MFT Exam - Research Methods & Techniques

Construct

Constructs are the building blocks of theories, helping to explain how and why certain phenomena behave the way that they do.

Constructs are mental abstractions that we used to express the ideas, people, organizations, events and/or objects/things that we are interested in. Constructs are a way of bringing theory down to earth, helping to explain the different components of theories, as well as measure/observe their behavior. The table below provides some examples of these different types of constructs:

Types of constructs Examples:

Ideas - Ageism, sexism, racism, self-esteem, poverty, social capital, trust, philanthropy, affluence, morality, tolerance, air pollution, genetic engineering, euthanasia, marriage, taboos

People - Age, gender, ethnicity, height, obesity, morbidity, energy, muscle soreness, fatigue

Organizations - Financial performance, corporate social responsibility, firm survival, organizational culture, service quality, corporate governance, outsourcing, alliances

Events - Armageddon, famine, urban regeneration, Jihad, secularism

Objects/Things - Sun, hurricanes, tsunamis, trees, flowers, amino acids, stem cells

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.

Epistemology

the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.

Exploratory Research

Exploratory research is research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined. It often occurs before we know enough to make conceptual distinctions or posit an explanatory relationship. Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects.

Ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations.

Operational Definitions

An operational definition is a result of the process of operationalization and is used to define something (e.g. a variable, term, or object) in terms of a process (or set of validation tests) needed to determine its existence, duration, and quantity. Since the degree of operationalization can vary itself, it can result in a more or less operational definition.

Operationalization: Sampling

clarifying and strengthening - a process called operationalization.

The researcher could narrow down the range of children, by specifying age, sex, nationality, or a combination of attributes. As long as the sample group is representative of the wider group, then the statement is more clearly defined.

Unit of Analysis

The unit of analysis is the major entity that is being analyzed in a study. It is the 'what' or 'who' that is being studied. In social science research, typical units of analysis include individuals (most common), groups, social organizations and social artifacts.

Variable

An element, feature, or factor that is liable to vary or change:

Internal Validity

Internal validity - the extent to which conclusions can be drawn about the causal effects of one variable on another

-Laboratory experiments

External Validity

External validity - the extent to which one can generalize the results of the research to the populations and settings of interest.

*Natural settings

Construct Validity

Construct validity is "the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports, to be measuring." In the classical model of test validity, construct validity is one of three main types of validity evidence, alongside content validity and criterion validity.

Statistical Conclusion Validity

Statistical conclusion validity is the degree to which conclusions about the relationship among variables based on the data are correct or 'reasonable'.

Experimental Studies

The word experimental research has a range of definitions. In the strict sense, experimental research is what we call a true experiment.

This is an experiment where the researcher manipulates one variable, and control/randomizes the rest of the variables. It has a control group, the subjects have been randomly assigned between the groups, and the researcher only tests one effect at a time. It is also important to know what variable(s) you want to test and measure.

A very wide definition of experimental research, or a quasi experiment, is research where the scientist actively influences something to observe the consequences. Most experiments tend to fall in between the strict and the wide definition.

Field Surveys

The term field is used in survey research to refer to the geographical setting where data collection takes place. Typically this refers to in-person interviewing and thus the name, field survey.

One of the key decisions when designing a survey is the choice of the mode of data collection. Field interviewing is one of three traditional modes of survey data collection (along with telephone and mail). In field surveys, which are also referred to as face-to-face or personal-visit surveys, an interviewer visits the respondent's home or office (or another location) and conducts the interview. This entry outlines the major advantages and disadvantages of field data collection and the variations that are found in modern survey research and concludes with a brief overview of the development of ...

Secondary Data Analysis

The use of data that was collected by someone else for some other purpose. In this case, the researcher poses questions that are addressed through the analysis of a data set that they were not involved in collecting.

Case Research (Case Studies)

a "published report about a person, group, or situation that has been studied over time." If the case study is about a group, it describes the behavior of the group as a whole, not behavior of each individual in the group. Case studies can be produced by following a formal research method.

Focus Group Research

A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.

Ethnography

Ethnography is the systematic study of people and cultures. It is designed to explore cultural phenomena where the researcher observes society from the point of view of the subject of the study. An ethnography is a means to represent graphically and in writing the culture of a group.

Survey Research

Survey research is often used to assess thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Survey research can be specific and limited, or it can have more global, widespread goals. Today, survey research is used by a variety of different groups.

A public survey is a list of questions aimed at extracting specific data from a particular group of people. Surveys may be conducted by phone, mail, via the internet, and sometimes face-to-face on busy street corners or in malls. The census is the most widely known form of public survey, and is conducted every ten years in the United States by the federal government.

Interview Survey

An interview is a specific type of survey. Surveys are used to ask people specific questions about a large number of topics and then use the data gathered to come to conclusions or find patterns. An interview is a type of survey that consists of specific questions (usually open-ended), and is conducted either face to face, by telephone, or by email.

Qualitative Analysis

examines the why and how, not just what, where, when, or "who", and have a strong basis in the field of sociology to understand government and social programs.

Quantitative Analysis

the systematic empirical investigation of observable phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and hypotheses pertaining to phenomena.

Grounded Theory

a systematic methodology in the social sciences involving the construction of theory through the analysis of data. Grounded theory is a research methodology which operates almost in a reverse fashion from social science research in the positivist tradition.

Mean

the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the number of numbers in the collection. The collection is often a set of results of an experiment, or a set of results from a survey.

Median

the number separating the higher half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest value and picking the middle one (e.g., the median of {3, 3, 5, 9, 11} is 5).

Mode

the value that appears most often in a set of data. The mode of a discrete probability distribution is the value x at which its probability mass function takes its maximum value. In other words, it is the value that is most likely to be sampled.

Range

the difference between the largest and smallest values. However, in descriptive statistics, this concept of range has a more complex meaning. The range is the size of the smallest interval which contains all the data and provides an indication of statistical dispersion.

Standard Deviation

a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values.

Correlation

a single number that describes the degree of relationship between two variables.

Inter-Rater Reliability

the degree of agreement among raters. It gives a score of how much homogeneity, or consensus, there is in the ratings given by judges.

Test-Retest Reliability

Test-retest reliability is a statistical technique used to estimate components of measurement error by repeating the measurement process on the same subjects, under conditions as similar as possible, and comparing the observations.

Split-Half Reliability

a test for a single knowledge area is split into two parts and then both parts given to one group of students at the same time. The scores from both parts of the test are correlated. A reliable test will have high correlation, indicating that a student would perform equally well (or as poorly) on both halves of the test.

..... a measure of internal consistency — how well the test components contribute to the construct that's being measured. It is most commonly used for multiple choice tests you can theoretically use it for any type of test — even tests with essay questions.

Internal Consistency Reliability

defines the consistency of the results delivered in a test, ensuring that the various items measuring the different constructs deliver consistent scores.

Validity

Validity is the extent to which a concept, conclusion or measurement is well-founded and corresponds accurately to the real world. The word "valid" is derived from the Latin validus, meaning strong.

Ordinal Scales

a scale on which data is shown simply in order of magnitude since there is no standard of measurement of differences: for instance, a squash ladder is an ordinal scale since one can say only that one person is better than another, but not by how much.

Interval Scales

a scale of measurement of data according to which the differences between values can be quantified in absolute but not relative terms and for which any zero is merely arbitrary: for instance, dates are measured on an interval scale since differences can be measured in years, but no sense can be given to a ratio of times.

Nominal Scales

a discrete classification of data, in which data are neither measured nor ordered but subjects are merely allocated to distinct categories: for example, a record of students' course choices constitutes nominal data which could be correlated with school results

Likert Scale

is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research.

respondents specify their level of agreement or disagreement on a symmetric agree-disagree scale for a series of statements. Thus, the range captures the intensity of their feelings for a given item.[4]