| A | B |
|---|
| Hypothesis | a statement of how variables are expected to be related to one another often according to predictions form a theory |
| Variable | a factor thought to be significant for human behavior which can vary (or change) from one case to another |
| validity | the extent to which an operational definition measures what it was intended to measure |
| reliability | the extent to which research produces consistent or dependable results. |
| Replication | repeating a study in order to test its findings. |
| Survey | the collection of data by having people answer a series of questions |
| Population | the target group to be studied |
| Sample | the individuals intended to represent the population to be studied |
| Random sample | a sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study |
| Stratified random sample | a sample from a selected subgroups of the target population in which everyone in those subgroups has an equal chance of being included in the research |
| Respondents | people who respond to a survey |
| Questionnaires | a list of questions to be asked of respondents |
| Self-administered questionnaires | questionnaires that respondents fill out |
| Interview | direct questioning of respondents |
| Interviewer bias | effects that interviewers have on respondents that lead to biased answers |
| Structured interviews | interviews that use closed-ended questions |
| Closed ended questions | questions that are followed by a list of possible answers to be selected by the respondent |
| Unstructured interviews | interviews that use open-ended questions |
| Open-ended questions | questions that respondents answer in their own words |
| Rapport | feeling of trust between researches and the people they are studying |
| Participant observation | research in which the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting |
| Generalizability | the extent to which the findings from one group (or sample) can be generalized or applied to other groups (or populations) |
| Secondary analysis | the analysis of data that have been collected by other researchers |
| Documents | in its narrow sense written sources that provide data; in its extended sense - archival material of any sort -including photograph Ð movies ÐCDs ÐDVDs -and so on |
| Experiment | the use of control and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation |
| Experimental group | the group of subjects who are exposed to the independent variable |
| Control group | the group of subjects who are not exposed to the independent variable |
| Independent variable | a factor that causes a change in another variableÉcalled the dependent variable |
| Dependent variable | a factor that is changed by an independent variable |
| Unobtrusive measures | ways of observing people who do not know they are being studied |
| Quantitative research methods | research in which the emphasis is placed on measurementÉ the use of statisticsÉ and numbers |
| Qualitative research methods | research in which the emphasis is placed on observing-describing-and interpreting peopleÕs behavior |
