3215: key concepts

• The overall location for a study (e.g.,
• Portland)

• •Tend to yield more diverse group of study participants, potentially enhancing
• generalizability of findings

• •The specific location where information
• is gathered (e.g., in an urban community clinic)

• typically take place in naturalistic settings by
• researchers who engage in fieldwork

often work in more controlled settings.

study participants or informants

subjects or study participants

are abstractions of particular aspects of human behavior or characteristics [pain, weight]

are slightly more complex abstractions [self-care]

it knits concepts into coherent system that purports to explain phenomena or some aspect of the world

is an explanation of some aspect of reality

the investigators use information from study participants inductively yo develop a theory firmly rooted in the participants experience

often start with a theory or conceptual model and, using deductive reasoning, make predictions about how phenomena would behave in the real worldif the theory were true

• a characteristic or quality that takes on different values i.e. that varies from one person to the next
• example: blood type, weight, length of stay in hospital

this term is used almost exclusively in quantitative research

• continuous 
• categorical 
• independent 
• dependent

example: height, weight 

the numbers range, theres no set point

example: marital status, gender

either or, your either female or male etc.

the presumed cause [of a dependent variable]

• the presumed effect [of an independent variable]
• often referred to as the outcome variable or outcome
• example: smoking [ind var] >>> lung cancer [Dep var]

dependent corresponds to the "O" 

independent corresponds to the "I" and "C"

the abstract or theoretical meaning of a concept being studied

conceptual definition of a key phenomena may be a major end product, reflecting and intent to have the meaning of concepts defined by those being studied

conceptual definition of a key phenomena may be a major end product, reflecting and intent to have the meaning of concepts defined by those being studied

researchers must define concepts at the onset, because they must decided how the variables will be observed and measured

the operations [measurements] a researcher must perform to collect the desired information

[singular = datum]: the pieces of information researchers collect in a study

the entirety of data gathered for all study participants

collection of numerical data

collection of narrative [verbal] data

is a bond or connection between two or more variables/phenomena [i.e. relationship between smoking and lung cancer]

• - casual 
• - i.e. cigarette smoking and lung cancer

interested in the relationship between variables and outcomes

may seek patterns of association as a way of illuminating the underlying meaning and dimensional of phenomena of interest

• - researchers actively introduce an intervention or treatment 
• - is called clinical trials in medical research
• - designed to test casual relationships

• - researchers collect data without intervening or introducing treatments [considered bystanders]
• - is called observation research in medical research

• - grounded theory 
• - phenomenological research 
• - ethnographic research

• - seeks to understand key social psychological processes that occur in a social setting
• - major component was the discovery of a core variable that is central in explaining what is going on in that social scene

• i.e. gender and life expectancy
• – one thing doesn’t cause the other but they go hand in hand

• focuses on the lived experiences of humans
• - is a approach to thinking about what life experiences of people are like and what they mean

• - focuses on the patterns, lifeways, and experiences of a cultural group in a holistic fashion
• - strive to learn from members of a cultural group, to understand their world view, and to describe their customs and norms

•Phase 1: Conceptual Phase

•Phase 2: Design & Planning

•Phase 3: Empirical Phase

•Phase 4: Analytic Phase

•Phase 5: Dissemination Phase

[involves activities with a strong conceptual element. Skills of creativity, deductive reasoning, and a grounding in existing research evidence on the toping of interest in needed

•Formulating/delimiting the problem

•Reviewing related literature

•Undertaking clinical fieldwork

•Defining the framework and developing conceptual definitions

•Formulating hypotheses

the design and planning phase [researchers make decisions about the methods and procedures to be used to address the research question

•Formulating a research design

•Developing intervention protocols

•Identifying the population

•Designing the sampling plan

• •Specifying
• methods to measure variables and collect data

•Developing methods to protect human/animal rights

•Finalizing the research plan

involves collecting the research data 

•Collecting the data

•Preparing data for analysis

data gathering must be prepared for analysis and interpretation 

• •Analyzing the data (through statistical
• analysis)

•Interpreting results

• •Communicating the findings in a research report
• (e.g., in a journal article)

• Utilizing findings in practice

• Continuously examining and interpreting data
• and making decisions about how to proceed based on what has already been
• discovered

•Conceptualizing and Planning the  Study

•Conducting the Study

•Disseminating the Findings

• Identifying the research problem – begin with broad topic
• Doing a literature review
• Selecting sites and gaining entrée
• Making broad design decisions, planning to go into the field
• Addressing ethical issues

Undertaking iterative activities through emergent design

• Making sampling decisions
• Deciding what questions to ask
• Collecting data
• Evaluating integrity and quality
• Analyzing and interpreting data
• Making new decisions

•Seeking publication outlets

•Providing rich descriptions