Making Sense Of The Social World

Front 1

Anomalous (23)

Back 1

Unexpected patterns in data that do not seem to fit the theory being proposed

Front 2

Cohort (29)

Back 2

Individuals or groups with a common starting point

Front 3

Cohort design (29)

Back 3

A longitudinal study n which data are collectd at two or more points in time from individuals in a cohort (a group with a common starting point)

Front 4

Confidentiality (33)

Back 4

Provided by research in which identifying infomation that could be used to link respondents to their responses is available only to designated research peronnel for specific research needs

Front 5

Cross-sectional research design (25)

Back 5

A study in which data are collected at only one point in time

Front 6

Deductive research (20)

Back 6

The type of research in which a specific expectation is deduced from a general premise and is then tested

Front 7

Dependent variable (22)

Back 7

A variable that is hypothesized to vary depending on or under the influence of another variable.
Example: percentage of community residents who are homeless

Front 8

Direction of association (22)

Back 8

A pattern in a relationship between two variables--that is, the value of a variable tends to change consistently in relation to change in the other variable. The direction of association can be either positive or negative

Front 9

Ecological fallacy (30)

Back 9

An error in reasoning in which incorrect conclusions about individual-level processes are drawn from group-level data

Front 10

Group unit of analysis (25)

Back 10

A unit of analysis in which groups are the source of data and the focus of conclusions

Front 11

Hypothesis (21)

Back 11

A tentative statement about empirical reality involving a relationship between two or more variables.
Example: the higher the poverty rate in a community, the higher the percentage of community residents who are homeless

Front 12

Independent variable (22)

Back 12

A variable that is hypothesized to cause, or lead to, variation in another variable.
Example: poverty rate

Front 13

Individual unit of analysis (25)

Back 13

A unit of analysis in which individuals are the source of data and the focus of conclusions

Front 14

Inductive reasoning (23)

Back 14

The type of reasoning that moves from the specific to the general

Front 15

Inductive research (21)

Back 15

The type of research in which general conclusions are drawn from specific data

Front 16

Institutional review board / IRB (34)

Back 16

A group of organizational and community representatives required by federal law to review the ethical issues in all proposed research that is federally funded, involves human subjects, or has any potential for harm to subjects

Front 17

Longitudinal research design (25)

Back 17

A study in which data are collected that can be ordered in time; also defined as research in which data are collected at two or more points in time

Front 18

Panel design (28)

Back 18

A longitudinal study in which data are collected from the same individuals --the panel--at two or more points in time

Front 19

Reductionist fallacy / Reductionism (32)

Back 19

An error in reasoning that occurs when incorrect conclusions about group-level processes are based on indiviual-level data

Front 20

Research circle (21)

Back 20

A diagram of the elements of the research process, including theories, hypotheses, data collection, and data analysis

Front 21

Serendipitous (24)

Back 21

Unexpected patterns in data, which stimulate new ideas or theoretical approaches

Front 22

Social research question (18)

Back 22

A question about the social world that is answered through the collection and analysis of firsthand, verifiable, empirical data

Front 23

Theory (19)

Back 23

A logically interrelated set of propositions about empirical reality

Front 24

Trend / Repeated cross-sectional design (27)

Back 24

A longitudinal study in which data are collected at two or more points in time from different samples of the same population

Front 25

Units of analysis (29)

Back 25

The entities being studied, whose behavior is to be understood

Front 26

Variable (21)

Back 26

Characteristics or properties that can vary, or change
Examples: poverty rate, percentage of community residents who are homeless