Research Terms
the systematic process of finding out more about something than you already know, ideally so that you can prove a hypothesis, produce new knowledge and understanding, and make evidence-based decisions
What is research?
Facebook, Reddit, X, your friend's cousin's girlfriend's gila monster, essay sharing websites, AI and machine learning
What are unreliable sources?
Uses numbers to describe information that can be measured quantitatively. This data is used to measure, make comparisons, examine relationships, test hypotheses, explain, predict, or even control
What is quantitative data?
written by specialists in a given field and contain a References section; can be very helpful in providing in-depth context for your ideas
What are books or/and book chapters?
broadest term used to describe the increasingly necessary process that companies, organizations, and governments must undertake to achieve a “social licence to operate.”
What is public engagement?
bits of information
What is/are data?
Many projects require a _____________, which collects, summarizes and sometimes evaluates the work of researchers in this field whose work has been recognized as a valuable contribution to the “state of the art.”
What is a literature review?
Uses words to record and describe the data collected; often describes people’s feelings, judgments, emotions, customs, and beliefs that can only be expressed in descriptive words, not in numbers. This includes “anecdotal data” or personal experiences
What is qualitative data?
Publish primary research done by professional researchers and scholars in specialized fields, as well as reviews of that research by other specialists in the same field
What are scholarly (peer-reviewed) and academic sources?
individuals & groups who have the power to influence the project, those who are interested in the project, and those who might be impacted by the project, either positively or negatively.
Who are relevant parties?
techniques of collecting, sorting, and analyzing information/data
What are research methods?
research you might conduct yourself in lab experiments and product testing, through surveys, observations, measurements, interviews, site visits, prototype testing, beta testing, etc. These can also include published raw statistical data, historical records, legal documents, firsthand historical accounts, and original creative works
What are primary sources?
Data that have been directly observed, experienced and recorded close to the event
often publish reports and other documents that can be very helpful in determining public policy, regulations, and guidelines that should be followed
What are government websites?
Interest, Influence, and Impact
What is the Three I's framework?
determines how much something will cost vs what measurable benefits it will create, and may lead to a calculation of “return on investment” (ROI)
What is a cost/benefit analysis?
written sources that discuss, analyze, and interpret primary data, such as published research and studies, reviews of these studies, meta-analyses, and formal critiques
What are secondary sources?
Methodology and data are one way to assess the credibility of a source's _____________.
What is content?
written by experts for a specialized audience, published in peer-reviewed journals or by respected publishers, and containing well-supported, evidence-based arguments
What are authoritative sources?
_______ is a colonialist term frequently / historically used to describe a relevant parties. ___________ is preferred in Canadian Indigenous contexts.
uses concepts such as the “triple bottom line” or “three pillars of sustainability” to analyze whether a product or process is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.
What is sustainability analysis?
reference sources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks that provide a consolidation of primary and secondary information. They are useful to gain a general understanding of your topic and major concepts, lines of inquiry, or schools of thought in the field.
What are tertiary sources?
primary research done in an academic setting that includes gathering information from human subjects requires strict protocols likely requires this
What is human ethics review?
When evaluating sources, you want to be on the look out for bias that is _________, ____________, or _________.
What is unfair, one-sided, or slanted?
inform -> consult -> involve -> collaborate -> empower
what are levels of consultation and engagement / what is the spectrum of engagement?