Epistemology & Paradigms
Which method of knowing is based on traditions or long-held beliefs?
What is the Method of Tenacity?
What are at least two of the three primary goals of scientific research?
What are Description, Explanation, and Prediction?
What is the term for the variable that researchers change or manipulate?
What is the Independent Variable?
What type of sampling gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected?
What is Simple Random Sampling?
What is one reason researchers might choose mail surveys?
What is? They’re inexpensive, reduce interviewer bias, and allow people to answer privately Etc. ?
Which paradigm believes there is one objective truth that can be discovered through observation and measurement?
What is the Positivist Paradigm?
What three things are required for a research study to be considered a true experiment?
What are manipulation, control, and random assignment?
What is this concept called: a clear explanation of how a concept will be measured in a study
What is an operational definition?
If your sample results are wrong because of how you selected people, what kind of error is this?
What is Systematic Error?
What’s a major limitation of telephone surveys?
What is you can’t you show visual materials, and they cost more than mail surveys?
Which paradigm focuses on how people interpret symbols and create shared meaning?
What is the Interpretive Paradigm?
Name at least three factors that can threaten the internal validity of an experiment.
What is maturation, testing effect, history, selection bias?
Give an example of something you could measure at the ratio level.
What is the number of texts sent, minutes spent exercising, or times someone says “I love you,” etc.?
What is snowball sampling, and why would a researcher use it?
When participants refer others to the study, it is helpful for reaching hard-to-find populations.
What type of research involves observing people in their natural environment to understand behavior? (be specific)
What is Ethnography?
If someone says “Most men and women communicate differently, that’s just how it is,” what kind of explanation are they using?
What is a Nomothetic Explanation?
You measure students' stress before and after finals week. What kind of study is this, and what could affect the results?
What is a one-group pretest-posttest design? It's vulnerable to outside influences like history or maturation.
You want to study the concept of “love.” What could be your conceptual and operational definitions?
Conceptual: What is a strong emotional bond? Operational: What is the number of affectionate behaviors like hugging or verbal affirmations?
You survey only BC students because they’re easy to reach. What kind of sample is this, and what’s the limitation?
What is a Convenience Sample? It limits your ability to generalize to a broader population.
You sit in a cafeteria and take notes on how people greet each other without them knowing. What type of observation are you using?
What is Unobtrusive Observation (or Naturalistic Field Observation)?
You're analyzing traditional wedding rituals to show how they reflect gender-based power structures. Which paradigm are you using, and why?
What is the Critical Paradigm? A rough answer would be: Because it looks at power, inequality, and whose voices are represented?
You want to study how the presence of a laugh track and the type of humor affect how funny people find a sitcom. How would you design a 2x2 factorial experiment?
There are two independent variables: laugh track (present or absent) and humor style (obvious or subtle). You assign participants to one of four combinations and measure their enjoyment.
You create a 10-item self-confidence quiz. What's one of the two ways you would test whether your questions are reliable?
What is Inter-item? Or, what is test-retest?
A researcher misleads participants but doesn't tell them afterward. What ethical guideline is being violated?
What is the requirement to avoid deception or to debrief participants after deception is used?
You’re analyzing TV ads for political campaigns. What’s your unit of analysis, and what’s one example of latent content you might code?
Unit: What are individual ads? Latent content: What are the implied messages, like fear appeals or emotional tone?