a description of how close a

accuracy measurement is to the true value of the

quantity measured.

break down in order to bring out the

analyse
essential elements or structure

an individual example of something that

case study
is studied in further depth

questions that allow you to confirm your

close questions understanding of needs, usually limits a
response to yes/no

a guideline to help researchers make

code of ethics
better decisions

the act of holding information in

confidentiality confidence, not to be released to
unauthorized individuals

consent permission to do something

a test of the effect of a single variable

controlled experiment by changing it while keeping all other
variables the same

only members of the population who are

convenience sample
easily accessible are selected

the strategy of checking one or more

cross-checking cue sources with another while reading
to verify accuracy
 the outcome factor; the variable that
dependent variable
may change in response

documents
physical artefacts (ie diary, government report)

informed consent, freedom from coercion,

ethics in research protection from harm, risk-benefit analysis,
deception, debriefing, confidentiality

the scientific description of the customs

ethnography
of individual peoples and cultures.

factual actual, real, truthful

field Experiment
an artificial situation set up to test their theory

a study of a phenomenon in a natural

field observation
setting

group Interview
verbal questioning of more than one person

a change in a subject's behavior caused

hawthorne effect
simply by the awareness of being studied

a graph of vertical bars representing the

histogram
frequency distribution of a set of data
 a statement to be tested through
hypothesis
research

the experimental factor that is

independent variable manipulated; the variable whose effect is
being studied

interview
verbal questioning

interviewee a person who is interviewed

the person who asks the questions in an

interviewer
interview

when results are distorted due to the

interviewer bias interviewer being present or the
interviewers behavior

conducted in a lab, a highly controlled

laboratory experiment
environment

manipulated controlled

methodology the methods used to collect data

research incorporates both quantitative

mixed method
and qualitative assessments
 the relationship between two variables in
negative correlation which one variable increases as the other
variable decreases

the individuals selected by a party to run

nominees
for office under that party's label

observation
Researcher watches an event or behavior and records what they see

official statistics
numerical data produced by the government

questions that allow for a variety of

open questions
extended responses

options choices

a process by which the procedures and

peer review results of an experiment are evaluated
by other scientists who are in the same
field or who are conducting similar

pilot study a trial run in survey research

a correlation where as one variable increases, the

positive correlation other also increases, or as one decreases so does
the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

positivism
a philosophy of social research based upon scientific ideas of objectivity
 information that is collected for the first
primary data time; used for solving the particular
problem under investigation

all participants are protected from

protection of participants
physical mental and emotional harm.

qualitative Data
non-numerical data from a sociological study

data associated with mathematical

quantitative data
models and statistical techniques

questionnaire
a written list of questions answered by participants

establishes a predetermined number of

quota
people with a characteristic

the use of chance when designing

randomisation investigations to control for the effects
of bias

every sampling unit has an equal chance

random sampling
of being chosen

if a researcher used identical methods

reliability
and produced the same results

repeating the essence of a research

replication study, usually with different participants in
different situations
representativeness
how typical data is of a certain population

the systematic investigation into and study of

research materials and sources in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions

the core question about your topic you

research question
seek to answer

people who respond to a survey, either

respondents in interviews or by self-administered
questionnaires

measures stability and examines whether

retest reliability
or not results are consistent over time

information that already exists

secondary data somewhere, having been collected for
another purpose

the quality of being worthy of attention;

significance
importance.

recruitment of participants based on

snowball sampling word of mouth or referrals from other
participants

specific clearly defined or identified

statistical studies
 collection of methods for planning
statistics experiments, obtaining data, organizing,
summarizing, presenting, analyzing,
interpreting, and drawing conclusions

sample chosen by variables (ie 10

stratified sampling
women, 10 men)

An interview with predetermined

Structured Interview
questions

the collection of data by having people

survey
answer a series of questions

one of tools for creating e-

surveymonkey.com
questionnaires

select some starting point and then

systematic sampling
select every element in the population

the total group to be studied or

target population described and from whom samples may
be drawn

the degree to which the results can be

temporal validity
generalized across time

testable able to be observed and measured

a measurement of the presence or

time sampling absence of behavior within specific time
intervals
 a written, printed, or typed copy of
transcript
words that have been spoken

research technique in which the

unobtrusive research researcher, without direct contact with
the subjects, examines the evidence of
social behavior that people create or

an interview in which there a few or no

unstructured interview
predetermined questions

validity how true data is for a sample

a practice of remaining impartial, without

value free bias or judgment during the course of a
study and in publishing results