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Content Analysis
a systematic examination of cultural artifacts or various forms of communication to extract thematic data and draw conclusions about social life
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Control group
in an experiment, the group containing the subjects who are not exposed to the independent variable
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Correlation
a relationship that exists when two variables are associated more frequently than could be expected by chance
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Dependent variable
a variable that is assumed to depend on or be caused by one or more other (independent) variables
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Ethnography
a detalied study of the life and activities of a group of people by researchers who may live with that group over a period of years
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Experiment
a research methos involving a carefully designed situation in which the researcher studies the impact of certain variables on sunjects attitudes or behavior.
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Experimental group
in an experiment the group that contains the subjects who are exposed to an independent variable (the experimental condition) to study its effect on them.
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Field research
the study of social life in its natural setting: observing and interviewing people where they live, work and play
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Hawthorne effect
a phenomenon in which changes in a subjects behavior are caused by the researchers presence or by the sunjets awareness of being studied
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Hypothesis
in research studies, a tentative statement of the relationship between two or more concepts
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independent variable
a variable that is presumed to cause or determine a dependent variable
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interview
a research method using a data collection encounter in which an interviewer asks the respondent questions and records the answers
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Participant Observation
a research method in which researches collect data while being part of the activities of a group of people by researchers who may live with that group over a period of years
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Probability sampling
choosing participants for a study on the basis of specific characteristics, possibly including such factos as age, sex, race/ethnicity and educational attainment
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Questionaire
a printed research instrument containing a series of items to which subjects respond
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random sampling
a study approach in which every member of an entire population being studied has the same chance of being selected
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reliability
in sociological research the extent to which a study or research instrument yields consistent results when applied to different individuals at one time or to the same individuals over time
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research methods
specific straegies or techniques for sytematically conducting research
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respondents
persons who provide data for analysis through interviews or questionaires
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secondary analysis
researchers use existing material and analyze data that were orginally collected by other
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survey
a poll in which the researcher gathers facts or attempts to determine the relationships among facts
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unstructured interview
an extended, open ended interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee
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validity
the extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure
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