Research Midterm

reasoning from observation to a theory that might explain your observations

moves from a theory to defining the observations you will make to test the theory

H0 specifies that there is no relationship

Belmont report

• Respect for persons – informed consent
• Beneficence – assessment of risks and benefits, benefits should outweigh the risks
• justice – selection of subject

Panel established to review research proposals specifically for their impact on human participants consists of qualified researchers with similar interests assessing proposed work for ethics and treatment of human participants

• People have to be informed about what you(the researcher) are doing with the data and they have to give consent to be in the study. They must be informed about all the risks of being
• in the study and they must voluntarily sign the consent form not coerced. They must have full comprehension of the study.

The test re-test correlation score from  0 – 1  with 1 being the highest and perfect score

measure the extent to which scores in a data set vary

the square root of the variance difference between each point and the mean– allows to make generalization about wider population

when scores form a symmetrical curve from lowest point to highest value with majority of the scores peaking in the middle

• has normal curve and the sample is randomly selected the value for mean median and mode are all the same
• 68% of the data falls within 1 standard deviation from the mean
• 95% fall within 2 standard deviation from the mean
• 99.7% fall within 3 standard deviations of the mean

• series of formatted questions delivered to a defined sample of people with the expectation that their responses will be returned within a
• certain time frame

the specific set of questions that respondents answer

force the respondent to choose between 2 answers  - life is rarely yes or no simple

force the respondent into an assumption that may or may not be true and lead the respondent to choose an answer rather than letting them choose on their own terms. Ex why do you think the campus administration is unethical? They may not think it is

the measure of what you think you are measuring

repeating measurements and comparing the extent to which the results are the same

when a researcher uses multiple methods providing multiple perspectives.

engaging in research specifically to improve people’s lives

labels /ID way of classifying NY, Nevada, Idaho / Male Female/Radio, TV

the order of things ex.Freshman sophomore, junior, senior indicate some level of progression

equal intervals between points on a scale likert scale agree disagree simpler way of recording information but still losing information

• highest level of measurement in statistics. Continuous variable more informed/ should try to collect all information at this level contains a
• “true zero”

Compares the mean scores of 2 groups on the same variable to determine the probability that the groups are different- numerical values

measuring group differences political affiliation by gender can handle nominal and ordinal variables that t-test cannot computes the difference between observed results and expected results distribution values

strength of relationship between 2 variables – positive, negative no correlation scatter plot correlation coefficients between -1 and +1 correlation is not causation

• convenience 
• judgemental
• quota
• network/snowball
• volunteer

• random
• stratified random
• systematic 
• multicluster

capture what is going on at one point in time “slice of life” ex. Public opinion poll on consumer products may have different results depending on the day

• long term studies to track things over time 
• Trend
• Panel
• cohort
• cross-lagged

seeks to capture and understand interactions among members of a group and the different roles that group members play

looks for rules governing social acts. Study of the mechanisms that allow the conversation to happen successfully

regard for communication as a performance 5 part analysis asking the following questions: reveals insights behind the motives for communication and inconsistencies between elements

relationships between language signs and their meanings research centers around consumer products and the meanings that attach to them

• explore the way in which communication establishes, maintains and reinforces power structures in society 
• Marxist
• Feminist

• focuses on systems of meaning and how particular labels or concepts are developed and made powerful by the use of language ex.
• Concepts like freedom, gay, green

analyzes the formal properties of stories that people tell attempts to identify the a plot, setting characters and an order of events in people’s accounts of their lives

quantitative, systematic,objective technique for describing the manifest content of communication