Rm Ch.3: Research Strategies

Front 1

variables

Back 1

measurable quantities that vary or change under different circumstances. categories are mutually exclusive (gender, etc.) and categories are exhaustive (cover all possible examples)

Front 2

independent variables (X) abscissa

Back 2

conditions that cause change in behavior, manipulated to invoke change. all experiments have at least one IV (more than one- investigate the interaction between the variables)

Front 3

dependent variables (Y) ordinate

Back 3

the behavior that is changed. not manipulated. experiment have have more than one DV

Front 4

non-experimental studies

Back 4

IV is observed, not manipulated

Front 5

experimental studies

Back 5

IV is manipulated to determine the effect on the DV. best to find cause/effect relationships, control the occurrence of events (IV) to best observe expected changes in behavior (DV)

Front 6

active IV

Back 6

can be manipulated

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attribute IV

Back 7

cannot be manipulated (age, gender, disorder, etc)

Front 8

continuous variables

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measured along a continuum or dimension, reflects a rank ordering of values (intensity of tone, stuttering freq). LINE graph

Front 9

categorical variables

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different values can only be named (binaural vs. monaural, stutterer vs. nonstutterer). BAR graph

Front 10

bivalent experiments

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studies the effects of TWO values of an IV on the DV. (quiet vs. noisy, low vs. high intensity). limited in scope because of dichotomy rahter than potential range of values. bad if IV is actually continuous. BAR graph

Front 11

multivalent experiments

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studies effects of several (3+) values of one IV on the DV. good for continuous variables, give a broader pic of relationship. helps rule out curvilinear relationships (what happens at the extreme ends?), LINE graph

Front 12

parametric experiment

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studies simultaneous effects of more than one IV on the DV. (2nd IV is called the parameter). main effects of one IV vs other IV. interaction of effects of all IVs on DV. more economical than bi or multivalent. communication behaviors are multivariant so a single IV is difficult to identify.

Front 13

descriptive research

Back 13

observation of natural phenomena, not interested in cause-effect. examines group differences, developmental trends, or relationships among variables.

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the challenge of descriptive research

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remain passive, observe in a natural setting, do not intervene and do not establish causal relations

Front 15

developmental research

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measures behavior or characteristics over time

Front 16

variables in descriptive research: to determine relationships

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predictor variable (IV)/predicted variable (DV)

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types of descriptive research: comparative research

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measures behavior of 2 or more subjects at one point in time in order to draw similarities or differences between them (IV= classified variable) (DV=criterion variable). difficult to establish a cause-effect vs. co-existing condition, difficult to account for group differences. is rich/descriptive.

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types of developmental research: cross sectional

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subjects taken from various groups and differences observed. weakness: differences described between subjects are generalized to changes within subjects

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types of developmental research: longitudinal

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follow the same group over a period of time. advantages: describe changes within one subject, disadvantage: time consuming, expensive, attrition, difficult to generalize

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correlational research

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studies relationship among variables by examining degree to which changes in one can be used to predict changes in the other. knowledge of one group enhanced by knowledge of another group. disadvantages: not causal, only correlational, highly correlated variables may be related to unknown 3rd variable. scatterplots

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correlational research: how related are the variables?

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correlation coefficient (strength, direction)

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correlational research: how predictable are the variables

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regression analysis (predictor predicted)

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survey

Back 23

provides detailed inspection of the prevalence of conditions, practices or attitudes in a given environment by asking people about them, rather than just observing them (questionnaires, interviews, combination). sample concerns: representativeness? return rate? accuracy and veracity of responses?

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retrospective research

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gather data from archival records (olds records or data from another study). how reliable is the data and how representative are the subjects?

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the single case study

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examines in depth specific individuals to illustrate important principle overlooked in examining group. reasons: rare occurrences, insight into clinical techniques, exceptions to general rules. allows for little generalization

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ethnographic studies

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focuses on the sociology of meaning through close field observation of a sociocultural phenomena. informants lead to more informants. information gained is used to interpret other interviews. about the researcher understanding the complexities of another culture. risk of falsely assuming a given measure has the same meaning across cultures.

Front 27

the title

Back 27

identify general problem area or focus of study, identify IV and DV, identify target population, summarize main idea of paper, fully explanatory standing alone, can be used for indexing