| A | B |
|---|
| Interviews | A research tool in which a researcher asks questions of participants; interviews are often audio- or video-taped for later transcription and analysis. |
| Nominal Variable | A variable determined by categories which cannot be ordered, e.g., gender and color |
| Kinesics | Kinesic analysis examines what is communicated through body movement |
| Level Of Analysis | Chosen by determining which word, set of words, or phrases will constitute a concept. According to Carley, 100-500 concepts is generally sufficient when coding for a specific topic, but this number of course varies on a case by case basis. |
| Level Of Generalization | A researcher must decide whether concepts are to be coded exactly as they appear, or if they can be recorded in some altered or collapsed form. Code "damn" and "dammit" As same. |
| Level Of Implication | One must determine whether to code simply for explicit appearances of concepts, or for implied concepts, as well. For example, consider a hypothetical piece of text about skiing, written by an expert. The expert might refer several times to "???," as well as various other kinds of turns. One must decide whether to code "???" as an entity in and of itself, or, if coding for "turn" references in general, to code "???" as implicitly meaning "turn." |
| Matched Comparison Study | A study in which groups who will be compared are created by a non-random method, but where participants in each group are assigned so that they are similar in important characteristics such as ethnic or socioeconomic status, assessment scores, or other variables that might affect study outcomes. |
| Matched T-Test | A statistical test used to compare two sets of scores for the same subject. A matched pairs T-test can be used to determine if the scores of the same participants in a study differ under different conditions. For instance, this sort of t-test could be used to determine if people write better essays after taking a writing class than they did before taking the writing class. |
| Matched Wait List Study | In this type of study, subjects are matched based on certain characteristics, such as age, gender, or race/ethnicity, into pairs. One is then assigned to the intervention group, while the other half of each pair is assigned to this group, which will receive the intervention at a later time. This group serves as the control group. |
| Matching | Process of corresponding variables in experimental groups equally feature for feature. |
| Mean | The average score within a distribution |
| Mean Deviation | A measure of variation that indicates the average deviation of scores in a distribution from the mean: It is determined by averaging the absolute values of the deviations. |
| Median | The center score in a distribution. |
| Mental Models | A group or network of interrelated concepts that reflect conscious or subconscious perceptions of reality. These internal mental networks of meaning are constructed as people draw inferences and gather information about the world. |
| Meta-Analysis | A statistical technique which summarizes the results of several studies into a single estimate of their combined result. It is a key element of many systematic reviews. |
| Mode | The most frequent score in a distribution. |
| Multi-Modal Methods | A research approach that employs a variety of methods; see also triangulation |
| Narrative Inquiry | A qualitative research approach based on a researcher's narrative account of the investigation, not to be confused with a narrative examined by the researcher as data |
| Naturalistic Inquiry | Observational research of a group in its natural setting |
| Irrelevant Information | One must decide what to do with the information in the text that is not coded. One's options include either deleting or skipping over unwanted material, or viewing all information as relevant and important and using it to reexamine, reassess and perhaps even alter the one's coding scheme. |
