What Method TYPE is it?
What KIND of Method is it?
Research Vocabulary
Nuts and Bolts
The Best KIND of Method for...
100

Interviews

What is qualitative?

100

You compare two groups in a situation you set up

What is an experiment?

100

"n" in research

What is sample size

100

The group you want to statistically generalize to

What is your population?

100

You want to know how many hours per week students in different majors study, with the goal of generalizing to all college students in those majors.

What is a survey?

200

Surveys

What is quantitative?

200

You sit down and talk to someone about their experiences

What is an interview?

200

Defining exactly what you want to study in research

What is conceptualization?

200

The group who will be respondents in your research study

What is your sample?

200

You want to deeply understand a social setting you are unfamiliar with.

What is ethnography?

300

Experiments

What is quantitative?

300

You analyze text or images

What is content analysis?

300

Deciding how you will measure what you have conceptualized in research

What is operationalization?

300

Information you gather from people or records

What is data?

300

You want to discover subtle ways meanings are suggested to people in advertising

What is content analysis?

400

Ethnography

What is qualitative?
400

Someone checks boxes on a form to indicate their answers

What is a survey?

400

The study of how we know what we (think we) know

What is epistemology?

400

When the data support an idea, in research

What is evidence?

400

You want to understand the process people go through when they leave their romantic partner

What are interviews?

500

Content Analysis

What is qualitative OR quantitative?

500

You immerse yourself in an unfamiliar social setting or culture

What is ethnography?

500

Type of research done by observing and collecting data

What is empirical research?

500

Using one data source to corroborate that what you have in a difference data source is correct

What is triangulation?

500

You want to compare different teaching methods by using them in different classrooms, then testing the students to see if there's a difference

What is an experiment?