Unit 25 Glossary
Keyword Definition
Abstract An abstract is a summary of a research
article which is located at the beginning
before the introduction. An abstract
outlines methods used to carry out the
research and key findings.
Action research Sometimes referred to as practitioner
research. Action research is research that
practitioner's carry out about their day-to-
day work. One of its aims is to improve
practice, and also to benefit themselves as
practitioner’s.
Anonymity It is an ethical principle to protect the
identity of participants. Therefore, in
research studies, participants may not be
known to the researcher- they are
anonymous, e.g. a survey may not include
someone's name or identifying
characteristics.
Article An article is a report about a research
study.
Case study A case study can be of a person or a
setting (e.g. a hospital, nursery, residential
home). A case study collects a range of
data, e.g. interviews, documents,
observations. The aim is to acquire a deep
understanding of the subject.
Child The study of child development focuses on
Development the stages that children typically go
through regarding their physical,
intellectual, emotional and social
development.
Confidentiality Anonymity for participants is not always
possible, e.g. in qualitative studies. The
ethic of maintaining confidentiality
therefore may replace anonymity.
Researchers will use pseudonyms for
participants. They ensure that data about
participants is kept securely.
Ethics Ethics are the principles that apply to
research in order to protect participants
from harm or distress.
Evaluate Evaluating research means to decide how
, much weight to give to evidence. It
involves considering the strengths and
limitations of the research methods used
to obtain the evidence.
Evidence base Research studies can provide evidence
about the effectiveness of treatments,
interventions and practices. When
research has produced evidence that a
treatment, intervention or practice is
effective, the findings add to the evidence
base. In other words, it is considered a
reliable or effective treatment,
intervention or practice.
Experimental A research method that uses a scientific
method approach. This method often involves
participants being put randomly into two
groups. One group is given the treatment
or intervention and the other group is not.
The outcomes for each group are
measured and compared.
Factors Factors are things that are relevant, e.g.
the factors that influence people's
decision to stop smoking could be their
peers and their families, health concerns,
cost, etc.
Focus group A focus group is a small group of people
who are interviewed to get generalised
opinions about a topic of interest for the
researcher.
Generalisability A judgement of how relevant the research
findings are to other settings. Research
that uses large representative samples is
more generalisable than studies with small
sample sizes.
Hypothesis A set of research questions that you set
out to answer through your research.
Interview A research method that is used frequently
in qualitative studies. Semi-structured or
unstructured interviews involve a
researcher asking participants open
questions that encourage them to talk
about their experiences. They can be
carried out with individuals or groups.
Group interviews are sometimes referred
to as focus groups. Structured interviews
with closed questions are sometimes used
Keyword Definition
Abstract An abstract is a summary of a research
article which is located at the beginning
before the introduction. An abstract
outlines methods used to carry out the
research and key findings.
Action research Sometimes referred to as practitioner
research. Action research is research that
practitioner's carry out about their day-to-
day work. One of its aims is to improve
practice, and also to benefit themselves as
practitioner’s.
Anonymity It is an ethical principle to protect the
identity of participants. Therefore, in
research studies, participants may not be
known to the researcher- they are
anonymous, e.g. a survey may not include
someone's name or identifying
characteristics.
Article An article is a report about a research
study.
Case study A case study can be of a person or a
setting (e.g. a hospital, nursery, residential
home). A case study collects a range of
data, e.g. interviews, documents,
observations. The aim is to acquire a deep
understanding of the subject.
Child The study of child development focuses on
Development the stages that children typically go
through regarding their physical,
intellectual, emotional and social
development.
Confidentiality Anonymity for participants is not always
possible, e.g. in qualitative studies. The
ethic of maintaining confidentiality
therefore may replace anonymity.
Researchers will use pseudonyms for
participants. They ensure that data about
participants is kept securely.
Ethics Ethics are the principles that apply to
research in order to protect participants
from harm or distress.
Evaluate Evaluating research means to decide how
, much weight to give to evidence. It
involves considering the strengths and
limitations of the research methods used
to obtain the evidence.
Evidence base Research studies can provide evidence
about the effectiveness of treatments,
interventions and practices. When
research has produced evidence that a
treatment, intervention or practice is
effective, the findings add to the evidence
base. In other words, it is considered a
reliable or effective treatment,
intervention or practice.
Experimental A research method that uses a scientific
method approach. This method often involves
participants being put randomly into two
groups. One group is given the treatment
or intervention and the other group is not.
The outcomes for each group are
measured and compared.
Factors Factors are things that are relevant, e.g.
the factors that influence people's
decision to stop smoking could be their
peers and their families, health concerns,
cost, etc.
Focus group A focus group is a small group of people
who are interviewed to get generalised
opinions about a topic of interest for the
researcher.
Generalisability A judgement of how relevant the research
findings are to other settings. Research
that uses large representative samples is
more generalisable than studies with small
sample sizes.
Hypothesis A set of research questions that you set
out to answer through your research.
Interview A research method that is used frequently
in qualitative studies. Semi-structured or
unstructured interviews involve a
researcher asking participants open
questions that encourage them to talk
about their experiences. They can be
carried out with individuals or groups.
Group interviews are sometimes referred
to as focus groups. Structured interviews
with closed questions are sometimes used
