Basic Research Terms and Concepts

1. concepts - is a mental idea or representation of a class of events or group of

objects.

Ø Example: “good student” what is your concept of a good student?

Concepts allow us to express complex notions or abstract ideas succintly
Because concepts are invented or contstructed, they are sometimes called
constructs.

2.Operational Definitions - the specific way in which a variable is measured in a particular

way. It helps to control the variable by making the measurement constant.

Example: The concept of HEAVY DRINKER. One research team defined problem
drinker as a person who was drunk five or more times in the past year . another
research defined the same concept as a person who drank several times a week.
Example: A researcher measuring happiness and depression in college students
decides to use a ten-question happiness scale to measure positive outlook in her
subjects. In other words, her operational definition of happiness in this case is a
given subject’s score on the test.
3 Theories

A theory is a set of interrelated concepts that guide actions and

conceptualizations. Theories provide clues or suggestions for
intervention and help to explain things that we don’t
understand very well.

The three main functions of a theory are to organize, explain

and predict (Munson, 1983)

Examples of theories: Albert bandura’s SOCIAL COGNITIVE

THEORY
4. Hypothesis

A hypothesis is an assumption that is expressed as a statement. It is a

premise that can be used as basis for investigation.

It can be thought of as formal versions of hunces, notions or speculations.

 Examples: (concept of
IMPULSIVITY ) Some students
are more IMPULSIVE than
others.
 Several hypotheses might be
suggested from your
observations:
NULL hypotheses - if stated
neutrally (there is no relationship
between highschool grade point
averages and college point
averages)

 Adolescent males are more

impulsive than adolescent
females.

Teens who have been arrested for

shoplifting are more impulsive that
teens who have never been arrested
5. Variables - a concept that can be measured (e.g age, weight, or height). It can be
thought of as rules for classifying categories (Kidder & Judd, 1986).

Generally Speaking, variables are classified as one of four types:

a.Nominal variables - represent categories that cannot be ordered in any

particular way.

Examples of nominal variables include sex, political affiliation

b. Ordinal variables - represent categories that can be ordered from greatest

to smallest.

Examples: educational level (eg freshmen, sophomore_); income brackets;

C. Interval variables - have values that lie along an evenly dispersed
range of numbers

Examples: temperature, a person’s net worth (how much money you

have when you substract your debt)

D. Ratio variables - have values that lie along an evenly disperesed

range of numbers when there is an absolute zero.

Income - either no income or some positive amount of income

Education - you cannot have negative education only NO
EDUCATION
6. Attributes - are the component parts of a variable. For instance, the attributes
of the variable GENDER are “male and female”, Political Affiliation are
democrat or republican, marital status are married, single or widowed.

7.Independent variables - are variables that are suspected to influence, affect or

cause the event or situation that you are studying.

In experimental setting, IVs are those which the researcher can manipulate or
control.

8.Dependent variables - are what you are trying to explain or predict - the topic
of your investigation.
 Independent Variable Dependent Variable
Hours Worked Amount of Money Earned
Total Calories Consumed Total Weight Gain
Number of Assignments Math Course Grade
Completed
Reading English Novel Wide Vocabulary
Use of Abbreviated/SlangText Spelling Competency
Messaging
9. Data - information that is obtained during a study and that has not been
analyzed constitutes the data (raw data)

For instance, if a test is administered to a group of thirty students, their test

scoeres are the data used for analysis.

10.Measurement - is the process of quantifying states, traits, attitudes, behaviors,

and theoritical concepts.

Research notion: if a thing can be defined, then it can be measured. OR if you

cannot measure the clients problem, it does not exist.
11. Subjects - are the persons or individuals who participate in a study. They
provide the data that are examined ore analyzed.

12.Scale - is a cluster or group of statements or questions that are designed to

measure a single concept.

Example:

Rate how useful you think your research course will be to you:

Not Very Useful Seldom Useful Very useful

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
13 Instruments - is a questionnaire or test that is usually completed by the
respondents. When completed by a subject, the instrument is often referred
toas self report or self inventory

14. Reliability - Reliability in statistics and psychometrics is the overall

consistency of a measure.

A measure is said to have a high reliability if it produces similar results

under consistent conditions. Scores that are highly reliable are accurate,
reproducible, and consistent from one testing occasion to another. That is,
if the testing process were repeated with a group of test takers, essentially
the same results would be obtained.
15. Validity - An instrument is said to be valid when it measures what it was
designed to measure. An intelligence test should measure intelligence. In other
words, what it ought to measure should be the exact type of instrument. Are
you really asking the right question to the right person?

16. Bias - Researchers strive to eliminate bias from their studies. Bias is an
outside influence or prejudice that tends to produce some distortion from what
is actually occuring or present. Bias can be conscious or unconscious, glaring or
subtle.
 The RESEARCH PROCESS

 The research process sometimees called the scientific method is based

on assump[tions that the natural world is essentially orderly and that
observed phenomena have some stimulus or cause.

 Research involves an orderly throught process that moves from what is

known to what is not known.

 Classification of Research by Nomenclature (aim)

Basic v/s Applied Research

Basic Research or otherwise called as pure or fundamental

research, is one that focuses on advancing scientific knowledge
for the complete understanding of a topic or certain natural
phenomenon, primarily in natural sciences. In a nutshell, when
knowledge is acquired for the sake of knowledge it is called
basic research.

Applied Research can be defined as research that encompasses

real life application of the natural science. It is directed towards
providing a solution to the specific practical problems and
develop innovative technology
Classification of Research by Purpose
Research and development research - Brings new information to light. Focuses on the
interaction between research and the production and evaluation of a new product. This
type of research can be ‘formative’ (by collecting evaluative information about the product
while it is being developed with the aim of using such information to modify and improve
the development process).

For example, a comparison of the mathematics achievement of students exposed to a new

mathematics teaching kit in comparison with students exposed to the established
mathematics curriculum.

Evaluation Research. The purpose of evaluation research is to facilitate decision making

regarding the relative worth of two or more alternative actions

Example: Evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum change. Is there a difference between

graduating student outcomes from two different curricula
Classification of Research by Method
Historical research generates descriptions, and sometimes attempted explanations, of
conditions, situations, and events that have occurred in the past.

Descriptive research provides information about conditions, situations, and events that
occur in the present. It is also called statistical research. The main goal of this type of
research is to describe the data and characteristics about what is being studied. The
idea behind this type of research is to study frequencies, averages, and other statistical
calculations. Although this research is highly accurate, it does not gather the causes
behind a situation.

Experimental research is used in settings where variables defining one or more ‘causes’
can be manipulated in a systematic fashion in order to discern ‘effects’ on other
variables.
 RESEARCH PROCESS
The First Step: Researching Your Topic

 It may sound strange, but the first step when doing

research isn’t choosing a topic. You aren’t going to say,
“Okay, my topic is … birds. Let’s start searching!”
 Rather, from an initial, and perhaps very general,
research topic area, you’re going to formulate a
research question, or set of questions, that you can then
investigate further.
 You’ll want to see what information is available to you,
and then start honing in on a manageable topic from
there.
 Thus, the first step is not to choose a topic, and then do
research. The first step is to research, more specifically,
what your topic even is.
What Is a Research Problem?

A research problem, or phenomenon is the topic you would like to

address, investigate, or study, whether descriptively or experimentally. It
is the focus or reason for engaging in your research. It is typically a
topic, phenomenon, or challenge that you are inter-ested in and with
which you are at least somewhat familiar.
Where Do You Find a Problem or Phenomenon to Study?

 Personal experience

 Personal/Professional Interest

 Brainstorming
 The Logic of Choosing a Topic
The aim of research is to:
• Validate what has been known
• Search for theoretical gaps and inconsistencies
• Solve real-world problems systematically
• Look for new topics to talk about by searching for
under-researched social topics, or making the
ordinary,
extra-ordinary (new ways of looking at things)
 Identifying a Possible Research Question

What Is a Research Question?

A research question is a way of expressing your interest in a problem

or phenomenon. Research questions are not necessarily an attempt to
answer the many philosophical questions that often arise in schools,
and they are certainly not intended to be an avenue for grinding
personal axes regarding classroom or school issues. You may have
more than one research question for a study, depending on the
complexity and breadth of your proposed work
Characteristics of Good Research Questions

➢ Are specific.
➢ Are clear.
➢ Refer to the problem or phenomenon.
➢ Reflect the intervention in experimental research.
➢ Note the target group of participants.