Practical Research 2: Nature of Inquiry, Research, and Research Variables

Vocabulary flashcards covering the nature, characteristics, goals, types, and variables of research based on Practical Research 2 lecture notes.

Recherche

The middle French term meaning 'the act of looking closely', from which the word research is derived.

Research

The process of looking for information following a step-by-step process of investigation, characterized as scientific, experimental, and inductive.

Accuracy

A characteristic of research that requires providing correct and accurate data that is honestly and appropriately documented.

Objectiveness

A characteristic of research where evidences are based on theories, projections, or conclusions.

Timeliness

A characteristic of research requiring the topic to be original, modern, and important to society.

Relevance

A characteristic of research demonstrating that it is instrumental in improving society and solving problems affecting society.

Clarity

A characteristic of research requiring clear language that must be able to express its central point or discovery.

Systematic

A characteristic of research indicating that it takes place in an organized manner.

Goals of Research

The primary objectives of research, which are Description, Prediction, and Understanding/Explanation.

Quantitative Research

A systematic investigation of phenomena by collecting quantifiable data and conducting statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.

Descriptive Research

A type of quantitative research that aims to accurately and systematically describe a population, situation, or phenomenon.

Survey Research

The most fundamental tool for all quantitative outcomes, used to ask questions to respondents through methods such as online polls, online surveys, or paper questionnaires to gather large volumes of data.

Observational Research

A descriptive research method focused on collecting data on phenomena and behaviors to understand how people behave in real-time situations.

Correlational Research

A type of quantitative research that examines the relationships between variables without controlling or manipulating any of them.

Causal-comparative Research

A type of quantitative research designed to identify the cause and effect relationship between two variables.

Experimental Research

A type of quantitative research, also known as true experimentation, in which analysis is done to either prove or disprove the statement hypothesis.

Research Variable

A property or characteristic of a subject for investigation, or any factor or property that a researcher measures, controls, describes, and/or manipulates.

Categorical Variable

Also known as a qualitative variable, refers to characteristics that cannot be quantifiable or measured, and can be either nominal or ordinal.

Nominal Variable

A categorical variable representing any name, label, or category without natural order, such as sex, location, or mode of transportation.

Ordinal Variable

A categorical variable with characteristics whose values are defined by an order between the different categories, such as rating performance as 'Excellent', 'Satisfactory', 'Not satisfactory', or 'Needs Improvement'.

Numeric Variable

Also known as a quantitative variable, refers to characteristics that can be measured or whose values are numbers, and can be either continuous or discrete.

Continuous Variable

A numeric variable that represents measurable values where the set of possible values within a given set is infinite, such as volume, weight, and height.

Discrete Variable

A numeric variable that represents countable values where the set of possible values within a given set is finite, such as the number of boys and girls in a class.

Independent Variable

The variable that causes a change to happen to the dependent variable, which the researcher manipulates or changes in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The variable with observable changes that the researcher observes or measures, which is affected by the manipulation of the independent variable.

Controlled Variable

Factors that the researcher keeps constant, neutral, or balanced throughout the experiment to ensure that only the independent variable influences the dependent variable.

Extraneous Variable

Factors that are not the focus of the study but may influence the dependent variable if they are not controlled or if they occur unexpectedly.