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• abstract - A brief overview of a research study
• Applied Research - Conducted to generate knowledge that influences or improves practice
• Basic Research - Research that tests theories
• Conceptual Definition - A variable, such as anxiety, may be defined as a feeling of uneasiness
• concepts - The building blocks of theories
• constitutive definition - The basic, dictionary meaning
• Control group - In experiments, the one that does not get the treatment
• Correlational study - A type of research design that depicts a relationship between variables, but not necessarily one of cause -effect
• data - Information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation.
• Delimitations - It addresses how the study will be narrowed in scope.
• Dependent variable - The concept that the researcher is most interested in understanding
• Descriptive study - Research design that describes “what is” e.g. a survey
• experiment - A research design used to find “cause-effect” relationships the “effect of…on…”
• Experimental Group - The one that gets the treatment
• extraneous - Variables that may influence or contaminate the data
• heterogeneous - Groups under study are very different or varied.
• homogeneous - Groups that are very similar
• Independent variable - The concept being studied that usually indicates the influence or cause; the one that theresearcher is manipulating
• hypothesis - A statement written by the researcher that states the relationship among or between variables
• Inductive Reasoning - The basis for the qualitative research approach
• Deductive Reasoning - Depends on premises and is the basis for the quantitative research approach
• Internal validity - The extent to which a study measures what it is supposed to measure (accuracy within a study)
• Introduction - Establishes the scope, context and significance of the research to be conducted.
• Limitations - identify potential weaknesses of the study.
• Measures of central tendencies - averages e.g. the mean
• mean - The arithmetic average
• median - The middle where half the scores fall above, half below, eliminates the influence of outliers
• Methodology - Systematic approach to the conduct of a process. It includes steps of procedure, application oftechniques, systems of analysis, and the modes of inquiry employed by a discipline.
• mode - The score that occurs the most
• Null - HypothesisThe proposition, to be tested statistically, that the experimental intervention has "no effect,"meaning that the treatment and control groups will not differ as a result of the intervention.Investigators usually hope that the data will demonstrate some effect from the intervention, thusallowing the investigator to reject the null hypothesis.
• Operational definition - How a term is used in a study
• Participant - Also called respondents, their characteristics and responses are the object of study in research
• Principle investigator - The person who oversees a research
• population - the target group under investigation. The population is the entire set under consideration.Samples are drawn from populations
• Purpose of the study - specific research aims and objectives for the research.
• random - by chance
• Qualitative Research - Trying to verify or generate descriptive theory that is grounded in the data gleaned from theinvestigation (naturalistic).
• Quantitative Research - Answer a specific research question by showing statistical evidence that the data may beaddressed in a particular way (experimental)
• Questionnaire - Structured sets of questions on specified subjects that are used to gather information
• Random sample - Everybody has the same chance of being assigned to any group.