Research Glossary

Acculturation

Refers to the process of adapting to another culture, involving changes in language, behavior, values, and social customs as individuals or groups integrate into a new cultural environment. It can particularly refer to blending in with the majority population, as an immigrant might adopt American customs. Acculturation implies that both cultures add something to one another, but still remain distinct groups unto themselves.

Accuracy

A term used in survey research to refer to the correctness of a match between the target population and the sample; the extent to which a target population is represented by the sample under investigation.

Adverse Event

An adverse event can be any unfavorable and unintended sign, symptom, or disease temporarily associated with the use of a drug, or intervention without any judgment about causality or relationship to the drug or intervention.

Affective Measures

procedures or devices used to obtain quantified descriptions of an individual's subjective feelings or affect in determining their responses, feelings, emotional states, or dispositions.

Aggregate

A collection, combination, or summary of individual units. For instance, the population of a country is an aggregate of the populations of the cities, rural areas, etc. that comprise the country. As a verb, it refers to total data from smaller units into a large unit.

ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance)

A statistical technique used to compare group means while accounting for the influence of one or more continuous variables, known as covariates. ANCOVA extends the analysis of variance (ANOVA) framework by analyzing differences between dependent variables.

Anonymity

A research condition in which no one, including the researcher knows the identities of the research participants.

ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)

A method of statistical analysis broadly applicable to a number of research designs, used to determine differences among the means of two or more groups on a variable. The independent variables are usually nominal, and the dependent variable is usually an interval.

Apparency

Clear, transparent, or intuitiveness of data representations, using methods such as visualizations or summaries. It pertains to how easily and readily interpretable the data are to the audience or users.

Baseline

A control measurement carried out before an experimental treatment. It serves as a point of reference to assess the performance or effectiveness of interventions, predictions, or models.

Behaviorism

School of psychological thought concerned with the observable behaviors and the environmental factors that influence them, while largely disregarding subjective thoughts and internal mental processes. Contemporary behaviorism emphasizes the study of mental states such as feelings and fantasies to the extent that they can be directly observed and measured.

Beliefs

An idea, value, mental attitude or conviction held by an individual regarding the truth, existence, or validity of something which are accepted as true often without absolute proof or evidence.

Bell curve

A bell curve is commonly used in statistics to illustrate the distribution of continuous data that follows a normal distribution pattern. Normal distribution is shaped like a bell, the curve being symmetrical around its peak, representing the mean (average) of the distribution.

Benchmarking

Systematically measuring and comparing the practices, processes, performance, or products/services against those of other organizations, industry standards, or best practices.

Bias

Systematic errors or inaccuracies introduced into the research process that distort the findings, conclusions, or interpretations of the study. Bias interferes with the extent to which results are valid and accurate, whether or not the research is reliable, and the potential for results to be representative of, or generalizable to, a wider population. Bias can arise in the identity of the researcher through assumptions and ideas related to his or her own culture that may influence data collection and analysis.