Studied by 2 people
agency
Our capacity to make our own choices and act autonomously.
anthropology
The study of societies and cultures, often non-Western
applied research
A form of research that seeks to answer a question or concrete problem in the real world or to evaluate a policy or program
attrition
The loss of sample members over time, usually to death or dropout
basic research
A form of research that seeks to answer theoretically informed questions or to resolve a fundamental intellectual puzzle about social behavior
causality
A relationship where one factor or variable is dependent on another factor or variable
cohort design
A type of longitudinal study design in which data are collected from a particular cohort at multiple time points
cross-sectional study design
A study in which data are collected at only one time point
cultural relativism
The principle whereby scholars refrain from making judgments about practices they observe and instead adopt the viewpoint of the communities being studied
descriptive research
Research that documents or describes trends, variations, and patterns of social phenomena
ecological fallacy
A mistake that researchers make by drawing conclusions about the micro level based on some macro-level analysis
economics
The study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
explanatory research
Research that documents the causes and effects of social phenomena, thus addressing questions of why
exploratory research
Research that tends to answer questions of how, with the goal of documenting precisely how particular processes and dynamics unfold
generalizable
The extent to which results or conclusions based on one population can be applied to others
history
The study of past events, presidencies, social movements, or cultural patterns
intersectionality
A theoretical tradition emphasizing that our overlapping identities and group memberships are critical to our life experiences
longitudinal study design
A study in which data are collected at multiple time points
macrosociology
The study of large-scale social systems and processes such as the political system or the economy
microsociology
The study of personal concerns and interpersonal interactions
mixed-methods approach
A general research approach that uses more than one method in a single study
panel design
A type of longitudinal study in which data are collected on the same subjects at multiple time points
political science
The study of the policies, laws, diplomacy, and processes of government institutions, political parties, and political behavior
prospective design
A study that follows individuals forward over time
psychology
The study of individual behavior, attitudes, and emotions, and their causes
qualitative data analysis
The process by which researchers draw substantive findings from qualitative data, such as text, audio, video, and photographs
quantitative data analysis
The process by which substantive findings are drawn from numerical data
qualitative methods
Research methods that collect and analyze data that enable rich description in words or images
quantitative methods
Research methods that rely on data that can be represented by and summarized into numbers
reflexivity
The process of systematically attending to the context of knowledge construction, especially to the effect of the researcher, at every step of the research process
reliability
A quality of a measure concerning how dependable it is
repeated cross-sectional study design
A type of longitudinal study in which data are collected at multiple time points but from different subjects at each time point
sampling
The process of deciding what or whom to observe when you cannot observe and analyze everything or everyone
scientific method
The systematic process of asking and answering questions in a rigorous and unbiased way
social structures
The patterned social arrangements that may constrain (or facilitate) our choices and opportunities
sociological imagination
A distinctive viewpoint, originated by C Wright Mills, recognizing that our personal experiences are powerfully shaped by macrosocial and historical forces
sociology
The scientific study of the social lives of individuals, groups, and societies
subjectivity
The way research is influenced by the perspectives, values, social e periences, and viewpoint of the researcher
theory
A sequential argument consisting of a series of logically related statements put forward to illuminate some element of social life
triangulation
The use of multiple research methods to study the same general research question and determine if different types of evidence and approaches lead to consistent findings
unit of analysis
The level of social life about which we want to generalize
validity
A quality of a measure concerning how accurate it is
value free
The goal of being objective and not biased by personal ideologies
abstract
A brief description of the content of a scientific report
annotated bibliography
A list of citations with a short description of the content of the text as well as the reader’s thoughts on the text
causal hypothesis
A statement that the relationship between two concepts is the result of cause and effect
causal inference
The degree of confidence that an observation based on the test of a hypothesis is truly causal
concept
An idea that can be named, defined, and eventually measured in some way
conceptualization
The process of precisely defining ideas and turning them into variables
confound
A third variable that is linked to two concepts in a way that makes them appear to be related even when they are not
deductive approach
The translation of general theory into specific empirical analysis
dependent variable
In a causal hypothesis, the variable that is acted upon; the outcome we are seeking to understand
empiricism
The idea that the world can be subjected to observation, or the use of the senses to gather data about social phenomena
hypothesis
A testable statement of a relationship between two concepts
hypothesis of association
A statement that two variables will increase or decrease together, without an explicit specification of cause and effect
hypothesis of difference
A testable statement about group differences in some concept
independent variable
In a causal hypothesis, the concept purported to be the cause; the variable on which values of the dependent variable may depend
inductive approach
The process by which scientists draw a general understanding of some social phenomenon through specific empirical observations
literature review
A systematic reading of the body of theory and evidence to determine what has been done (and how) and what needs to be done
macro level
The broadest way of thinking about social life, focusing on the structure, composition, and processes of society
mediating variable
A variable that links the independent variable to the dependent variable
mediation
The expected relation between two concepts is channeled through a third concept that links them to each other
meso level
The middle ground way of thinking about social life, focusing on the physical settings and organizations that link individuals to the larger society
micro level
The most intimate way of thinking about social life, focusing on face-to-face interaction and small-group processes
moderation
The strength of the association between two variables is made weaker or stronger by a third variable
null hypothesis
A hypothesis that no relationship between concepts exists or no difference in the dependent variable between groups exists
operationalization
The process of linking the conceptualized variables to a set of procedures for measuring them
paradigm
A broad set of taken-for-granted and often unacknowledged assumptions about how social reality is to be defined
positivism
The paradigm holding that all knowledge can be confirmed or refuted through empirical observation
postmodernism
A paradigm characterized by significant skepticism of claims about general truths, facts, or principles
scientific method
The systematic process of asking and answering questions in a rigorous and unbiased way
spuriousness
When an apparent relation between two concepts is actually the result of some third concept (confound) influencing both of them
theory
A sequential argument consisting of a series of logically related statements put forward to illuminate some element of social life
variables
Representations that capture the different dimensions, categories, or levels of a concept
anonymity
When no identifying information can be linked to respondents and even the researcher cannot identify them
beneficence
The principle that refers to the responsibility to do good and to protect subjects from harm in a research study
certificate of confidentiality
A certificate issued by the National Institutes of Health that allows researchers to protect participants from future requests for data disclosure
confidentiality
When participants’ identifying information is only accessible to the research team
conflict of interest
If researchers’ interests or loyalties compromise the way they design, conduct, or report their research
data swapping
A statistical technique for ensuring confidentiality in which data on households that have been matched on a set of key variables are swapped across blocks
debriefing
The process of interviewing participants after the study and then informing them of the actual purpose of the experiment
deductive disclosure
The use of unique combinations of variables to identify specific individuals in data sets
demand characteristics
The process whereby research subjects, when they become aware of a study’s hypothesis, behave in a way that confirms that hypothesis
differential privacy
A method of protecting data that adds enough statistical noise to a published table or statistic so that no individual can be recognized in the data, thus protecting the privacy of every respondent
ethics
The moral system that determines whether actions are right or wrong, good or bad
human subjects research
Any study of persons that is a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge
informed consent
The freedom to say yes or no to participating in a research study once all the possible risks and benefits have been properly explained
institutional review board (IRB)
A committee located at an institution where research is done that is responsible for reviewing all research involving human subjects, with the goal of protecting the human subjects and preventing ethical violations in the research
justice
The principle that research must be conducted in a fair manner with the potential risks and benefits distributed equally among participants
nuremberg code
A set of ethical principles for human subjects research, including the requirement of informed consent, developed in the wake of the Nuremberg Trials following World War II
privacy
Control over the extent, timing, and circumstances of sharing oneself with others
research protocol
A description from the researcher of the intended methods and procedures, target population and recruitment methods, possible risks and benefits of the study, and major research questions
respect
The principle that people are to be treated as autonomous agents in research studies and that those with diminished autonomy receive protection
risk versus benefit analysis
An assessment in which the potential harms to research subjects are weighed against the potential benefits of the research
suppression
A technique for ensuring confidentiality in which data are simply not shown
vulnerable population
A group of people who cannot give informed consent, including those who are underage or have diminished mental capacity
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