Midterm 1- Research Writing
Applied research
study completed to develop a product or solve and immediate practical problem.
Explanation
taking an event and treating it as an instance of a larger system of things
Repeatability
the ability of operational definitions and methods to be used by different researchers.
Rules of correspondence
the degree to which a theory's constructs and abstract calculus can be applied to actual experience
Intersubjectivity
the degree to which different researchers with essentially different beliefs draw essentially the same interpretations of the meaning of observations.
Item to total reliability
computing measurement reliability by correlation of items with the total test
Split-half reliability
computing measurement reliability by diving a test into two parts, scoring them separately, and checking the consistency between the two scores
Alternate forms reliability
constructing different forms of the same test from a common pool of measurement items, giving them to a group of people, and determining the degree of consistency between them
Opinions
interpretations of the meaning of collections of facts
Qualitative methods
involves in-depth, case oriented study of a relatively small number of cases, including the single-case study. Seeks detailed knowledge of specific cases, often with the goal of finding out "how" things happen. Primary goal is to make the facts understandable.
Statistics
quantitatave reports based on observations in a sample (contrasted with the study of quantitative information)
Problems
questions we expect to answer through research.
Casual argument
reasoning that "a given factor is responsible for producing certain other results"
Secondary sources
reports provided by individuals who do not have firsthand experience with the events reported.
Primary sources
reports provided by individuals who have firsthand experience with the events reported
Basic research
research completed to learn about relationships among variables, regardless of any immediate commercial product of service.
Organized skepticism
researchers are responsible for verifying the results on which they base their work (do not accept claims blindly)
Communality
researchers are willing to share knowledge freely and contribute to public knowledge
Disinterestedness
researchers must ban ulterior motives and must be relatively free from bias. Any known or possible biases must not be admitted. Means that they don't have a financial stake in the outcome.
Universalism
scientific laws are the same everywhere. A scientific law states a relation between phonemena that is invariable under the same conditions.
Manipulated independent variables
sometimes called "stimulus variables" because researchers introduce and control them in experiments
Theory first inquiry
sometimes called the deductive approach to research, a method of inquiry that develops theory and then gathers data to test it (particularly it's limits)
Data first inquiry
sometimes called the inductive approach to research, a method of inquiry that starts with gathering information and follows by developing theoretic explanations (inductive approach
Definitions
statements asserting that one term may be substituted for another
Null hypotheses
statistical hypotheses that state that there is no relationship between variables.
Communication
the field of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, channels, and media. The field promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication.
Reliability
the internal consistency of a measure.
Abstract calculus
the logical structure of relationships in a theory (if p, then q)
Description
the lowest level of theorizing in which behavior is characterized into different forms
Control
the power to direct things.
Falsification
the requirement that any theory must deal with statements that could be falsified by data and information if the theory were untrue
tentativeness
the requirements that scholars recognize that a theory's answers are provisional
Message
the set of verbal and nonverbal cues communicators exchange.
Normative and prescriptive theory
theories whose principles involve defining the qualities that make communication meaningful or desirable
Quasi interval measures
though perhaps not measures strictly on the interval or ratio level, data that share enough qualities of interval data to permit the use of interval level statistical tools
Research is a reductive process
use concepts to help "reduce the confusion of particular events and objects"
Nominal level measurement
use of numbers as simple identification of variables
Research is a sound argument
uses logic and the methods to evaluate arguments.
Dependent variables
variable whose values or activities are presumed to be conditioned on the independent variable in the hypothesis.
measures/assigned variables
variables not introduced or controlled by the researcher but carefully observed and measured.
Moderate variables
variables that mediate the independent variable's prediction of the dependent variable
Independent variables
variables that predict outcomes (dependent variables) posited in hypotheses
Method of Tenacity
when we claim to know something because we have always known it.
Verbal cues
words people use in communication.
Theory
a body of interrelated principles that explain or predict
Variable
a characteristic to which numbers may be assigned
Research is data driven
applies only to things that can be quantified.
Circularity
definitions that simply repeat things
A priori method
claims knowledge before having any experience with it (all men are created equal)
Psuedoscience
"fake science" in which the self-correcting nature of science is absent and scientific claims are made without serious regard for competent use of the scientific method
Nonverbal cues
communication elements beyond the words themselves.
K-R 20
Kuder-Richardson formula 20 for reliability, used when researchers want to determine the reliability of a measure that has items that are scored as "correct" or "incorrect" answers
Epistemalogy
Reality is "waiting to be discovered through the five senses".
Argument from example and generalization
a method of reasoning taking some particular cases and arguing that what is true of instances is generally true in the population of events
Argument from analogy
a method of reasoning that compares "two things known to be alike in one or more features and suggests that they will be alike in other features as well"
Trial and error method
claims knowledge bby making repeated trials to eliminate unacceptable answers
Constant
a characteristic to which only one number may be assigned
Method of Authority
a claim is accepted because authority figures have accepted it
Reliability coefficient
a correlation of the internal consistency of a measure
Conceptual definition
a definition that relies on other concepts to describe a term
Operational definition
a description of what is to be observed by specifying what researchers must do to make observations.
normative science
a discipline that systematically studies man's attempts to determine what is correct, valuable, good, or beautiful
Cronbach's coeffecient alpha
a formula for reliability, used when researchers want to determine the reliability of a measure that has no "correct" answer
Research
a process of asking a question (or related series of questions) and then initiating a systematic process to obtain valid answers to that question.
Attenuation
a reduction in the size of observed effects because of measurement imperfections
Working hypothesis
a tentative hypothesis assumed for the purposes of initiating research and subject to change as research progresses
Rule
a theory that explains a pattern of effects by referring to human intentions, reasons, or goals. Express patterns of expected activity, though changing intentions, reasons, or goals may make people occasionally appear inconsistent.
Law
a verbal statement, supported by such ample evidence as not to be open to doubt unless much further evidence is obtained, of the way events of a certain class consistently and uniformly occur
Science
a way of testing statements by systematic application of the scientific method
Reports
accounts of what took place whether by participants or by outside observers
Research is partial
advance tentative-but meaningful- insights for communication phenomena.
Hypothetical constructs
also known as concepts, constructs for which direct observations cannot be made. ex: individual needs
Literal analogy
an analogy that compare something to an event or object that really exists
Figurative analogy
an analogy that compares something to a hypothetical situation
Hypothesis
an expectation about events based on generalizations of the assumed relationships between variables.
model
an expression that not only states relationshps but displays them
Measurement
assigning numbers to variable according to some system
Interval level measurement
assignment of numbers to items as a matter of degrees such that "intervals between numbers are equal in size"
Ratio level measurement
assignment of numbers to items such that "any adjoining values are the same distance apart and in which there is a true zero point"
Arguments
claims advanced on the basis of reasoning from evidence.
Categorical data
data taking the form of identification of attributes or levels of variable
Continuous variables
data taking the form of numbers indicating matters of degree on some variable
Inductive reasoning
deals with general inferences we make on the basis of examples of instances.
Factual evidence
descriptions and characterizations of things used to support arguments
Prediction
descriptions of what can be expected in subsequent tests to be made.
Intercoder reliability
determining the consistency of different raters who respond to the same events by using some sort of check sheet
Serendipity
finding something valuable while looking for something else.
Constructs
generalizations about observables according to some common property (summary descriptions about collections of specific variables)
Test-retest reliability
giving the measure twice and reporting consistency between scores
Quantitative methods
inquiries in which observations are expressed predominantly in numerical terms. Has two branches- surveys and experiments. Tend to be explanatory.
Nondirectional material hypotheses
hypotheses that state simply that there will be some kind of relationship between variables (sometimes called "two-tailed" hypotheses because of the way statistics are used to test them)
Directional material hypotheses
hypotheses that state the form of predicted differences.
Metatheories
indicate notions beyond the theories themselves.
Communality
individual researchers pool their findings and build a collective body of knowledge about how the world operates.
Evidence
information used to support claims
Ordinal level measurement
measurement involving rank order on some variable
Argument from definition
method of reasoning in which people submit that things do or do not belong in a certain class
Research is capable of replication
must be able to reduplicate to see if findings are generally true or accidental.
Parameter
numbers computed from a population
Scientific method
observe, develop, test, establish
Direct classification variables
operational definitions that rely on simple identification or classification of observable characteristics of information
Expert Opinion
opinions from people who have special knowledge or training in the field of inquiry (in contrast with lay opinions, which come from people without expertise in the subject under discussion)
Ethical and rhetorical theories
principles that describe good and effective communication, respectively.
Research is systematic
productive research follows steps that carry out some sort of design.
