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Definition
| (rather than mathematical), using the most manageable codings as possible |
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| Process of concept to number and back (steps) |
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Definition
| Observation-> Coding-> Analysis of data-> read codes-> interpret results |
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Definition
| Process of assigning numerical values to our observations. |
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Definition
| a test of the statistical significance of the association between two nominal variables |
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Definition
a figure which a circle representing a given population has been segmented to show the distribution of particular attributes.
limitations- does not represent the sheer number, or change in number (multiple pie charts), very accurately |
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Definition
| a graphic representation in which the height, and occasionally the width, of a series of bars illustrates a set of observations on one or more variables. |
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Term
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Definition
| a graphic summary of the distribution of cases on two variables, in which the base line, or x-axis, is denoted in units of the independent variable; the vertical line, or Y-axis, is denoted in units of the dependent variable; and each dot represents observations of one case on both variables. |
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Definition
| a listing of each variable to be employed in a study, of each value the variable might take on, and of the numerical scores- the codes - associated with each of these values. |
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Definition
| a measure of position within a distribution. |
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Term
| coefficient of association |
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Definition
| a measure of the degree and direction of association between two variables. |
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Definition
| a particular change in the value of the independent variable X is always accompanied by a particular change in the value of the dependent variable Y. |
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Term
| Category frequency counts |
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Definition
| a set of words or phrases are first grouped into categories, then the program shows how many times each category occurs in the document. |
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Definition
| a single mode in the very center of the distribution and in which the frequencies decline symmetrically as the values become more extreme in each direction. |
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Definition
| a straight line drawn through the field of dots so no other line comes closer to touching all of the dots. (best fit line) |
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Definition
| a two-directional figure that is used to illustrate variation above or below some norm as represented by a center line. |
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Definition
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Definition
| analysis of the simultaneous relationship among three or more variables. |
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| native language questions |
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Definition
| asks for an example in the respondents' own words ("how would you describe event X in your own words?") |
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Definition
| bar graph used to show frequency distribution. |
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Definition
| The measure of location in an interval distribution based on standard deviation units about the mean. calculated by simply subtracting the mean from the score and then dividing by the standard deviation. allows us to compare scores that are based on very different units of measurements. |
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Term
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Definition
| collect data by personal contact with the events we are studying as they happen. |
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Term
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Definition
| connects with a continuous line all the data points for a given indicator and provides for a comparison of data points across indicators by representing each in a separate corresponding line, often in a contrasting style. |
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Term
| beta weight or beta coefficient |
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Definition
| a standardized partial regression coefficient used to compare the relative effects of independent variables on a dependent variable. |
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Term
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Definition
| data recording device whose structure is based on the codebook and whose form will aid in data entry and analysis in our statistics program. |
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Term
| partial regression coefficients |
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Definition
| a statistic that indicates the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable when the effects of all other variables in a model are controlled. |
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Term
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Definition
| during interviews, prompts keep people talking even when they believe that they do not have to say much in response to a specific question. |
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Term
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Definition
| each individual bar is subdivided to illustrate an additional set of observations relating to the distribution of attributes among the population represented by the bar itself. |
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Term
| scheduled vs unscheduled interviews |
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Definition
| elite interviews are largely unscheduled. a highly scheduled interview asks questions in order of their appearance and are predetermined and inflexible. |
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Term
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Definition
| measure of dispersion for interval variables |
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Term
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Definition
| likelihood that an association noted between two variables, based on analysis of a sample, might have occured by chance and might not exist in the larger population |
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Term
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Definition
| ex) researcher attends all public meetings of a city council and openly sits with other citizens in the audience but carefully watches the debate to analyze patterns of influence on the council without the knowledge of the council members. |
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Term
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Definition
| focus on a single issue or event mentioned by the respondent and then ask for an example ("can you give me an example of a time during which you did X?" |
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Term
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Definition
| helps identify the most typical value: the one value or score that best represents the entire set of cases on that variable. |
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Definition
| holding constant the influence of a third variable on the relationship between two other variables |
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Term
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Definition
number of cells in a table or points along a regression line that may be entered without being determined by prior entries.
df=(r-1)(c-1)
r=# of categories of the row variable
c=# of categories of the column variable |
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Term
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Definition
| in depth, one-on-one conversations with respondents used, as a means of gaining in-depth understanding of a phenomenon and discovering aspects of that phenomenon that researchers did not anticipate. |
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Definition
| interviews with respondents who are representative of persons from a particular group |
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Term
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Definition
| involves translating your verbal theory of the phenomenon into mathematical equation. |
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Definition
| little more than a tabular presentation of research data in what is essentially the form of a list. |
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Term
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Definition
| the condition in which one or more of the independent variables in a regression equation are perfect linear functions of one or more other independent variables in the equation |
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Term
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Definition
| the coefficient of association between two interval variables measuring the closeness of fit of data points around the regression line. |
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Term
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Definition
| a coefficient of association between two nominal variables. |
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Term
| crosstabulation (crosstab) |
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Definition
| most common form of table used in contemporary political science research. resemble simple tables but are based more directly upon hypotheses and are structured to facilitate an examination of the relationships between variables. (ex-regression table) |
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Term
| nominal, ordinal, or interval/ratio |
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Definition
| nominal- when numbers need distinguish only between mutually exclusive categories without respect to rank, ordinal- assign numbers in relative positions (rankings) of values, interval/ratio- numbers take more precise meanings where values are mutually exclusive and indicative of rank and distances between any two sets of adjacent categories are constant and equal. |
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Term
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Definition
| numbers that summarize either the distributions of values on, or the relationships between, variables. |
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Definition
| occurs anytime the persons being studied are aware of being observed. |
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Term
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Definition
| ordered count of the number of cases that take on each value of a variable. |
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Term
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Definition
| people who are part of the research team or are employed by it, who can read each key word in context. They are also known as judges. |
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Term
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Definition
| play role of critic or antagonist, questioning and challenging respondents' remarkes in hopes of forcing them to reveal information in order to defend their views or prove a point. |
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Term
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Definition
| provide a list of all the words that occur in a text and the number of times they occur. |
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Term
| grand tour questions (3 types) |
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Definition
| questions with provide respondents with the opportunity to talk about something they know well. 1- "typical"- asks respondents to describe a typical day in their office 2- "specific"- asks for a description based on some specific parameter decided by the interviewer, 3-"task-related"- asks respondents to carry out a common task while describing it to the interviewer |
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Term
| coefficient of determination (R^2) |
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Definition
regression sum of squares/total sum of squares. tells us how close all the data plots came to touching the "line" projected by our model
the multiple regression coefficient tells how much of the variance in the values on a dependent variable is "explained" by variance in a set of independent variables |
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Term
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Definition
| relies on the decision of a group of judges about the meaning or intensity of a term. |
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Term
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Definition
| small group of carefully selected individuals for an in-depth discussion of some topic guided by a moderator, in order to learn how people think about that topic. |
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Term
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Definition
| statistics describing the characteristics of individual variables |
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Term
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Definition
| statistics which summarize the relationship between two variables |
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Definition
| subjects are unaware of being observed. |
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Term
| Substance vs Structure content analysis |
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Definition
| substance- meanings of words and content, structure- what is said rather than how it is said. |
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Term
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Definition
| tells the observer what to look for, the order in which to make observations, and the way to record the results. |
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Definition
| a measure of dispersion for ordinal variables |
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Term
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Definition
| tells us the percentage of all cases that do not fit into the modal category. |
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Term
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Definition
| an indicator of variation around the measure of central tendency, that is, an indicator of its representativeness. |
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Term
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Definition
| the degree of consensus reached about the meaning of content. |
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Term
| elite interviewing vs survey interview |
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Definition
| the degree of how standardized the interview is |
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Term
| interobserver reliability |
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Definition
| the degree to which different observers classify similar events in the same way on the observation schedule. |
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Term
| structured vs unstructured observation |
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Definition
| the distinction is made on the basis of the degree to which the researcher organizes or structures the process of observation by imposing a preconceived set of concepts and categories. |
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Term
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Definition
| the most frequently occurring value |
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Term
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Definition
| the particular element or characteristic of a given communication that we shall examine, count, or assess. |
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Term
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Definition
| the systematic counting, assessing, and interpreting of the form and substance of communication. |
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Term
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Definition
| the value of the middle case in a distribution |
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Term
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Definition
| there is an association between two variables when knowing the value of one for a given case improves the odds of our guessing correctly the corresponding value of the second. |
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Term
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Definition
| a sample in which specific cases are purposely selected. |
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Term
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Definition
| when researchers actually become part of the events under study. |
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Term
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Definition
| when researchers data collection efforts have, in some way, influenced the data that are obtained and have produced an inaccurate picture of the reality they hope to understand. |
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Term
| Types of units of analysis (3) |
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Definition
| word- identify key words and count the frequency in which they appear, theme- a particular combination of words or ideas, such as a phrase, a sentence, or even a paragraph, item- the communication itself taken as a whole. |
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Term
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Definition
| a coefficient of association between two ordinal variables |
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Term
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Definition
| a statistical procedure for examining the relationship among a dependent variable and several independent variables. |
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