Term
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Definition
- Areas of interest (most important consideration)
- Knowledge subject area
- Relevance to profession
- Availability of data
- Ethical issues |
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Term
| 4 P's of a Research Problem |
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Definition
- People
- Problems
- Programs
- Phenomena |
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Term
| Research Problem (step 1) |
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Definition
| identify a broad area of interest |
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Term
| Research Problem (step 2) |
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Definition
| dissect the broad area into subareas |
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Term
| Research Problem (step 3) |
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Definition
| select the one that interests you most |
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Term
| Research Problem (step 4) |
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Definition
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Term
| What brings clarity, specificity, and focus to a research problem? |
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Definition
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Term
| A tentative assumption that the validity is not known |
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Definition
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Term
| Written in such a manner that it can be proven correct, incorrect or partial correct |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
Phase 1 – Formulate assumption
Phase 2 – Collect data
Phase 3 – Analyze data and draw conclusion (proved hypothesis true or false) |
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Term
| Hypothesis Characteristics |
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Definition
- Simple, specific and conceptually clear
- Capable of verification
- Related to an existing body of knowledge
- Measurable |
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Term
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Definition
- Find the answers to research questions
- To prove or disprove the hypothesis
- Find answers to the research problem |
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Term
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Definition
- Formulate 3 questions
- Formulate hypothesis
- Define the purpose of the research |
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Term
| Components of a Literature Review |
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Definition
- Define the Research Problem
- Conceptualizing Research
- Review Literature |
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Term
| Functions of a Literature Review |
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Definition
- Provide theoretical background for your study
- Establish links between what is proposed and what has been studied
- Refines research methodology
- Contribution to the existing body of knowledge in profession
- Contextualize findings
- Clarifies and focus research
- Broadens knowledge base of subject |
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Term
| Review Bibliography of Authors |
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Definition
- Knowledgeable in the area of writing
- Peer reviewed, less than 3 years old
- Equal or greater level to the target audience that article is being published
- Prior publishing |
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Term
| Literature Review Procedure |
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Definition
- Start with broad area of interest
- Keep list of words used in search engines
- Form a rough outline of the main points that are going to cover (helps focus search)
- Ensure the resources are reputable |
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Term
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Definition
| An image, perception, or concept that is capable of measurement/capable of different values |
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Term
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Definition
| gender, age, income, height, weight |
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Term
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Definition
| mental images or perceptions who’s meanings vary markedly, cannot be measured |
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Definition
| effectiveness, satisfaction, high achiever, rich, self-esteem, excellence |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
- Independent variables
- Dependent variables
- Extraneous variables
- Confounding variables |
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Term
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Definition
| responsible for bringing about change |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| may increase or decrease the magnitude of the relationship between the independent and dependent variable |
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Term
| Example of the relationship b/w Variables |
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Definition
- Independent variable = smoking (cause)
- Dependent Variable = cancer (effect)
- Extraneous Variable = duration of smoking |
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Term
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Definition
| Relationship between independent and dependent variable cannot be established |
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Term
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Definition
| the independent variable will have the assumed effect only in the presence of the confounding variable |
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Term
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Definition
| variables that can be changed or controlled (ex.# of cigarettes smoked) |
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Term
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Definition
| variables that cannot be changed (ex. age of patient, education level, income level, race of patient) |
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Term
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Definition
| can only have one value (ex. water) |
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Term
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Definition
| only can be divided into two categories (ex. yes/no, pass/fail) |
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Term
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Definition
| can be divided into more than two categories (healthcare providers - MD, PA, DO, NP) |
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Term
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Definition
can take on any value in the scale in which they are measure
Ex. weight(lbs or kgs), age(years, months, days) |
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Term
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Definition
| Designed to study a phenomenon, situation, problem or issue in a cross section at one time |
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Term
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Definition
| One interaction with participants |
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Term
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Definition
- Measures the change in a situation, issue, problem, phenomenon
- Collect data, intervention, collect second set of data |
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Term
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Definition
| Has two interactions with participants |
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Term
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Definition
- Determine patterns of change over time
- Collect data over a specific set of time at set intervals |
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Term
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Definition
| Three or more interventions with participants |
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Term
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Definition
| - Investigates phenomenon, issues, situations, problems that have happened in the past to try to make predictions about the future |
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Term
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Definition
- Based on data available from that time
- Based on participant recall of events |
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Term
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Definition
| Likely prevalence of a phenomenon, situation, problem, outcome in the future |
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Term
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Definition
| In experimental studies, the group of participants that do not receive intervention |
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Term
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Definition
| Different groups receive different interventions and the results are compared |
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Term
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Definition
| The group that receives a treatment that is ineffective |
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Term
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Definition
| Based on the existence of a common character (year of birth, marriage, job description) |
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Term
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Definition
| the participants do not know if they are getting the intervention or the placebo |
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Term
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Definition
| researcher and participants do not know who’s getting the intervention or the placebo = eliminates bias |
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Term
| Methods of Data Collection (primary source) |
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Definition
- Observation
- Interview
- Survey/Questionnaire |
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Term
| Methods of Data Collection (secondary collection) |
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Definition
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Term
| Data collection (observation) |
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Definition
| data is collected by watching and listening to interaction taking place |
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Term
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Definition
| researcher participates in the activities of the groups being observed with/without their knowledge of the observation process |
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Term
| Non-participant Observation |
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Definition
| researcher does not get involved with the activity, but just watches and listens |
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Term
| Non-participant Observation |
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Definition
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Term
| Problems with Observation |
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Definition
- Individual/group behaviors change if they are aware that they are being observed (Hawthorne Effect)
- Observer bias
- Interpretations drawn are going to vary between observers
- Incomplete observation |
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Term
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Definition
| Individual/group behaviors change if they are aware that they are being observed |
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Term
| Conditions of Observation |
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Definition
A) Natural – under natural conditions
B) Controlled – introduce a stimulation and watching the response |
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Term
| Recording of observation (narrative) |
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Definition
| researcher records interactions in their own words as soon after the event as possible |
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Term
| Recording of observation (Scales) |
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Definition
at the time of the interaction, participants are rated.
- Three directional = positive, negative and neutral |
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Term
| Recording of Observation (mechanical device) |
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Definition
- video/audio to be transcribed at a later date.
- Disadvantage –people act differently when video taped |
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Term
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Definition
- Structured (setting, content/questions, session)
- Unstructured (setting, content/questions, session)
- Group setting
- Individual – one on one |
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Term
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Definition
- More appropriate for complex situations
- Useful for collecting in-depth information
- Information can be supplemented
- Questions can be explained
- Wider application – children, handicapped, elderly, illiterate |
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Term
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Definition
- Time consuming
- Expensive
- Quality of data dependent on interaction
- Dependent on interviewer skills
- Bias – researcher/interviewer |
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Term
| Data Collection (survey/questionnaire) |
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Definition
- Written list of questions
- Answered by participant
- Returned to researcher |
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Term
| How are surveys/questionnaires administered? |
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Definition
- Mailed
- Collective administration – end of a course/conference
- Public Place |
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Term
| Components of a Cover Letter |
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Definition
- Introduce you & institution
- Explain main objective (2 or 3 sentences)
- Explain relevance of the study
- General instructions |
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Term
| Components of a Cover Letter |
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Definition
- Participation in study is voluntary
- Assure respondent anonymity
- Provide contact information for ?S
- Return address and deadlines
- Thank them for participating in study |
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Term
| Survey/Questionnaire Advantages |
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Definition
- Less expensive
- Greater anonymity |
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Term
| Survey/Questionnaire Disadvantages |
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Definition
- Limited (population read/write, excludes very young, very old, handicapped, & illiterate)
- Response rate is low (20-30%)
- Self – selecting bias (not everyone will return the survey) |
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Term
| Survey/Questionnaire Disadvantages |
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Definition
- Decreased opportunity to clarify questions
- No spontaneous response (time to reflect before response)
- Questions can influence the answer of other questions
- Respondent can consult others before replying |
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Term
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Definition
- Use simple everyday language
- Do not use ambiguous terms
- Do not ask double- barreled questions (How often and how much time do you spend seeing a doctor/PA)
- Do not use leading questions (Health care is getting more expensive, isn’t it)
- Do not ask questions based on presumptions (How many beers do you drink in a day) |
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Term
| Data Collection (secondary sources) |
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Definition
- Gov’t publications
- Earlier Research
- Personal Records
- Mass media |
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Term
| Secondary Data Sources Disadvantages |
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Definition
- Validity and reliability
- Personal bias
- Availability of data
- Format = data maybe recorded in a different format than what you were going to discuss |
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Term
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Definition
instrument (data collection method) measures what it is designed to measure
- always measures accurately
- Ex: place an object on one scale and weighs same on another scale |
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Term
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Definition
- Face and context validity
- Concurrent and predictive validity
- Construct validity |
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Term
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Definition
| An instrument measures what it is supposed to based on the logical link between the questions and the objectives |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| questions cover the full range of issues and attitudes being measured |
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Term
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Definition
| the degree to which the an instrument can forecast the outcome |
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Term
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Definition
| how well an instrument compares with a second instrument concurrently being done |
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Term
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Definition
| Based on statistical procedure the validity of an instrument is established |
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Term
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Definition
The tool/instrument is constant, stable and predictable
- Example: scale is always 5 lbs heavier |
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Term
| Factors that affect reliability |
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Definition
- Wording of the questions
- The physical setting
- Respondent’s mood
- The nature of the interaction/interview situation
- Regression effect of an instrument (2nd time will get different answers) |
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Term
| Methods to determine reliability |
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Definition
- Test/Re-Test
- Parallel forms of the same test |
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Term
| Attitudinal Scales (Likert scale) |
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Definition
- Finds out the degree that the respondent agrees/disagrees
- Easiest to construct (open ended/closed ended questions)
- Each question has the same weight |
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Term
| Attitudinal Scale (thurstone) |
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Definition
- A panel of ‘judges’ assigns a weight to each of the questions
- Difficult to construct
- Weakness = judges and respondents attitudes may be different |
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Term
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Definition
- Cause-effect approach
- STRUCTURED AND RIGID
- Proves or disproves a hypothesis
- Explains prevalence, incidence and nature of the issues
- More analytical
- Greater sample size (>30 to be significant) |
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Term
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Definition
| hypothesis is formed first |
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Term
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Definition
- Explores experiences, meanings, perceptions and feelings
- Fewer cases/respondents
- Data is based on subject responses and narratives
- Data is more descriptive
- Unstructured and flexible |
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Term
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Definition
| Hypothesis is usually developed during/after data collection |
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Term
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Definition
| combinations of Quantitative and Qualitative research |
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Term
| Quasi-experimental Design |
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Definition
| Usually used when it’s unethical to exclude a portion of the study group from the intervention |
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Term
| Quasi-experimental Design |
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Definition
| Results of a previous group not exposed to the intervention is compared to the result of the entire current group after being exposed to the intervention |
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Term
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Definition
| A statistical technique summarizing and reviewing previous quantitative research data |
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Term
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Definition
- Evaluates the relative impact of independent variables
- Evaluates the strength of relationship between variables |
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Term
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Definition
| the group on which the research is to be conducted |
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Term
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Definition
| when it is not possible to conduct research on the entire study population, a portion of the group selected |
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Term
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Definition
| an analysis of the data collected from the sample group |
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Term
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Definition
| applying the outcomes of the sample group towards the study population |
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Term
| Sample Group Disadvantages |
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Definition
- sample groups compromise the accuracy of your findings
- data is only estimates and predictions |
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Term
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Definition
| saves time, money and human resources |
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Term
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Definition
| the difference between the Population Mean (PM) and the Sample Statistics (SS) |
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Term
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Definition
| in qualitative research when no new data is being collected from interviews or observation |
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Term
| Study Population can be denoted by |
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Definition
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Term
| sample group can be denoted by |
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Definition
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Term
| Principles of Sampling (#1) |
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Definition
| difference between sample statistics and the true population mean. |
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Term
| Principles of Sampling (#2) |
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Definition
| The greater the sample size, the more accurate the estimates (sampling statistics) will be when compared to the true population mean. |
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Term
| Principles of Sampling (#3) |
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Definition
| the greater the difference in the variables under study in a population, the greater the difference between the sample statistics and the true population mean. |
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Term
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Definition
- Random/probability sampling design
- Non-random/non-probability sampling
design
- "Mixed" sampling design |
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Term
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Definition
| Each element in the population has an equal and independent chance of being selected for the sample group |
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Term
| 3 Types of Random Sampling |
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Definition
- Simple random sampling
- Stratified random sampling
- Cluster sampling |
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Term
| Examples of simple random sampling |
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Definition
- Fishbowl
- Computer program |
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Term
| Disadvantage of Simple Random Sampling |
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Definition
| may not reflect the true population |
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Term
| Stratified Random Sampling |
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Definition
| Variables are entered for selection process |
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Term
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Definition
| Large numbers of population can be divided into groups (Ex.city, counties, or states) |
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Term
| Types of Non-random/non-probability Sampling |
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Definition
- Quota sampling
- Accidental sampling
- Judgmental or purposive sampling
- Snowball sampling |
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Term
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Definition
| when a specific characteristic is desired for the research |
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Term
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Definition
| based on convenience in accessing the sampling population |
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Term
| Judgmental or Purposive Sampling |
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Definition
| gather information only from respondents that have “the best information on the subject” in the judgment of the researcher |
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Term
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Definition
- selecting sample using networks.
- Each respondent suggest 3 more people to interview (biased sampling, may be good to know who has knowledge about topic) |
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Term
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Definition
| Uses both random and non-random sampling |
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Term
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Definition
| set intervals for selecting a population |
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Term
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Definition
| processes qualitative & quantitative data |
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Term
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Definition
- Give a respondent number to each survey that you received
- Number the questions on the survey
- Develop mutually exclusive categories (non overlapping categories) may be same as the variables |
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Term
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Definition
| link response to the code sheet |
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Term
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Definition
| used for qualitative type questions |
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Term
| Framework for Analysis of Data |
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Definition
- Decide which variables to analyze
- Develop main themes
- Cross-tabulate the data
- Which variables combined form a major concept
- Analyze the data |
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Term
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Definition
| most common way to present data |
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Term
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Definition
- Title: Table #
- Stub (heading for the y-axis)
- Column headings (labels x-axis)
- Body (data)
- Supplementary notes/footnotes |
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Term
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Definition
- Two dimensional
- series of rectangles w/o space between them to represent data |
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Term
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Definition
| used to display categories of data with spaces between them |
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Term
| Graphs (Stacked Bar Chart) |
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Definition
| shows 2 or more variables stacked on top of each other |
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Term
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Definition
| Particular bar totals 100% |
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Term
| Graph (Frequency polygon) |
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Definition
| joins the midpoints of each rectangle at a height commensurate with the frequency of that interval |
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Term
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Definition
| - represents data in a 360 degree circle – represents 100% to the total |
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Term
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Definition
| display data related to a specific time |
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Term
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Definition
| Best way to show how one variable changes in relationships to a change in another variable |
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Term
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Definition
- Theoretical framework of the study
- Conceptual framework of the study
- Research questions
- Hypothesis to be tested |
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Term
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Definition
- Study design
- Setting of your study
- Research instruments planning to use
- Sample design & sample size |
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Term
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Definition
- Ethical Issues & how to deal with them
- Data processing procedures
- Proposed reports
- Problems & limitations of the study
- Time frame & work schedule |
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