Applied Research Methods Midterm

social science research

studies interactions between people

to explain trends/behaviors and to figure out why things work the way they do

why do we research social science?

descriptive research

type of research that deals with basic descriptions or statistics

exploratory research

type of research that studies something with little to no prior research

explanatory research

research that looks at a cause and effect of something

evaluation research

research that studies to see if something is effective

theory

plausible explanation of reality

methodology

this is how you conduct research (whether it be quantitative, qualitative, mixed, etc)

aggregate

when findings are combined together, so no individual is standing out

exceptions and outliers

these are often based on anecdotal accounts

concepts

abstract tags placed on reality

no, you can measure variable

can you measure concepts?

operationalization

definitions of concepts on the basis of how they are measured or categorized

variables

concepts that have been operationalized (can be independent x or dependent y)

hypothesis

specific statements or predictions regarding the relationship between variables

research question

the question you are trying to answer in your study

feasibility, scientific relevance, social importance, replication

what four things help researchers narrow down their research question?

everyday errors

simple everyday errors in logic

observation, generalization, reasoning, and resistance to change

what four areas do we often make errors in research?

selective observation

choosing to look only at things that are in accordance with our preferences or beliefs

inaccurate observation

observation based on faulty perceptions of empirical reality

overgeneralizations

error that occurs when we conclude something we observed in a small group holds true to everyone

illogical reasoning

prematurely jumping to conclusions and arguing on the basis of invalid assumptions

positivism

belief that there is a reality that exists quite apart from our own perception of it, although our knowledge of this reality may never be complete

postpositivism

belief that there is an empirical reality but that our understanding of it is limited by its complexity and by the biases and other limitations of researchers

intersubjective agreement

agreement between scientists about the nature of reality

interpretivism

belief that reality is socially constructed and that the goal of social scientists is to understand meanings people give to that reality

qualitative

assignment of meaning to achieve a better understanding

quantitative

assignment of numeric value to identify general trends

process

when it comes to process v. product, which one sides with the qualitative approach?

human contact

when it comes to human contact v. limited or no contact, which one sides with the qualitative approach?

qualitative

is inductive reasoning qualitative or quantitative?

quantitative

is deductive reasoning qualitative or quantitative?

inductive

when you apply a theory after collecting the data (specific to general)

deductive

when you start with a theory, then translate it into specific variables that can be used in a hypothesis (general to specific)

qualitative

are smaller samples qualitative or quantitative?

concept

a mental image that summarizes a set of similar observations, feelings, or ideas

operationalization

the way you measure something

indicator

the question used to indicate the value of cases on a variable

nominal

level of measurement that is mutually exclusive/exhaustive, which consists of unranked categories

ordinal

level of measurement that is an order of categories

interval

level of measurement that uses a scale with numerical distance between each category and has no fixed 0 point

ratio

level of measurement with equal distance between and has a fixed 0 point

dichotomous

when there are two options in a variable

continuous

what are interval and ratio levels of measurement considered? this is when numbers indicate variables as points on a continuum

0.7 or greater

what alpha score indicates a good measure?

scaled item measure

a two item scale with an alpha score of 0.784 or greater

refereed journals

journals that select research papers for publication based on the peer reviews of other scientists

theoretical constructs

parts of a theory that describe what’s important to look at to understand, explain, predict, and “do something about” the subject

relationship statements

theories usually link one or more theoretical construct to others

falsifiable

when a theory can be tested or otherwise not supported by empirical evidence

serendipitous findings

unexpected patterns in data that stimulate new ideas or theoretical approaches (also called anomalous findings)

direction of association

when the values of variables tend to change consistently in relation to change in another variable

generalizability

achieved when a conclusion holds true for the population, group, or groups we say it does, given the conditions

causal validity

achieved when a conclusion that on phenomenon leads to or results in another phenomenon (also called internal validity)

authenticity

when the understanding of a social process is one that reflects fairly the various perspectives

validity

whether we measured what we intended to measure

face validity

simplest measurement of validity and refers to whether something appears to be measuring what it’s supposed to

content validity

judgmental and usually non-empirical form of validity that examines each item to judge whether each element measures the concepts in question.

construct validity

validity with the most theoretical and philosophically based question

convergent-discriminant validation

use of multiple methods to measure multiple traits (triangulation)

history, maturation, testing, statistical regression, selection bias

what are some common threats to internal validity

construct validity and external validity

what two validities apply to generalizability

reliability

demonstrated through stable and consistent replication of findings under repeated measurement

adding an “other” section

what is one way researchers can make response choices exhaustive on a questionnaire?

mutually exclusive

when every case can only have one attribute

exhaustive

when every case can be classified into one of the categories

dichotomy

variable having only two values

criterion validity

validity established by comparing the scores obtained on the measure being validated to those obtained with a more direct or already validated measure of the same phenomenon

test-retest reliability

measures of a phenomenon at two points in time are highly correlated if the phenomenon hasn’t changed

interitem reliability

calculates reliability based on the correlation among multiple items

causation

a relationship between variables

demonstrate covariance between variables, specify time sequence of relationship, exclude rival factors

what are the 3 steps of causality?

spuriousness

relationship as a result of chance or some other factor not considered in the study

ecological fallacy

use group data to draw conclusions about individuals

exceptional fallacy

use individual-level data to draw conclusions about a larger sample

cross-sectional design

studies data at only one point in time (a snapshot of now)

retrospective studies

studies that look back in time

longitudinal studies

studies where data are collected that can be ordered in time

trend studies, cohort studies, panel studies

what are the 3 different kinds of longitudinal studies?

trend studies

study that samples different groups of people within the same population

a disadvantage is an outside variable could skew the data and an advantage is scientists can study long term trends

what is a disadvantage and an advantage of using trend studies?

cohort studies

studies where subjects have a similar trait and receive some kind of treatment over time and are compared to another group that gets no treatment

a disadvantage is it is time consuming and expensive and an advantage is that it can study the causes of diseases

what is a disadvantage and an advantage of using cohort studies?

panel studies

study where we measure the same participants at different points in time

panel attrition (when panel members drop out) is a disadvantage and learning how variable change over time is an advantage

what is a disadvantage and an advantage of using panel studies

equivalence, pretest and posttest, experimental and control group

what are the 3 essential elements to classic experimental design?

experimental

which group gets the treatment (experimental or control)?

classic experimental design

E O1 X O2

E O1 O2

What type of experimental design is this?

the groups are equivalently matched and randomly chose

E O1 X O2

E O1 O2

What does the E mean in this notation?

observation 1 and observation 2

E O1 X O2

E O1 O2

What does the O1 and O2 mean?

this is the treatment

E O1 X O2

E O1 O2

What does the X mean in this notation?

gold standard

what is the classic experimental design considered in the research field?

hard to respect ethical boundaries and control the environment at the same time

what is the problem with using classic experimental design in the Criminal Justice field?

posttest only control group design

E X O

E O

What kind of design is this, where there is no pretest?

Solomon four group design

E O1 X O2

E O1 O2

E X O2

E O2

What scientific notation uses a combination of classic and post test only designs?

one group ex-post facto design

X O

What kind of pre-experimental design is this?

one group before-after design

O X O

What kind of pre-experimental design is this?

two group ex-post facto design

X O

O

what kind of pre-experimental design is this?

interrupted time series design

O O O O X O O O O

What kind of quasi-experimental design is this?