Intro to Inquiry
Terms
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- abductive reasoning
- development of new theoretical propositions that account for a set of observations, which cannot be accounted for or explained by a previous proposition or theoretical framework; data are analyzed for their own patterns and concepts, which in some cases may relate to available theories and in other cases may not relate
- Actions processes
- specific actions that must be clearly delineated and articulated use for research: different ways of reasoning and the specific series of actions that distinguish naturalistic and experimental-type investigators in the conduct o their research
- Confirmable
- the researched clearly and logically identifies the strategies used in the study so that others can reasonably follow the path of analysis and arrive at similar outcomes and conclusions
- Deductive reasoning
- : involves moving from a general principle to understanding a specific case; based on theory and its propositions, hypotheses are derived and then formally tested
- Epistemology
- way of knowing and obtaining knowledge
- Experimental-type reasoning
- range of designs characterized by focus on prediction and hypothesis testing
- Idiographic
- focuses on specific phenomena in a context and seeks to highlight the complexity of the phenomenon
- Inductive reasoning
- involves moving from a specific case to a broader generalization about the phenomenon under study
- Logical
- thinking and action processes of a research study are clear, rational, and conform to accepted norms of deductive, inductive, or abductive reasoning
- Naturalistic inquiry
- wide range of designs characterized by a focus on understanding and interpreting human experience within the context in which experience occurs
- Nomothetic
- examine and characterize what is typical about one or more groups
- Thinking processes
- different ways of reasoning and the specific series of actions that distinguish naturalistic and experimental-type investigators in the conduct o their research
- Understandable
- make sense, explicit, be precise, intelligible, and credible to the reader or research consumer
- Useful
- the value of knowledge produced by a study; subjective criterion in that it is based on the researcher’s judgment
- The Ten Essentials of Research
- 1. Indentify a Philosophical Foundation: reveal underlying assumptions of ontology and andepistemology 2. Frame a Research Problem: identify broad topic or problem area 3. Determine Supporting Knowledge: review and synthesize existing literature to examine knowledge development in identified area 4. Identify a Theory Base: use existing theory to frame research problems and interpret result; or construct theory as part of the research process 5. Develop a Specific Question of Query: identify specific focus for research, based on knowledge development, theoretical perspective, and research process 6. Select a Design Strategy: develop standard procedure or broad strategic approach to answer research question or query 7. Set Study Boundaries: establish a scope of study and methods for accessing research participants 8. Obtain Information: determine strategies for collecting information that is numerical, visual, auditory, or narrative 9. Analyze Information and Draw Conclusions: employ systematic processes to examine different types of data and derive interpretive scheme 10. Share and Use Research Knowledge: write and disseminate research conclusions
- Design
- most fundamental aspect of research, based on philosophical position, research purpose, theory, and specific research question or query; action process by which to explore or answer the query
- Ethics:
- the right of human research participants to full knowledge of the purpose of the study and the nature of their involvement, the specific behaviors or conduct of the investigator, ethics of the question and design procedure
- Philosophical Foundation
- individual’s particular orientation to how a person learns about human behavior, health, and personal abilities and experiences, or other phenomena of importance in health and human services
- Query:
- research direction is broadly represented and becomes highly specified only through the process of conducting the study itself; broad working question ; initially identifies the “who, what, and whereâ€
- Question
- a particular research direction; details exact factors and the characteristics or phenomena that will be examined
- Theory
- set of interrelated propositions that provide a framework for understanding or explaining phenomena
- Epistemology:
- “How do we come to know it?â€
- Holistic
- : human experience is complex and cannot be understood by reductionism, this is by identifying and examining its parts, meaning in human experience is derived from an understanding of individuals in their social, economic, political, cultural, linguistic, physical, and virtual environments, multiple realities exist, and our view of reality is determined by events viewed through individual lenses or biases, those have the experiences are the most knowledgeable about them
- Integrated design
- experimental-type inquiry reveals the need to develop insights using naturalistic techniques
- Interactionists
- assume that human meaning evolves from the context of social interactions
- Logical positivism
- : foundation for deductive, predictive designs that we refer to as “experimental-type researchâ€
- Multimethod research
- combination of multiple strategies or designs that answers a series of questions
- Ontology
- “What is reality?â€
- Phenomenologist
- human meaning can be understood only through experience
- Pluralism
- central characteristic of naturalistic inquiry that suggests there are multiple realities that can be identified and understood only within the natural context in which human experience and behavior occur
- Pragmatism
- school of thought in which concepts such as truth and reality are relative and purposive
- Problem statement
- statement that identifies the phenomenon to be explored and the reason(s) it needs to be examined or why it is a problem or issue
- Purpose statement
- articulation of the reasons for conducting and using research
- Research topic
- broad area of inquiry from which the investigator develops a more specific question of query
- Concept/construct matrix
- two-dimensional organizational system that presents all information that the investigator reviews and evaluates
- Database
- of information obtained through systematic investigation
- Literature review chart
- chart approach to organizing a literature review in which research studies are summarized in a table format along key categories, such as type of design, measures, and outcomes
- Concept
- symbolic representations of an observable of experience referent
- Construct
- symbolic representations of shared experience that doesn’t have observable or directly experienced referent
- Hypothesis
- : testable statements that indicate what the researcher expects to find, based on theory and level of knowledge in literature
- Levels of abstraction
- four levels that guide theory development and testing: concept, construct, relationships, and propositions of principles
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- Proposition
- : statements that govern a set of relationships and give them a structure; also called principles
- Theory-generating
- one of the primary purposes of many forms of naturalistic inquiry: use of naturalistic approaches to link each piece of datum from which concepts, constructs, relationships, and propositions are generated or derived
- Theory testing
- one of the primary purposes of many forms of experimental-type research; use of experimental methodologies to test formally a set of propositions of a theory
- Breakdowns
- points in data collection in naturalistic inquiry in which the expectation of the researcher doesn’t match the observation of information gathered
- Descriptive questions
- level 1 question) experimental-type research questions that aim to describe phenomena
- Directional hypothesis
- type of hypothesis in which the direction of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable is clearly articulated
- Hypotheses
- testable statements that indicate what the researcher expects to find, based on theory and level of knowledge in literature
- Integrated designs
- structure used to strengthen a study by selecting and combining designs and methods from both paradigms so that one complements the other to benefit the whole or contribute to an understanding of the whole
- Nondirectional hypothesis
- type of hypothesis in which the research indicates an expected effect but not the direction of that effect
- Predictive questions:
- level 3 question) experimental-type research questions that test concepts by manipulating one to affect the other
- Query
- broad statement that identifies the phenomenon or natural field of interest in naturalistic form of inquiry
- Relational questions
- (level 2 questions) experimental-type research questions that explore relationships among phenomena that have already been studied at the descriptive level
- Bias
- potential unintended or unavoidable effect on study outc
- Conceptual definition
- stipulates the meaning of concepts or constructs with other concepts or constructs also known as lexical definition
- Context specificity
- one of the central features of naturalistic inquiry; refers to the specific environment or field in which the study is conducted and information is derived
- Control
- set of action processes that directs of manipulates factors to minimize extraneous variance in order to achieve an outcome
- Dependent variable
- : presumed effect of an independent variable
- Emic
- “insider†or informant’s way of understanding and interpreting experience
- Etic
- systematic understanding of phenomena developed by those who are external to a group
- External validity
- : capacity to generalize findings and develop inferences from the sample to the study population
- Independent variable
- presumed cause of the dependent variable; sometimes referred as the “predictor variableâ€
- Internal validity
- ability of the research design to answer accurately the research question
- Intervening variable
- phenomena that have an effect on the study variables but are not necessarily the object of the study; also known as the confounding variables or extraneous variables
- Manipulation
- action processes of maneuvering the independent variable so that the effect of its presence, absence, or degree on the dependent variable can be observed
- Operational definition
- definition that reduces the abstraction of a concept to a cornet observable form by specifying the exact procedures for measuring or observing the phenomenon
- Rigor
- refers to procedures that enhance and are used to judge the integrity of the research design
- Statistical conclusion validity
- power of an investigator’s study to draw statistical conclusions
- Variable
- concept or construct to which a numerical value is assigned; by definition, it must have more than one value, even if the investigator is interested in only one condition
- Counterbalance designs
- variation on experimental design in which more than one intervention is tested and in which the order of the participation in each intervention is manipulated
- Effect size
- strength of differences in the sample values that the investigator expects to find
- Factorial designs
- variation on true-experimental design in which the investigator evaluates the effects of two or more independent variables or the effects of an intervention on different factors or levels of a sample or study variables
- Nonexperimental designs
- experimental-type designs in which the three criteria for true experimentation do not exist
- Pre-experimental designs
- designs in which two of the three criteria necessary for true experimentation are absent
- Quasi-experimental designs
- experiments that have treatments, outcomes, measures, and experimental units but don’t use random assignment to create comparison from which treatment-caused change is inferred; instead, the comparisons depend on nonequivalent groups who differ from each other in many ways other than the presence of the treatment being tested
- Randomization
- selection of assignment of subjects based on chance
- Solomon four-group designs
- true-experimental design that combines true experimentation and posttest-only designs into on design structure
- True-experimental designs
- classic two-group design in which subjects are randomly selected and randomly assigned to either and experimental or control group condition; before the experimental condition, all subjects are pretested or observed on a dependent measure; in the experimental group, the independent variable or experimental condition is imposed and is withheld in the control group; subjects are then posttested or observed on the dependent variable after the experimental condition
- Blinding
- minimize partiality or the possibility of introducing any form of bias
- Clinical trial
- : research designed to investigate treatment efficacy
- Double-blind trail
- neither study participants nor investigators (nor anyone else on the research team) are aware of group assignments
- Evaluation practice
- infuses everyday practice with an evaluative and systematic knowledge-generating framework;
- Evidence-based practice
- model of practice in which decisions are supported by research
- Phase 1 clinical trial
- study of small sample to test a new behavioral or biomedical intervention not previously evaluated
- Phase II clinical trial
- study of the efficacy and safety of an intervention in a larger group of people
- Phase III clinical trial
- study to evaluated comparative effectiveness and safety of an intervention in a large group of persons (several hundred to thousands)
- Reflexive intervention
- intervention action processes, resources, and influences are essential parts of evaluation practice are thus subject to the same systematic scrutiny as needs assignment
- Single-blind trial
- the persons enrolled in the study don’t know what group or treatment they have been assigned to, but the investigative team does know
- Treatment fidelity
- attention to the integrity of implementing an intervention