Sources and Referencing
"What is a primary source?"
An immediate, first-hand account of a topic or event, created by someone with direct connection to it.
"Define qualitative research."
Research that explores phenomena through non-numeric data like themes, patterns, images, or words.
"What is meant by ‘scope’ in a research project?"
The project’s defined boundaries, including goals, deliverables, tasks, cost, and deadlines.
Is picking every 10th person from a list a random sampling method?"
Yes, this is systematic random sampling.
"What is an independent variable?"
The factor that the researcher manipulates to observe its effect.
"Identify which is a primary source: A newspaper report written by a reporter at the event, or an analysis of previous newspaper reports?"
The newspaper report by an eyewitness is primary.
"Label this as quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods: Using surveys for numeric data and follow-up interviews for participant perspectives."
Mixed methods.
"If a research project is limited by time and the ability to reach participants, is this a question of scope or feasibility?"
Feasibility, because it concerns the ability to conduct research within practical limits.
"What are inferential statistics?"
Inferential statistics use sample data to make conclusions about a larger population, often through hypothesis testing.
"If students are given different types of books to see their impact on engagement, what is the independent variable?"
The type of book
"What is a bibliography?"
A list of books, research articles, and sources referred to in a scholarly work.
"Label this data as qualitative or quantitative: interview transcripts about family experiences.
Qualitative.
"Define ethical research practices."
Ethical research practices involve conducting research responsibly, respecting participant rights, ensuring confidentiality, acquiring informed consent, and avoiding fabrication or plagiarism
"What are descriptive statistics?"
Descriptive statistics summarize and organize data to highlight key characteristics without drawing conclusions about a broader population.
"Define correlation."
A statistical measure describing the degree to which two variables move in relation to each other.
"Where is the bibliography typically found in a research paper?"
At the end of the work.
"Is the number of hours spent reading each week qualitative or quantitative?"
Quantitative.
"Give one example of ethical research practice."
Obtaining informed consent by explaining the study's purpose, methods, risks, and keeping participant names confidential.
Define P value
the probability of obtaining test results at least as extreme as the observed results, assuming the null hypothesis is true
"Is a situation where studying more is linked to higher grades a correlation or causation?"
Correlation.
"What is the purpose of a literature review?"
A literature review surveys and synthesizes existing scholarship on a topic, providing background and context for research.
"Which is a case study: interviewing multiple schools about general trends or deeply exploring one student's educational experience?"
Deeply exploring one student's experience is a case study.
"Which is a limitation: Access to only a small sample size, or using multiple data sources?"
Access to only a small sample size is a limitation.
When would you use a chi squared test
Use a chi-squared test when you want to analyze the relationship between two or more categorical variables by comparing observed frequencies to expected frequencies
"What is coding in qualitative research?"
Coding involves categorizing qualitative data into meaningful themes or patterns, especially from non-numeric sources.