Research Terms
Study Design
Sampling
Causality
Mixed Bag
100
Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is the process that
What is combines practitioner expertise with client characteristics and best research evidence?
100
The strongest research design for determining causality is
What is pretest/posttest control group design ?
* Experimental Group: R →O₁ (Pretest) →X (Treatment) →O₂ (Posttest); Control Group: R →O1 (Pretest) →(No Treatment) → O2 (Posttest)
Note: R random assignment (subjects are randomly assigned to groups); O: Observation or measurement (pretest or posttest).X: Experimental treatment or intervention.
100
A researcher generalize what is learned from the research sample to the population when
What is when a sample is representative of the population?
*Representative Sample: The sample must mirror the broader population's key characteristics (demographics, behaviors, etc.).
100
Threats to internal validity may compromise
What is the ability to claim that the intervention caused the outcome.?
*Internal validity threats are factors that weaken the causal link between an intervention and observed outcomes
100
During a study looking at the incidence of separation anxiety in children living in New York City, 9/11 occurred. A sharp rise in separation anxiety ensued. This is an example of
What is history ?
*refers to external, specific events occurring between the pre-test and post-test that affect the dependent variable
200
Another term for "pretest" is
What is baseline ?
* Pretest is denoted as O1 (the initial measurement or pretest, used to establish a baseline before the intervention)
200
The pretest/posttest comparison group design is considered a quasi-experimental design because
What is there is no random assignment to groups?
*NR O1 X O2 (Non-random assignment, Observation 1, Treatment, Observation 2) for the experimental group, and NR O O for the comparison group.
200
How does sample size affect generalizability?
What is larger samples improve the ability to generalize findings?
200
Randomization targets this threat to internal validity
What is selection bias?
*Happens when individuals volunteer for a study, leading to overrepresentation of motivated or passionate.Randomization eliminates this by ensuring that participant allocation to treatment or control groups is due to chance rather than subjective choice
200
A social worker wants to test if a new 6-week mindfulness workshop reduces stress levels among high school students. The dependent variable is
What is stress levels?
*The DV (stress level) is the outcome variable that is observed for changes; The IV (predictor variable) is mindfulness workshop
300
An inert or fake substance or procedure that has positive effects on outcomes is known as
What is a placebo ?
300
A _____________ design collects data from participants at one time only
What is cross-sectional design?
*A longitudinal design design collects data from research participants at two or more times.
300
The degree of error to be expected when generalizing from a sample to the population
What is sampling error ?
*It is the variation in results when comparing a sample (subset) to the entire population.
300
Researchers know that the relationship between variables is due to the intervention and not merely coincidental or caused by an external factor when
What is when the three conditions that prove a causal relationship are met?
*Temporal Order: The cause must occur before the observed effect; Association: There must be an empirical relationship or correlation between the two variables;No Alternative Explanation: The relationship cannot be explained by a third factor or variable
300
The sequence best describes the deductive logic of inquiry
What is theory → hypothesis → data?
* Starts with an established theory, develops a testable hypothesis, and collects data to confirm or refute it. It is primarily used in quantitative research
400
Randomization refers to
What is the process of randomly assigning participants to study conditions.
400
A longitudinal research method involving repeated observations of the same variable over regular intervals to identify trends, cycles, or shifts caused by an intervention is
What is a time-series study/design?
*Time-series studies involve repeated, ordered observations (O) of a subject over time; Typically includes repeated observations (O1 O2 O3 O4 X O5 O6 O7 O8) interrupted by an intervention (X) where X is the intervention.
400
The main feature of a nonprobablilty sample is
What is findings not primarily used to generalize to the larger population?
*Goal is to gain in-depth insights, test tools, or understand specific phenomena, rather than to make statistical inferences about a wider population
400
The relationship between the internal validity and external validity of a research study is
What is as internal validity increases, external validity decreases?
*Internal Validity (Accuracy): Confirms the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable; External Validity (Generalizability): Confirms if findings apply to real-world scenarios, diverse populations, and different settings. As researchers increase control to maximize internal validity external validity often decreases because the setting becomes more artificial reducing its applicability to the real world
400
Research which combines qualitative and quantitative approaches is known as:
What is mixed methods research?
*A methodology that combines quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (narrative) data within a single study to provide a more comprehensive, nuanced understanding of research problems. Example: A researcher might use a survey to measure general trends in job satisfaction (quantitative) and follow up with interviews (qualitative) to understand the personal experiences
500
The measure of an outcome for a client after the intervention has been implemented?
What is posttest ?
*O Represents the observation, test, or measurement taken after the treatment/intervention.
500
In the Post-Test Only Control Group design, which potential threat to internal validity is eliminated?
What is testing?
* Testing, as a threat to internal validity, occurs when taking a pre-test influences participants' performance on a post-test, contaminating the results. Experimental Group: R→X→O1;Control Group: R→---→O1
500
You are doing research on hospital personnel—orderlies, technicians, nurses, and doctors. You want to be sure you draw a sample that has cases in each of the personnel categories. You want to use probability sampling. An appropriate strategy would be
What is stratified sampling?
500
___________ is an extraneous variable that attributes changes in the outcome to the passage of time.
What is maturation ?
*Refers to internal changes within theparticipants simply because time passes during the study.
500
Control groups can be unethical in social work research because we do not want to withhold interventions from those who need treatment?
What is we do not want to withhold interventions from those who need treatment?
*Instead of a no-treatment group, a comparison group is used where the experimental intervention is compared against a different, already validated intervention. Experimental group:𝑁𝑅
𝑂1 𝑋 O2; Comparison group: 𝑁𝑅 𝑂1 ---- O2 ; where NR: Non-Random assignment indicates that a comparison group is being used rather than a true control group; X: treatment or intervention.O: observation or measurement of the dependent variable.