Research Key Terms

Source (unless noted otherwise): Glossary of Key Terms in Educational Research

• Chi-square analysis: a common non-parametric statistical test which compares an expected proportion or ratio to an actual proportion or ratio.

• Data saturation: The point at which data collection can cease. This point of closure is arrived at when the information that is being shared with the researcher becomes repetitive and contains no new ideas, so the researcher can be reasonably confident that the inclusion of additional participants is unlikely to generate any new ideas.

• Ecological Systems Theory: a theory established by Bronfenbrenner in 1977 that theorizes that a child's development is influenced by different parts of their environment, like family, school, culture, and time. Each of the five systems that make up a child's environment (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem) plays a role in shaping how the child grows and learns (Simply Psychology: Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory). 

• Explanatory mixed methods design: A study in which quantitative data are collected first and findings tested with subsequent quantitative data.

• Focus group: An interview conducted with a small group of people to explore their ideas on a particular topic. 

• Inter-item correlation: the degree of correlation between each test item in a set, used as a measure of the internal consistency of a test and thus of its reliability. For example, a participant’s responses to each item on a 10-item test could be correlated with his or her responses to every other item on the test to determine the extent to which the items reflect the same construct (American Psychological Association (APA) Dictionary).

• Interaction matrix: a data display in mixed-methods research that shows quantitative and qualitative findings side-by-side which helps the researchers compare the findings and generate meta-inferences (Joint displays for mixed methods research in psychology)

• Intersectionality theory: people can face disadvantages because of different aspects of their identity, affect and influence each other, like their race, social class, gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion. This can lead to a combination of different forms of oppression and discrimination (Center for Intersectional Justice: What is intersectionality?).

• Member checking: the practice of a researcher restating, summarizing, or paraphrasing the information received from a respondent to ensure that what was heard or written down is in fact correct.

• Mixed methods research:  a research approach that uses two or more methods from both the quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (descriptive) research categories. 

• p-value: The probability that the results of a statistical test were due to chance. The lower the p-value the more rigorous the criteria for concluding significance.

• Reliability: The degree to which scores obtained with an instrument are consistent measures of whatever the instrument measures.

• Theoretical framework: The conceptual underpinning of a research study which may be based on theory or a specific conceptual model (in which case it may be referred to as the conceptual framework). 

• Triangulation: Using a variety of research methods to gain a diverse source of data pertaining to a specific research problem or question. This process helps to enhance the validity of data since it does not overly rely on any particular method.

• Validity: The degree to which data and results are accurate reflections of reality. Validity refers to the concepts that are investigated, the people or objects that are studied; the methods by which data are collected; and the findings that are produced.

  1. Content validity:  the researcher deliberately targets individuals acknowledged to be experts in the topic area to give their opinions on the validity of the measure.

  2. Internal validity: the rigor with which the study was conducted. It is also the extent to which the designers of a study have taken into account alternative explanations for any causal relationships they explore.

  3. External validity: the extent to which the results of a study are generalizable or transferable

• Voluntary response sampling: a non-probability sampling technique in which participants self-select or volunteer themselves to participate in a study. In other words, individuals who are interested in the research project or have some personal connection to the topic of study are more likely to participate than those who are not (ResearchMethod.net: Volunteer Sampling)