Week 2: Research methods

What are the two main categories of research?

Basic research and applied research

What is basic research?

Research conducted to expand theoretical knowledge with no immediate practical application

What is the primary goal of basic research?

To discover new or fundamental knowledge

Is practical application a goal of basic research?

No

Where is basic research usually conducted?

Highly controlled laboratory settings

Is basic research tightly or loosely controlled?

Tightly controlled

Does basic research have high external validity?

No

What is applied research?

Research conducted to solve practical

What is the primary goal of applied research?

To find solutions to specific practical issues

Where is applied research commonly conducted?

Field or real-life settings

Is applied research tightly or loosely controlled?

Loosely controlled

Does applied research aim to generalize findings?

No

What is action research?

A type of applied research focused on solving local problems

What is the research continuum?

A spectrum ranging from basic research to applied research

Where does basic research fall on the continuum?

Theoretical end

Where does applied research fall on the continuum?

Practical end

What is field research?

Research conducted outside a laboratory in real-world conditions

Field research is typically basic or applied?

Applied

What is laboratory research?

Research conducted under controlled conditions

Laboratory research is typically basic or applied?

Basic

What is descriptive research?

Research that describes characteristics or behaviors of a population

What question does descriptive research answer?

What is

Does descriptive research manipulate variables?

No

Is descriptive research experimental?

No

What type of research umbrella does descriptive research fall under?

Observational research

What is the goal of descriptive research?

To observe

Can descriptive research compare groups?

Yes

What methods can descriptive research use?

Surveys

What is observational research?

Research that observes behavior without manipulation

What is naturalistic observation?

Observation of behavior in a natural setting

What is participant observation?

Researcher actively participates while observing

What is structured observation?

Systematic observation using predefined coding methods

What is cross-sectional research?

Data collected at one point in time

Cross-sectional research is descriptive or analytic?

Descriptive

What is longitudinal research?

Data collected repeatedly over time

Longitudinal research is descriptive or analytic?

Descriptive

What is developmental research?

Descriptive research examining changes over time

What is a case study?

An in-depth examination of a single individual or case

Is a case study descriptive?

Yes

What is a prevalence survey?

A survey describing how common a characteristic is in a population

Is survey research descriptive?

Yes