RESEARCH METHODS

BACKGROUND

Introduction to Research

WHY?

Introduction to Research
Methods

of Knowledge Acquisition

Authority - Knowledge based on

authority may rely upon the reputation of
an individual
Rationalism The use of reasoning,
alone, to arrive at knowledge
Ex: All statistics professors are incredible people.
Ms. D is a statistics professor.
Therefore, Ms. D. is an incredible person.

Introduction to Research
Methods

of Knowledge Acquisition

Intuition Acquiring knowledge through a

sudden insight, the clarifying idea that springs
through consciousness all at once as a whole.
Scientific Method Uses both reasoning and
intuition for establishing truth. Relies on
objective assessment.

Introduction to Research
Methods

of Knowledge Acquisition

Intuition Acquiring knowledge through a

sudden insight, the clarifying idea that springs
through consciousness all at once as a whole.
Scientific Method Uses both reasoning and
intuition for establishing truth. Relies on
objective assessment.

Introduction to Research
The

Scientific Method

Ask a Question
Do Background Research
Construct a Hypothesis
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
Communicate Your Results

Introduction to Research
The Research Process

Introduction to Research

Definition of Terms
Population The complete set of
individuals, objects or scores, that the
investigator is interested in studying.
Sample A subset of the population.
Variable -Any property or characteristic
of some event, object, or person that
may have different values at different
times depending on the conditions.

Introduction to Research
Definition

of Terms

Independent Variable (IV) - The

independent variable in an experiment is the
variable that is systematically manipulated
by the investigator
Dependent Variable (DV) - The dependent
variable in an experiment is the variable that
the investigator measures to determine the
effect of the independent variable.

Introduction to Research
Definition

of Terms

Data - The measurements that are made on

the subjects of an experiment are called
data.
Statistic - A statistic is a number calculated
on sample data that quantifies a
characteristic of the sample.
Parameter - parameter is a number
calculated on population data that
quantifies a characteristic of the population.

Introduction to Research
Definition

of Terms

Data - The measurements that are made on

the subjects of an experiment are called
data.
Statistic - A statistic is a number calculated
on sample data that quantifies a
characteristic of the sample.
Parameter - parameter is a number
calculated on population data that
quantifies a characteristic of the population.

Exercise!

An English teacher conducts an experiment to determine

whether the mode of presentation affects how well a lesson
material is remembered. For this experiment, the teacher uses
several words and passages that are presented visually or
auditorily. 100 students are selected from the undergraduates
attending the university at which the teacher works. The
students are divided into two groups of 50 students per group.
The first group receives a visual presentation of the words and
passages, and the second group hears the words and passages
through an auditory presentation. At the end of their respective
presentations, the subjects are asked to write down as much of
the material as they can remember. The average number of
words remembered by each group is calculated, and the two
group averages are compared to see whether the mode of
presentation had an effect.