Types of contribution of the study:

- The contributions of a study can

be conceptual/theoretical, empirical, or methodological in
nature.
Conceptual contributions could involve such things as:
I. Improved conceptual definitions of the original constructs.
II. The identification and conceptual definition of additional constructs to be added to the
conceptual framework (e.g., additional dependent, independent, mediating, and/or moderator
variables).
III. The development of additional theoretical linkages (i.e., research hypotheses) with their
accompanying rationale.
IV. The development of improved theoretical rationale for existing linkages.
Empirical contributions would include such things as:
I. Testing a theoretical linkage between two constructs that has not previously been tested.
II. Examining the effects of a potential moderator variable on the nature of the relationship
between two constructs.
III. Determining the degree to which a variable mediates the relationship between two
constructs.
IV. Investigating the psychometric properties of an important scale.
When field studies are being used, methodological
contributions might involve changes in the design of past studies that:
I. Reduce the potential problems with shared method variance through the insightful use of
multiple methods of measurement.
II. Increase the generalizability of the research through more appropriate sampling procedures.
III. Allow the investigation of the plausibility of "third-variable explanations" for the results
of past studies.
IV. Enhance the construct validity of key measures through the use of refined multiple-item
measures and/or the use of measurement approaches that do not rely on self-reports.
Falsifiability is the capacity for some proposition, statement, theory or hypothesis to be
proven wrong. ... The requirement of falsifiability means that conclusions cannot be drawn
from simple observation of a particular phenomenon.
2. The attempt to disprove a testable proposition. In the scientific method, hypotheses are
supported by failing to reject (that is, "falsifying") them based on empirical evidence.

Conjectures • A conjecture is like an hypothesis to a scientist •

Scientists write hypotheses and test them to see if they are true • Similarly, in
mathematics, a conjecture is just an initial conclusion that you formed based on
what you see and already know, but for which no proof has been found.
A testable hypothesis is a hypothesis that can be proved or disproved as a result of
testing, data collection, or experience. Only testable hypotheses can be used to conceive and
perform an experiment using the scientific method

VALIDITY A measurement principle in which the variables you observe actually

demonstrate the concepts you seek to study. If your measurements are valid, then
you really are measuring what you think you are measuring

RELIABILTY A measurement principle in which the measurement procedures you

use can generate the same measurements if they were to be repeated at a different
time, on a comparable sample, or (in qualitative research) by a different researcher.
nonprobability sampling methods:
Methods for drawing a sample in which the probability of selecting population elements is not
known. To satisfy concerns about the sample's representativeness, the researcher must
probability sampling methods:
Methods for drawing a sample in which the probability of selecting population elements is
known. The researcher uses random sampling so that the representativeness of the sample
characteristics to the (known) population characteristics can be statistically calculatedexplicitly
explain how the sample represents the population from which it was drawn.
Empirical generalizability The process of making claims based on empirical data observed in a
particular context about the relationships between concepts in a broader set of contexts.
Theory: A set of logically consistent ideas about the relationships between empirical
phenomena (i.e., concepts) that permits those ideas to be tested using observations.
hypothesis:A conditional statement that is logically consistent with a theory and can be tested
with observations.