Data Collection & Analysis Flashcards

Cronbach's alpha is a measure of:

Answer: Internal consistency reliability

Cronbach's alpha quantifies the internal consistency of a multi-item scale by assessing how well items that measure the same construct correlate with each other.

A researcher records participants' exact words during interviews without interpretation. This stage is called:

Answer: Transcription

Transcription converts recorded speech verbatim into written text, preserving the raw qualitative data before any analytical coding begins.

Which sampling method would be most appropriate when the population is divided into distinct, non-overlapping subgroups of interest?

Answer: Stratified random sampling

Stratified random sampling divides the population into strata and randomly samples from each, ensuring all subgroups are proportionally represented.

In quantitative research, a p-value of 0.03 means:

Answer: There is a 3% probability of obtaining results this extreme if the null hypothesis is true

A p-value represents the probability of observing data as extreme as the sample, assuming the null hypothesis is true — not the probability that any hypothesis is correct.

Secondary data analysis involves:

Answer: Analyzing data collected by another researcher for a different original purpose

Secondary data analysis uses pre-existing datasets — such as government records or prior studies — to answer new research questions without new data collection.

Which type of interview format gives participants the most freedom to guide the conversation?

Answer: Unstructured interview

Unstructured interviews use open-ended prompts with no fixed question sequence, allowing participants to direct the discussion toward topics most meaningful to them.

The mode of a dataset is best defined as:

Answer: The value that appears most frequently

The mode is the most frequently occurring value in a dataset and is the only measure of central tendency applicable to nominal-level data.