A social research method appropriate for studying human communications, such as books, magazines, websites, songs, poems or paintings.
What is a content analysis
100
This type of interview has an already established set of questions. No adjustment to the questions or probing is required. The researcher simply reads the questions to the participant as if they were reading from a script.
What is a structured interview (standardized interview).
100
People or groups who are in positions to grant or deny access to a research setting.
What is a gatekeeper.
100
This term emerged when researchers discovered that their presence affected the behaviour of the workers being studied. The term now refers to any impact of research on the subject of study.
What is the Hawthorne Effect
100
This type of sampling involves first identifying several people with relevant characteristics and interviewing them or having them answer a questionnaire. These subjects are then asked for the names (referrals) of other people who possess the same attributes they do.
What is snowball sampling.
200
A systematic overview of existing studies on the research question under investigation.
What is a literature review.
200
Portion of contacted respondents who participate in the survey.
What is a response rate.
200
The work of describing a culture. The essential core of this activity aims to understand another way of life from the native point of view.
What is ethnography.
200
In an experiment, this term is used when a researcher is not certain that the findings will be produced outside the laboratory.
What is generalizability.
200
Most ideal form of sampling. A type of probability sampling in which the units composing a population are assigned random numbers.
What is simple random sampling.
300
Search terms like AND, OR, NOT, *, " ", and ?/! are examples of what?
What are boolean operators.
300
Tendency of respondents to answer what they think is ‘appropriate’
What is social desirability bias.
300
Understanding city subcultures (gangs, graffiti artists, retirement home residents).
What is urban ethnography.
300
A study based on observations representing a single point in time.
What is a cross-sectional study.
300
A type of probability sampling in which a given unit (like 25) is selected for inclusion in the sample. For example, every 25th student in the university directory of students is selected. You compute the given unit by dividing the size of the population by the desired sample size.
What is systematic sampling.
400
The recycling of data compiled by other researchers.
What is secondary analysis.
400
An interview-style designed for small groups of unrelated individuals, formed by an investigator and led in a group discussion on some particular topic or topics.
What is a focus group.
400
When a researcher acts like they are a member of a group in order to study the group and to avoid reactivity.
What is a complete participant.
400
Nonrigorous inquiries somewhat resembling controlled experiments but lacking key elements such as random assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups, pre- and posttesting and/or any control group.
What are quasi-experiments.
400
A multistage sampling in which natural groups are sampled initially, with the members of each selected group being subsampled afterward. For example, you might select a sample from Ontario universities from a directory, get lists of students from each selected school and then draw samples of students from each.
What is cluster sampling.
500
Physical Traces of behavior based on the accumulation of evidence.
What are accretion measures.
500
A question which requires two answers but there is only one response. For example, "how many times have you smoked marijuana, or have you only tried cocaine?"
What is a double-barreled question.
500
The main purpose is to take an activist stance and to bring about positive social change for the group under study.
What is critical ethnography.
500
A type of longitudinal study in which some specific subpopulation is studied over time although data may be collected from different members in each set of observations.
What is a cohort study.
500
Any technique in which samples are selected in some fashion not suggested by probability theory. Examples include purposive, snowball, and quota sampling, as well as reliance on available subjects.