Chapter 6: Research Design-- Making Casual Inferences

Front 1

Case Study Design

Back 1

A comprehensive and in-depth study of a single case or several cases. A nonexperimental design in which the investigator has little control over events.

Front 2

Classical Randomized Experimental Design

Back 2

An experiment with the random assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups with a pretest and posttest for both groups.

Front 3

Cohort

Back 3

A group of people who all experience a significant event in roughly the same time frame.

Front 4

Control Group

Back 4

A group of subjects that does not receive the experimental treatment or test stimulus.

Front 5

Correlation

Back 5

A statement that the values of states of one thing systematically vary with the values of states of another; an association between two variables.

Front 6

Cross-sectional design

Back 6

A research design in which measurements of independent and dependent variables are taken at the same time; naturally occurring differences in the independent variable are used to create quasi-experimental and quasi-control groups; extraneous factors are controlled for by statistical means.

Front 7

Demand Characteristics

Back 7

Aspects of the research situation that cause participants to guess the purpose or rationale of the study and adjust their behavior or opinions accordingly.

Front 8

Experiment

Back 8

Research using a research design in which the researcher controls exposure to the test factor or independent variable, the assignment of subjects to groups, and the measurement of responses.

Front 9

Experimental effect

Back 9

Effect, usually measured numerically, f the experimental variable on the dependent variable.

Front 10

Experimental Group

Back 10

A group of subjects that receives the experimental treatment or test stimulus.

Front 11

Experimental morality

Back 11

A differential loss of subjects from experimental and control groups that affects the equivalency of groups; threat to internal validity.

Front 12

External Validity

Back 12

The ability to generalize from one set of research findings to other situations.

Front 13

Field Experiment

Back 13

Experimental designs applied in a natural setting.

Front 14

Formal Model

Back 14

A simplified and abstract representation of reality that can be expressed verbally, mathematically, or in some other symbolic system and that purports to show how variables or parts of a system are interconnected.

Front 15

Internal Validity

Back 15

The ability to show that manipulation or variation of the independent variable actually causes the dependent variable to change.

Front 16

Intervention Analysis

Back 16

A nonexperimental time series design in which measurements of a dependent variable are taken both before and after the "introduction" of an independent variable.

Front 17

Multi-group design

Back 17

Experimental design with more than one control and experimental group.

Front 18

Period Effect

Back 18

An indicator or measure of history effects on a dependent variable during a specified time.

Front 19

Policy evaluation

Back 19

Objective analysis of economic, political, cultural, or social effects of public policies.

Front 20

Posttest Design

Back 20

Research design in which the dependent variable is measured after, but not before, manipulation of the independent variable.

Front 21

Pretest

Back 21

Measurement of the dependent variable prior to the administration of the experimental treatment or manipulation of the independent variable.

Front 22

Quasi-Experimental design

Back 22

A research design that includes treatment and control groups to which individuals are not assigned randomly.

Front 23

Randomization

Back 23

The random assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups.

Front 24

Repeated-measurement design

Back 24

A plan that calls for making more than one measure of observation of a dependent variable at different times over the course of the study.

Front 25

Research Design

Back 25

A plan specifying how the researcher intends to fulfill the goals of the study; a logical plan for testing hypotheses.

Front 26

Selection Bias

Back 26

Bias due to the assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups according to some criterion and not randomly; threat to internal validity.

Front 27

Simulation

Back 27

A simple representation of a system in order to study its behavior.

Front 28

Small-N Design

Back 28

A research design in which the researcher examines one or a few cases of a phenomenon in considerable detail.

Front 29

Statistical Regression

Back 29

Change in the dependent variable due to the temporary nature of extreme values; threat to internal validity.

Front 30

Test Stimulus or test factor

Back 30

The independent variable introduced and controlled by an investigator in order to assess its effects on a response or dependent variable.

Front 31

Time Series Design

Back 31

A research design (sometimes called a longitudinal design) featuring multiple measurements of the dependent variable before and after experimental treatment.

Front 32

Trend Analysis

Back 32

Research design that measures a dependent variable at different times and attempts to determine wether the level of the variable is changing and, if it is, why.