

- found in introduction usually

Operational Definition

- how you will measure concept

- should be observable

- never a perfect measure of concept

T/F Variable is something that can take on more than on value.

True

Independent Variable (IV)

- is believed to affect outcome

- usually listed first

Dependent Variable (DV)

- the outcomes of a research study

- depends on IV

Control Variable

- other variables that have influence of DV/IV

- listed in study/research

Confounding Variable

- related to IV/DV but not listed

-not possible to include all variables

The Research Process

1. come up with idea

2. develop a testable research question and propose hypothesis

3. decide on what to observe or assess

4. choose your participants

5. choose research design

6. conduct the study

7. clean, enter, analyze and interpret data

8. report the result in a paper or professional presentation

Attributes of Research Question

- question form

- 2 or more variables related in some way

- avoid WHY questions

Comparison Research Question

- how does one group compare with another group on some type of measure

Relationship Research Question

Is there a relationship between one variable and another

null hypothesis

- testing the opposite of something

- trying to 'prove'(don't use that word) if it is wrong

- proving opposite

ex. testing if a medication is actually working

Non - directional (alternate) hypotheses

- reflect differences and relationships

- nature is left open though

- more general

ex. there will be a relationship between something (not specifically stating what relationship though)

Directional Research (alternate) hypothesis

- reflect differences and relationships

- difference is specified

ex. the relationship between something is .... (specifies what relationship is)

T/F Correlation does NOT equal causation

TRUE

Good Hypothesis is....

- testable

- declarative

- shows a relationship between variables

- reflect a theory or literatre which they are based

- brief and to the point

- directly related to research question

Sections of Research Paper

- Introduction

- Methods

- Results

- Discussion