emand for Communication majors after school - Answers 95%
Reasons for research:
explain - Answers to understand why people do things they do
predict - Answers
make a difference - Answers have a positive influence on something
Key Concepts:
Variable - Answers Any variable that can have 2 or more values
Conceptual vs. Operational - Answers conceptual: the abstract or theoretical meaning of the concept
being studied
operational: a concept or variable in terms of the procedures by which it is to be measured
Hypothesis vs. Research Question - Answers A hypothesis is defined as an educated guess, while a
research question is simply the researcher wondering about the world.
confounding variable - Answers in an experiment, a factor other than the independent variable that
might produce an effect
independent variable - Answers variable that is manipulated
dependent variable - Answers The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to
manipulations of the independent variable.
one-shot case study - Answers a single group of subjects is measured on a dependent variable
following an experimental stimulus
Ex: Whole class watches video, then takes survey
pretest-posttest control group design - Answers design that generally includes random assignment of
participants to conditions, a control group, and measures obtained both before and after training has
occurred
posttest-only design - Answers participants are randomly assigned to independent variable groups
and are tested on the dependent variable once
Ex: One group watches movie and the takes survey, other group only takes survey
Solomon four-group design - Answers experimental design in which the experimental and control
groups are studied with and without a pretest
descriptive research - Answers research occurring in within a naturalistic study
Ethnography Research - Answers researcher living with community to under study
In-depth Interviews - Answers verify and validate information from other sources
Focus groups - Answers 6-12 people & 90 minutes long
Observation - Answers Complete participant, participant as observer, complete observer
member checking - Answers a method of ensuring validity by having participants review and
comment on the accuracy of transcripts, interpretations, or conclusions
data saturation - Answers Point in data collection with no new or relevant information
Validity - Answers the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
external validity - Answers extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settings
internal validity - Answers Whether outcomes are result of experimental treatment
What should I research - Answers