| A | B |
|---|
| Reinforcers | A stimulus, such as a reward, the removal of an unpleasant event, or punishment, that in operant conditioning maintains or strengthens a desired response. |
| Short-Term Observation | Studies that list or present findings of short-term qualitative study based on recorded observation |
| Reliability | The degree to which the test consistently measures what is suppose to measure. The extent to which a measure, procedure or instrument yields the same result on repeated trials. The extent to which the same result will be achieved when repeating the same measure or study again |
| Inter-rater - Reliability | Persons independently administering the same assessment to the same person should have highly similar results. |
| Internal - Reliability | Items on an assessment aimed at measuring the same thing or parts of the same thing (e.g., physical symptoms of anxiety) should be correlated. |
| Split-half - Reliability | A method of measuring internal reliability by verifying that half of the items on a scale are correlated with the other half. |
| Test-retest - Reliability | A method in which the same measure is administered multiple times and the resulting scores are compared. Assuming no important intervening events, a person's scores on a measure taken multiple times should be correlated. |
| Replicability | A study is considered replicable if it can be repeated by another researcher. You can determine if a study is replicable by asking the following questions: Is the description of the design detailed so that duplication of the study is possible? Are the findings clearly described and reported? Are the findings presented clearly and objectively? Can the findings be enhanced with additional research? |
| Research Evidence | Research studies that have been published in a peer-reviewed journal |
| Research Problem | A formal statement of question or hypothesis that implies empirical investigation. |
| Research Question | A question that reframes all of the descriptions of points from the readers' or consumers' perspective. |
| Response Rate | In survey research, the actual percentage of questionnaires completed and returned |
| Rhetorical Inquiry | Entails 1) identifying a motivational concern, 2) posing questions, 3) engaging in a heuristic search (which in composition studies has often occurred by probing other fields), 4) creating a new theory or hypotheses, and 5) justifying the theory |
| Rigor | Degree to which research methods are scrupulously and meticulously carried out in order to recognize important influences occurring in a experiment. |
| Sample | The group of subjects from which data are collected. In other words, the group of people who participate in the study and whose data is used by the researcher. Usually, attempts are made to select a "population" that is considered representative of groups of people to whom results will be generalized or transferred. In studies that use inferential statistics to analyze results or which are designed to be generalizable, sample size is critical--generally the larger the number in the sample, the higher the likelihood of a representative distribution of the population. |
| Sampling Error | The degree to which the results from the sample deviate from those that would be obtained from the entire population, because of random error in the selection of respondent and the corresponding reduction in reliability. |
| Sampling Frame | A listing that should include all those in the population to be sampled and exclude all those who are not in the population. |
| Selective Reduction | The central idea of content analysis. Text is reduced to categories consisting of a word, set of words or phrases, on which the researcher can focus. Specific words or patterns are indicative of the research question and determine levels of analysis and generalization. |
| Serial Effect | In survey research, a situation where questions may "lead" participant responses through establishing a certain tone early in the questionnaire. The serial effect may accrue as several questions establish a pattern of response in the participant, biasing results. |
| Related Research | Not considered scientifically based research, but can be used to provide the following background information: |
