Research Methods Final Exam 3

Guidelines for Presentation of Tables

-A table should have a heading or title that describes what is contained in the table. -Original content should be clearly presented. -The attributes of each variable should be clearly indicated. -The base on which percentage are computed should be indicated. -Missing data should be indicated in the table.

What should codebooks have?

-Abbreviated variable name -Variable definition -Numerical label -Variable attributes

How to construct a Bivariate Table?

-Determine logical direction of relationship (independent variable and dependent variable). -Percentaging a table >Percentage down or percentage across? >Depends on the location the of independent variable in table

What are the two basic approaches for developing code categories?

-First, you can began with a relatively well-developed coding scheme -Second, you can generate codes from your data.

Purposes of the Codebook

-Primary guide in the coding processes (data entry) -Guide for locating variables (during analysis) >Especially true to analyze previous data already recorded

Glaser and Strauss described the Constant Comparative method, it involved:

1. Comparing incidents applicable to each category 2. Integrating categories and their properties 3. Delimiting the theory 4. Writing theory

How is a Chi square computed:

Subtracts the expected frequency for that cell from the observed frequency Squares this quantity Divides the squared difference by the expected frequency

Memoing

Writing memos that become part of the data for analysis in qualitative research such as grounded theory. Memos can describe and define concepts, deal with methodological issues, or offer initial theoretical formulations

Descriptive Statistics

describe either the characteristics of a sample (univariate) or the relationship among variables in a sample (bivariate and multivariate)

Subgroup Comparisons

description of subsets of cases, subjects or respondents

Multiple Regression Analysis

equation representing the impact of two or more independent variables on a single dependent variable.

Interpolation

estimating cases lying between those observed

Extrapolation

estimating cases that lie beyond the range of observations

Nominal variables

have two or more categories without having any kind of natural order. they are variables with no numeric value, such as occupation or political party affiliation

Code Notes

identify the codes you are using with specific definitions

Plagiarism

presenting someone else's words or thoughts as though they were your own, constituting intellectual theft

Quantification

the process of converting data to a numerical data

Axial coding

the reanalysis of the results of open coding in the Grounded Theory Method, aimed at identifying the important, general concepts

Semiotics

the study of signs and the meanings associated with them. This commonly associated with content analysis.

Time lagged regression analysis

could be used to address this more complex case

Factor Analysis

A complex algebraic method for determining the general dimensions or factors that exist within a set of concrete observations

Path Analysis

A form of multivariate analysis in which the casual relationships among variables are presented in a graphic format

Conversation Analysis (CA)

A meticulous analysis of the details of conversation, based on a complete transcript that includes pauses, hems, and also haws

Time-Series Analysis

An analysis of changes in a variable (such as crime rates) over time

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Analytic technique in which researchers map quantitative data that describe geographic units in a graphic display

Elements in logic

Assumptions regarding the independence of two variables in the population study Assumptions regarding the representativeness of samples selected through conventional probability-sampling procedures The observed joint distribution of sample elements in terms of the two variables

Log-Linear Models

Data-analysis technique based on specifying models that describe the interrelationships among variables and then comparing expected and observed table-cell frequencies

What are the dangers in the interpretation of significance tests

First, we've been discussing tests of statistical significance; there are no objective tests of substance significance Second, lest you misled by this hypothetical example, realize that significance should not be calculated on relationships observed in data collected from whole populations Third, tests of significance are based on the same sampling assumptions we used in computing confidence intervals

The abstract serves what two major functions?

It gives you a good idea as to whether you'll want to read the rest of the article It establishes a framework within which to read the rest of the article

Analysis of variance (ANOVA)

Method of analysis in which cases under study are combined into groups representing an independent variable, and the extent to which the groups differ from one another is analyzed in terms of some dependent variable. Then, the extent to which the groups differ is compared with the standard of random distribution

Discriminant Analysis

Method of analysis similar to multiple regression, except that the dependent variable can be nominal

The two forms of ANOVA:

One way analysis variance Two way analysis variance

Types of Coding:

Open coding Axial coding Selective coding

Concept Mapping

The graphic display of concepts and their interrelations, useful in the formulation of theory

What is the simplest form of analysis?

Univariate Analysis

Research monograph

a book-length research report, either published or unpublished. This is distinguished from a textbook, a book of essays, a novel, and so forth

To conduct a qualitative analysis, researchers often must engage in what?

a coding process after the data have been collected

Constant Comparative Method

a component of the Grounded Theory Method in which observations are compared with one another and with the evolving inductive theory

Search engine

a computer program designed to locate where specified terms appear on websites throughout the World Wide Web

Frequency distribution

a description of the number of times the various attributes of a variable are observed in a sample. >Ex. A report that 53 percent of a sample were men and 47 percent were women would be a simple example of a frequency distribution.

Partial Regression Analysis

a form of regression analysis in which the effects of one or more variables are held constant

Curvilinear Regression Analysis

a form of regression analysis that allows relationships among variables to be expressed with curved geometric lines instead of straight ones.

Curvilinear regression analysis

a form of regression analysis that allows relationships among variables to be expressed with curved geometric lines instead of straight ones.

Partial regression analysis

a form of statistical analysis in which the effects of one or more variables are held constant, similar to the logic of the elaboration model

Linear regression analysis

a form of statistical analysis that seeks the equation for the straight line that best describes the relationship between two ratio variables

Multiple regression analysis

a form of statistical analysis that seeks the equation representing the impact of two or more independent variables on a single dependent variable

Contingency table

a format for presenting the relationships among variables are percentage distributions

Chi square

a frequently used test of significance in social science

Statistical significance

a general term referring to the likelihood that relationships observed in a sample could be attributed to sampling error alone

Proportionate reduction of error (PRE)

a logical model for assessing the strength of a relationship by asking how much knowing values on one variable would reduce our errors in guessing values on the other.

Standard deviation

a measure of dispersion around the mean, calculated so that approximately 68% of the cases will lie within plus or minus one standard deviation from the mean, 95% will lie within plus or minus two standard deviations and 99.9% will lie within three standard deviations

Descriptive statistics

a medium for describing data in manageable forms. Statistical computations describing either the characteristics of a sample or the relationship among variables in a sample. This merely summarizes a set of sample observations, whereas inferential statistics move beyond the description of specific observations to make inferences about the larger population from which the sample observations were drawn.

Regression Analysis

a method of data analysis in which the relationships among variables are represented in the form of an equation, called a regression equation.

Regression analysis

a method of data analysis in which the relationships among variables are represented in the form of an equation, called a regression equation.

Abstract

a summary of a research article. The abstract usually begins the article and states the purpose of the research, the methods used, and the major findings

Discrete variable

a variable whose attributes are separate from one another, or discontinuous as in the case of gender or religious affiliation. Contrast this with continuous variables in which one attribute shades off into the next. >This in age (continuous variable), the attributes progress steadily from 21 to 22 to 23 and so forth, whereas there is no progression from male to female in the case of gender

Continuous variable

a variable whose attributes form a steady progression, such as age or income. >Thus, the ages of a group of people might include 21, 22, 23, 24, and so forth and could even be broken down into fractions of years. Contrast this with discrete variables, such as gender or religious affiliation whose attributes form discontinuous chunks.

Average

an ambiguous term generally suggesting typical or normal- a central tendency. The mean, median, and mode are specific examples of mathematical averages. >Social scientists should not use this

Case-oriented

an analysis that aims to understand a particular case or several cases by looking closely at the details of each

Variable-oriented analysis

an analysis that describes and/or explains a particular variable

Cross-case analysis

an analysis that involves an examination of more than one case; this can be either a variable-oriented or case-oriented analysis

Mean

an average computed by summing the values of several observations and dividing by the number of observations. >If you now have a grade point average of 4.0 based on 10 courses, and you get an F in this course, your new grade point (mean) average will be 3.6.

Mode

an average representing the most frequently observed value or attribute. >If a sample contains 1,000 Protestants, 275 Catholics, and 33 Jews, Protestants is the modal category.

Median

an average representing the value of the "middle" case in a rank-ordered set of observations. >If the ages of five men are 16, 17, 20, 54, and 88, the median would be 20. (The mean would be 39.)

Grounded Theory Method

an inductive approach to research, introduced by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, in which theories are generated solely from an examination of data rather than being derived deductively

Inferential statistics

assists researchers in drawing conclusions from their observations; typically, this involves drawing conclusions about a population from the study of a sample drawn from it. the body of statistical computations relevant to making inferences from findings based on sample observations to some larger population

Central tendency

beyond simply reporting the overall distribution of values, sometimes called the marginal frequencies or just the marginals, you may choose to present your data in the of an average or measure of central tendency.

Coding

classifying or categorizing individual pieces of data

T-Test (students t)

commonly used measure for judging the statistical significance of differences in group means

Level of significance

in the context of statistical significance, the degree of likelihood that an observed, empirical relationship could be attributable to sampling error. A relationship is significant at the .05 level if the likelihood of its being only a function of sampling error is no greater than 5 out of 100.

Ordinal variables

is a categorical variable for which the possible values are ordered. Ordinal variables can be considered "in between" categorical and quantitative variables.

Interval or ratio variables

is a measurement where the difference between two values is meaningful. The difference between a temperature of 100 degrees and 90 degrees is the same difference as between 90 degrees and 80 degrees.

Coding Units

it is important to identify a standard unit of analysis prior to coding

Unexplained variation

it represents errors that still exist even when estimates are based on known values of X.

Theoretical Notes

may cover numerous topics, how concepts relate, deeper/underlying meanings, etc. as we try to make sense of our data

How do you distribute univariate analysis?

report all individual cases, to list attributed for each case under the study in terms of the variable in question

Operational Notes

specifically for methodological issues

Regression line

stated in the form of a regression equation that permits the estimation of values on the other

Linear Regression Analysis

straight line that best describes the relationship between two variables.

Data Reduction

summarizing a large amount of data in a way that readers can easily understand

Univariate analysis

the analysis of a single variable, for purposes of description. Frequency distributions, averages, and measures of dispersion would be examples of univariate analysis, as distinguished from bivariate and multivariate

Multivariate analysis

the analysis of the simultaneous relationships among several variables. Examining simultaneously the effects of age, gender, and social class on regiosity would be an example of multivariate analysis. (explanatory research)

Bivariate Analysis

the analysis of two variables simultaneously, for the purpose of determining the empirical relationship between them. The construction of a simple percentage table or the computation of a simple correlation coefficient are examples of bivariate analyses.

Statistics

the applied branch of mathematics especially appropriate for a variety of research analyses.

Explained variation

the difference between the total variation and the unexplained variation.

Dispersion

the distribution of values around some central value, such as an average. >The range is a simple example of a measure of dispersion. Thus, we may report that the mean age of a group is 37.9, and the range is from 12 to 89.

Codebook

the document used in data processing and analysis that tells the location of different data items in a data file. Typically, the codebook identifies the locations of data items and the meaning of the codes used to represent different attributes of variables

Open coding

the initial classification and labeling of concepts in qualitative data analysis. The codes suggested by the researchers examination and questioning of the data

Sociological Diagnostic

the multivariate techniques we're now exploring can serve as powerful tools for diagnosing social problems. They can be used to replace opinions with facts and to settle ideological debates with data analysis.

Qualitative analysis

the nonnumerical examination and interpretation of observations, for the purpose of discovering underlying meanings and patterns of relationships. This is most typical of field research and historical research.

Quantitative analysis

the numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect.

Selective coding

this analysis builds on the results of open and axial coding to identify the central concept that organizes the other concepts that have been identified in the body of textual materials

Nonsampling error

those imperfections of data quality that are a result of factors other than sampling error.

Content Analysis

transforms qualitative data into code categories. This is analyzed quantitatively (by examining the number of times each code appears).

URL

web address, typically beginning with "http://"; stands for "uniform locator" or "universal resource locator"