Glossary: Research

Statistical Tests

Researchers use statistical tests to make quantitative decisions about whether a study's data indicate a significant effect from the intervention and allow the researcher to reject the null hypothesis. That is, statistical tests show whether the differences between the outcomes of the control and experimental groups are great enough to be statistically significant. These include for example the chi-square test, correlation and parametric tests.

Subcultures

Groups within a larger society exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior, norms, values, beliefs, and practices sufficient to distinguish them from the dominant culture or mainstream society.

Subcultures

Groups within a larger society exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior, norms, values, beliefs, and practices sufficient to distinguish them from the dominant culture or mainstream society.

Survey

A research tool that includes at least one question which is either open-ended or close-ended and employs an oral or written method for asking these questions. The goal of a survey is to gain specific information on the attitudes, beliefs, or knowledge of a particular group.

Synchronic Reliability

It refers to the consistency or stability of measurements obtained at a single point in time, typically through the administration of a test, questionnaire, or assessment instrument. The similarity of observations within the same time frame; not about the similarity of things observed.

T-Test

A statistical test used to determine if the scores of two groups differ on a single variable. For instance, to determine whether writing ability differs among students in two classrooms, a t-test could be used.

Testing

The act of gathering and processing information about individuals' ability, skill, understanding, or knowledge under controlled conditions.

Theory

A general explanation about a specific behavior or set of events that is based on known principles and serves to organize related events in a meaningful way, yet not as specific as a hypothesis.

Thick Description

A concept introduced by anthropologist Clifford Geertz referring to an approach used in ethnographic research to provide rich, detailed, and contextually nuanced descriptions of social phenomena, cultural practices, and human behavior. A rich and extensive set of details concerning methodology and context provided in a research report.

Transferability

The ability to apply the results of research in one context to another similar context. Also, the extent to which a study invites readers to make connections between the study and their own experience.

Translation Rules

Guidelines used to convert requirements, specifications, or designs into programming code. If one decides to generalize concepts during coding, then one must develop a set of rules by which less general concepts will be translated into more general ones.

Treatment

The stimulus given to a dependent variable in a research study.

Trend Samples

A type of sample used in research or data analysis to identify and analyze subsets of data to track changes or patterns in a particular phenomenon, variable, or indicator over time. This method of sampling different groups of people at different points in time from the same population.

Triangulation

A multi-method or pluralistic approach of using different methods in order to view the research topic from different viewpoints and to produce a multi-faceted set of data and check the validity of findings from any one method.

Unique Case Orientation

A perspective adopted by many researchers conducting qualitative observational studies; researchers adopting this orientation work to remember every study is special and deserves in-depth attention. This is especially necessary for doing cultural comparisons.