| A | B |
|---|
| concept | any abstract characteristic or attribute that can be potentially measured. |
| content analysis | the analysis of meanings in cultural artifacts such as booklets |
| controlled experiment | a method of collecting data that can determine whether a given factor causes something independently of other factors. |
| correlation | a statistical technique that analyzes patterns of association between pairs of sociological variables. |
| cross-tabulation | a table showing the relationship between two variables. |
| data | the systematic information that sociologists use to investigate research questions. |
| data analysis | the process by which sociologists organize collected data to discover what patterns and uniformities are revealed. |
| deductive reasoning | a form of reasoning in which specific hypothesis |
| dependent variable | the variable that is a presumed effect. |
| empirical | refers to something that is based on careful and systematic observations. |
| evaluation research | research assessing the effect of policies and programs. |
| field research | research which usually involves the participation of the researcher with the people or group(s) being studied. |
| generalization | a claim that a finding represents something greater than the specific observations on which the finding is based. |
| hypothesis | a statement about what one expects to find in research. |
| independent variable | a variable treated as the presumed cause of a particular result. |
| indicator | something that points to r reflects an abstract concept. |
| inductive reasoning | a logical process of building general principles from specific observations. |
| informant | a group member secretly in alliance with the researcher |
| intervening variable | a variable caused by the independent variable and which in turn causes the dependent variable. |
| market research | a type of evaluation research |
| mean | the sum of a set of values divided by the number of cases from which the values are obtained; an average. |
| mode | the value that appears most frequently in a set of data. |
| participant observation | a method whereby the sociologist becomes both a participant in the group being studied and a scientific observer of the group. |
| percentage | parts per hundred. |
| policy research | research intended to produce results for social policy. |
| population | a relativel large collection of people (or other unit) that a researcher studies and about which generalizations are made. |
| probability | the likelihood that a specific behavior or event will occur. |
| qualitative research | research that is somewhat less structured yet focused on a question being asked; it is more interpretive and tends to have greater depth than quantitative research. |
| quantative research | research that uses statistical methods. |
| random sample | a sample that gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected. |
| rate | parts per a given number (for example |
| reliability | the likelihood that a particular measure would produce the same results if the measure were repeated. |
| replication study | research that is repeated exactly but on a different group of people at a different time. |
