Research lesson 2

Descriptive Research

counts and describes characteristics using numbers

Correlational Research

looks at how two things are related without changing them

Comparative Research

compares two or more groups or variables to find similarities and differences

Ex Post Facto

studies effects after something that has already happened

Quasi-experimental

tests effects of a treatment without random assignment;
not true experiment, since it does not have random assigned groups;

True Experiment

randomly assigned groups

Experimental Research

tests how changing one thing affects another;
often called true experimentation, uses the scientific method to establish the cause-effect relationship among a group of variables that make up a study

Investigatory Research

explores and examines a specific problem or question to gather detailed information and understand it better

Quantitative Variables

can be measured numerically

Discrete variable (Integer Variables)

counts of individual items or values;
can be counted

Continuous Variables / Interval Variable (Ratio Variables)

measurement of continuous or non-finite values;
can be denoted by non-whole numbers and can be positive or negative

Ratio Variable

special type of continuous variable;
cannot have a negative value

Qualitative Variables / Categorical Variable

involve assigning values to specific categories or groups

Binary Variable / Dichotomous Variables

are those that have only two distinct categories or values

Nominal Variables

have more than two categories or values

Ordinal Variables

variables that exhibit the characteristics of both quantitative and qualitative types;
have values that can be ranked or ordered

Polychotomous Variables

variables that can take more than two values or categories

Experimental Variables

is what you change or control in an experiment to see how it affects something else

Dependent Variables

is the variable examined for changes;
also considered to be the presumed effect in experimental research

Independent Variables

is the variable considered to affect the dependent variable;
also considered to be the presumed cause in the experimental research

Extraneous Variables

any variable not categorized as a dependent or independent variable in a study;
factor that can affect the outcome of an experiment but is not the variable being studied

Non-Experimental Variables

is a study where researchers observe and measure variables without changing or controlling them;
can be used to analyze events that have happened in the past

Predictor Variables

are factors or conditions that are used to forecast or estimate the outcome of another variable;
help in predicting what might happen based on their influence

Criterion Variables

is the outcome or result that researchers are trying to predict or explain based on other variables;
the main variable of interest that is influenced by predictor variables

Univariate Study

focuses on analyzing one single variable to understand its distribution and characteristics

Bivariate Study

examines the relationship between two variables to understand how they are related

Polyvariate Study

examines the relationship between three or more variables to understand how they interact and influence each other