Chapter 6 Research Methods And Designs

Front 1

Unit of analysis

Back 1

the level of social life on which the research question is focused, such as individuals, groups, towns, or nations

Front 2

Units of observation:

Back 2

the level of social life at which data is collected

Front 3

Ecological Fallacy:

Back 3

a group level premise is used to draw conclusions about individuals (drawing conclusions about individual-level processes from group level data)

Front 4

Reductionist Fallacy

Back 4

Making inferences about group processes from individual data

Front 5

Cross-sectional research design:

Back 5

all data are collected at one point in time

Front 6

Repeated Cross-Sectional Design:

Back 6

data are collected from different samples within the same population

Front 7

Fixed sample panel design

Back 7

data are collected from the same individuals

Front 8

Event-based Design:

Back 8

data are collected from different samples within a cohort

Front 9

Cohort:

Back 9

individuals or groups with a common starting point

Front 10

Cause:

Back 10

An explanation for some characteristic, attitude, or behavior of groups individuals, other entities, or for events

Front 11

Nomothetic causal explanation:

Back 11

an explanation involving the belief that variation in the independent variable will be followed by variation in the dependent variable, when all other things are equal

Front 12

Counterfactual:

Back 12

the situation as it would have been in the absence of variation in the independent variable

Front 13

Causal effect (nomothetic perspective):

Back 13

The finding that change in one variable leads to change in another variable, other things being equal

Front 14

Idiographic causal explanation:

Back 14

the concrete, individual sequence of events, thoughts, or actions that resulted in a particular outcome for a particular individual or that led to a particular event

Front 15

Causal effect

Back 15

the finding that a series of events following an initial set of conditions leads in a progressive manner to a particular event or outcome

Front 16

Association:

Back 16

Empirical (observed) correlation between the independent and dependent variables

Front 17

Time Order:

Back 17

The independent variable comes before the dependent variable

Front 18

Nonspuriousness:

Back 18

The relationship between the independent and the dependent variable must not be due to a third variable

Front 19

Randomization

Back 19

the use of random techniques to designate subjects into treatment or comparison group(s)

Front 20

Statistical control:

Back 20

a technique used in nonexperimental research to reduce the risk of spuriousness.

Front 21

Mechanism:

Back 21

the process that creates a connection between the variation in an independent variable and the variation in the dependent variable it is hypothesized to cause

Front 22

Context:

Back 22

Identification of other variables that allow for the relationship between the independent and dependent variable to occur