Research Methods Final Exam Part I

Front 1

Universal Determinism

Back 1

All events are lawful and ordered, have antecedent factors; truth ONLY derived from empirical observation; Every event that takes place is caused by some condition beforehand even if you are or are not aware of all conditions or events.

Front 2

Generalizability

Back 2

Exists when a conclusion holds true for the population, group, setting, or event that we say it does, given the condition that we specify; it is the extent to which a study can inform us about persons, places, or events that were not directly studied.

Front 3

Sample Generalizability

Back 3

Exists when a conclusion based on a sample, or subset, of a larger population holds true for that population.

Front 4

Cross-population Generalizability

Back 4

External Validity. Exists when findings about one group, population, or setting hold true for other groups, populations, or settings.

Front 5

Variable

Back 5

Characteristic or property that can vary (take on different values or attributes).

Front 6

Stakeholders

Back 6

Individuals and groups who have some basis of concern with the program.

Front 7

Triangulation

Back 7

The use of multiple methods to study one research question.

Front 8

Randomization

Back 8

A procedure by which each experimental subject is placed in a group randomly.

Front 9

Sampling

Back 9

A subset of a population used to study the population as a whole.

Front 10

Sampling Frame

Back 10

A list of all elements or other units containing the elements in a population.

Front 11

Sampling Unit

Back 11

Units listed at each stage of a multistage sampling design.

Front 12

Frequency Distribution

Back 12

Numerical display showing the number of cases, and usually the percentage of cases (the relative frequencies), corresponding to each value or group of values of a variable.

Front 13

Skewness

Back 13

The extent to which cases are clustered more at one end of the distribution of a quantitative variable rather than a symmetric pattern around its center.

Front 14

Positive Skewness

Back 14

A right skew with the number of cases tapering off in the positive direction.

Front 15

Negative Skewness

Back 15

A left skew with the number of cases tapering off in the negative direction.

Front 16

Principle of Parsimony

Back 16

The principle that entities should not be multiplied needlessly; the simplest of two competing theories is to be preferred.

Is the principle that the simplest explanation that can explain the data is to be preferred.

Front 17

Hypothesis

Back 17

A tentative statement about empirical reality involving a relationship between two or more variables.

A statement describing the relationship between 2 concepts.

Front 18

Operational Definition

Back 18

Used to define something in terms of a process needed to determine its existence , duration, and quantity.

Front 19

Literature Map????

Back 19

Graphical technique that helps you to visualize connections and relative relationships between things.

Front 20

Nonspuriousness

Back 20

A criterion for establishing a causal relation between 2 variables, when a relationship between two variables is not due to variation in a third variable.

Front 21

Systems Approach????

Back 21

identifies and evaluates:

Inputs - resources

Process – program delivery

Outputs – services delivery

Outcomes – impact of program

Front 22

Measures of Central Tendency

Back 22

Most common value. Summarized with 1 of 3 statistics: mode, median, mean.

Front 23

Variability

Back 23

The extent to which cases are spread out through the distribution or clustered around just one value.