Class 8

• Data is known facts or things used as a basis for inference or reckoning.
• Data is the plural of datum.
• Data is the essential raw material of any kind of research.
• Data acquire an air of solidity and permanence, representing the truth.
• Data are not only elusive, but also ephemeral.
• Data are not only ephemeral, but also corruptible.
• Primary data is data collected by or for the researcher at an event that is observed, experienced or recorded.
• Theory is an explanation of observed regularities or patterns with the purpose of assessing the adequacy of a particular urban social theory, gathering information to create urban social theory, understanding pressing urban social problems, and exploring personal experiences.
• For emotional labour, secularization, hyperactivity, academic achievement, teacher expectations, charismatic leadership, crime, research ethics, gatekeepers, drug and alcohol use, and self-image, there are two types of definition for a concept: Nominal, which describes the concept in words, and Operational, which defines the concept in terms of numbers or measurements.
• A concept is an idea or mental representation of things.
• Secondary data is written sources that make sense of or summarize primary data.
• Observation in primary data records, usually of events, situations or things, of what you have experienced with your own senses, perhaps with the help of an instrument (e.g. camera, tape recorder, microscope, etc.).
• Participation in primary data is data gained by experiences that can perhaps be seen as an intensified form of observations (e.g. the experience of learning to drive a car tells you different things about cars and traffic than just watching).
• Measurement in primary data records amounts or numbers (e.g. sample counts and statistics, instrumental measurements of distance, temperature, mass etc.).
• A measure that is not reliable will also be not valid.
• An inconsistency in the way the data was gathered makes the data more or less unusable.
• Data gathered for a research project may be invalid because it doesn’t ‘fit’ with that particular project, but because it was gathered properly, it may be useful to inform a small facet of the research, provide a topic of further research or provide useable data for other similar research.
• Inter-observer consistency in social science data requires that all observers classify behaviour or attitudes in the same way.
• A measure may be invalid but still be reliable.
• Concurrent validity in measurement validity is established if the measure correlates with some criterion thought to be relevant to the concept.
• A lack of correlation between a measure and a criterion brings some doubt onto the validity (correctness) of the original measure.
• Convergent validity in measurement validity is established if a measure of a concept correlates with a second measure of the concept that uses a different measurement technique.
• Face validity in measurement validity is established if, at first glance, the measure appears to be valid.
• Construct validity in measurement validity is established if the concepts relate to each other in a way that is consistent with the researcher’s theory.
• Interrogation in primary data is data gained by asking and probing (e.g. information about people's beliefs, motivations, etc.).
• Secondary data is data that has been interpreted and recorded from sources such as academic journals, news broadcasts, magazines, newspapers, documentaries, advertising, and the internet.
• Levels of Measurement in data types are Land Use - Nominal, Pop Growth - Ordinal, Pop - Ratio/Interval.
• Data processing and collection involves data collection, data entry, data storage, data retrieval, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Theory in data is the abstract statements that make claims about the world and how it works.
• Concepts in data are the building blocks of the theory which are usually abstract and cannot be directly measured.
• Concepts may be divided into independent or dependent variables to measure.
• Helps to weed out response sets.
• Indicators: Tell us (indicate) that there may be a link and indicate how strong that link may be.
• Stability can be measured using the test-retest method.
• Internal reliability (or internal consistency): Whether multiple measures that are administered in one sitting are consistent.
• Reliability is concerned with the consistency of measures.
• Assign numbers to the codes.
• Independent variables are manipulated to see if they have an impact on dependent variables.
• Gets access to a wider range of issues related to the concept, allowing the researcher to make finer distinctions.
• Using multiple-item measures in survey research: Reduces the likelihood of misclassifying some people because the language of a question is misunderstood.