Data Collection & Analysis Flashcards

When a study measures participants at multiple time points to track change over time, it is called a:

Answer: Longitudinal study

Longitudinal studies follow the same participants over an extended period to examine how variables change over time.

Which data visualization is most appropriate for showing the frequency distribution of a continuous variable?

Answer: Histogram

Histograms display the distribution of a continuous variable by grouping values into bins and showing their frequencies.

Triangulation in research means:

Answer: Using multiple methods or data sources to validate findings

Triangulation enhances credibility by cross-checking results using different data sources, methods, investigators, or theories.

In regression analysis, what does the R-squared value represent?

Answer: The proportion of variance in the outcome explained by the predictors

R-squared (coefficient of determination) indicates how much of the dependent variable's variability is accounted for by the independent variables.

Which phenomenon describes survey respondents providing answers they believe are socially acceptable rather than truthful?

Answer: Social desirability bias

Social desirability bias occurs when respondents answer in ways they think will be viewed favorably rather than reporting their actual behavior or attitudes.

An ethnographic researcher embeds with a community for six months to understand their culture from the inside. This is known as:

Answer: Participant observation

Participant observation requires the researcher to actively engage with the community being studied to gain insider understanding.

Cronbach's alpha is a measure of:

Answer: Internal consistency reliability

Cronbach's alpha measures how closely related a set of items are as a group, assessing the internal consistency of a multi-item scale.