Theory and Hypotheses
A testable statement about the expected relationship between two or more variables
What is a hypothesis?
A measure that produces consistent results each time it is applied
What is reliability?
A sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of selection
What is a simple random sample?
Knowledge gained through observation, experimentation, and logical reasoning rather than faith or common sense
What is empiricism?
Research done to accumulate knowledge that will apply to a particular problem in need of a solution or to a condition in need of improvement.
What is applied research?
In a study comparing voter turnout across all 50 states, the state is this
What is the unit of analysis?
Party identification coded as Democrat, Republican, or Independent represents this level of measurement
What is nominal?
The actual list of population members from which researchers draw a sample
What is a sampling frame?
"Congress should raise the minimum wage" is this type of assertion
What is normative?
Something thought to influence, affect, or cause something else
What is an independent variable?
A hypothesis predicting that as education increases, support for a policy decreases, describes this kind of relationship
What is a negative (inverse) relationship?
This is a type of measurement error that systematically over- or under-measures the value of a concept, usually in a consistent direction.
What is measurement bias?
A poll reported as "52 percent, plus or minus 3 points" gives this range
What is the margin of error?
The section of a study that situates the research question within existing scholarship
What is a literature review?
A unit that does not change and can rarely be used to explain anything
What is a constant?
Drawing conclusions about individual voters from county-level election returns risks this error
What is the ecological fallacy?
The gap between a respondent's true attitude and the recorded answer, often introduced by question wording
What is measurement error?
This is the true value in the whole population, usually unknown
What is the population perameter?
The umpire who says "They ain't nothing until I call 'em" reflects this alternative to strict empiricism
What is constructionism?
Something that might explain the relationship between the independent and dependent variables
What is an intervening variable?
The standard that a scientific claim must be capable of being proven wrong
What is falsifiability?
A measure demonstrates this type of validity when it relates to other measures as theory predicts
What is construct validity?
This is the gap between the sample statistic and the population parameter
What is sampling error?
"Candidates who win the most votes are more likely to win elections" fails as a hypothesis because it is this
What is a tautology?
a body of statements that organizes, explains, and predicts relationships between phenomena
What is theory?