Chapter 2: Understanding Key Concepts and Steps in Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Jargon

Jargon

Special words or phrases used by particular groups

study

When researchers address a research question, they are doing a _____ (or an investigation).

participants

In a quantitative study, the people being studied are called subjects or study __________

informants

In a qualitative study, the people cooperating in the study are called study participants or __________

settings

Research can be undertaken in a variety of _________ (the types of place where information is gathered), such as clinics, homes, or other community settings.

site

A ____ is the broad location for the research—it could be an entire community (e.g., a Haitian neighborhood in Miami) or an institution (e.g., a nursing home in Seattle)

concepts

Research addresses real-world problems, but studies are conceptualized in abstract terms. For example, pain, fatigue, and obesity are abstractions of human attributes. These abstractions are called phenomena (especially in qualitative studies) or ________

construct

Researchers sometimes use the term _____, which also refers to an abstraction, but often one that is deliberately invented.

theory

A ______ is an explanation of some aspect of reality. Concepts are knitted together into a coherent system to describe or explain some aspect of the world.

variable

A _______, then, is any quality of a person, group, or situation that varies or takes on different values. They are the central building blocks of quantitative studies.

independent

The presumed cause is the _________ variable

dependent

The presumed effect is the ______ or outcome variable.

conceptual

A __________ definition is the theoretical meaning of a concept. Researchers need to conceptually define even seemingly straightforward terms.

operational

An ______ definition specifies what the researchers must do to measure the concept and collect needed information

Research data

____________ (singular, datum) are the pieces of information gathered in a study.

quantitative data

information in numeric form

qualitative data

information in narrative form

relationship

A ________ is a connection between phenomena; for example, researchers repeatedly have found that there is a ______ between frequency of turning bedridden patients and the incidence of pressure ulcers.

cause-and-effect

Variables can be related to one another in different ways, including ________ (or causal) relationships. Within the positivist paradigm, natural phenomena are assumed to have antecedent causes that are discoverable.

associative

People with high readings on one tend to have high readings on the other. We cannot say, however, that pulmonary artery temperature caused tympanic temperature, or vice versa. This type of relationship is sometimes referred to as an _________ (or functional) relationship rather than a causal one.

experimental research

In __________, researchers actively introduce an intervention or treatment—usually to address Therapy questions.

nonexperimental research

In _________, on the other hand, researchers are bystanders—they collect data without introducing treatments (most often, to address Etiology, Prognosis, Diagnosis, or Description questions).

observational

In medical and epidemiological research, experimental studies usually are called clinical trials, and nonexperimental inquiries are called ___________ studies.

Grounded theory

_________ research seeks to describe and understand key social psychological processes

Phenomenology

It is concerned with the lived experiences of humans. It is an approach to thinking about what people’s life experiences are like and what they mean

Ethnography

_________, the primary research tradition in anthropology, provides a framework for studying the patterns and lifeways of a defined cultural group in a holistic fashion.

1. Conceptual Phase

2. Design and Planning Phase

3. Empirical Phase

4. Analytic Phase

5. Dissemination Phase

Major Steps in Quantitative Study

1. Conceptualizing and Planning a Qualitative Study

2. Conducting a Qualitative Study

Activites in a Qualitative Study