judging merits of a research report in which the peer researcher doesn't know the identity of the researcher and vice versa

Numerical (QUANTITATIVE) and non numerical (QUALITATIVE) information and evidence that have been carefully gathered according to rules or established procedures

Description of what we can observe and experience directly through human senses or indirectly using techniques that extends the senses

Tendency to project one's way of thinking onto other people

using prior reputation of persons, places, or things to color one's evaluations rather than evaluating all in a neutral, equal manner

PR term used to criticize scientific research even if it is conducted properly that produces findings that an advocacy group opposes

A body of ideas of info clothed in the jargon and outward appearance of science that seeks to win acceptance but not actually created with the systematic rigor/standard of scientific method

Act of making a judgement or reaching a decision and ending an investigation before gathering the amount or depth of evidence required by scientific standards

Statement that goes far beyond what can be justified based on the data or emprirical observations that one has

A collection of people who share a system of attitudes, beliefs, and rules that sustains the production and advances of scientific knowledge

A system of interconnected ideas that condenses and organizes the knowledge about the social world and explains how it works

An article in a specialized publication that has members of the scientific community as its primary audience a means to disseminate new ideas and findings within the scientific community

Process of examination in a way the reinforced preexisting thinking rather than in a neutral and balanced manner

Applied research in which the primary goal is to facilitate social change or bring about a value-oriented political social goal

Research designed to offer practical solutions to a concert problem or address the immediate and specific needs of clinicians or practitioners

Research designed to advance fundamental knowledge about how the world works and build/test theoretical explanations by focusing on the "why" question. The scientific community is its primary audience.

Research that is an in-depth examination of an extensive amount of information about very few units or cases for one period or across multiple periods of time

Longitudinal research that traces information about a category of cases or people who shared a common experience at one time period across subsequent time periods

Research in which the content of a communication medium is systematically recorded and analyzed

Any research that examines information on many cases at one point in time

Research in which the primary purpose is to "paint a picture" using words or numbers and to present a profile, a classification of types or an outline of steps to answer questions such as who, when, where, and how

An applied research tool economists developed in which a monetary value is assigned to the inputs and outcomes of a process and then the researcher examines the balance between them

Applied research in which one tried to determine how well a program or policy is working or reaching its goals and objectives

Action research in which the research participants actively help design and conduct the research study. It emphasizes democratizing knowledge-creation and engaging in collective actions, and it assumes that political knowledge emerges from participating in research

Applied research that documents the likely consequences for various areas of social life if a major new change is introduced into a community

An applied research tool that gathers descriptive information about a need, issue or concern, including its magnitude, scope and severity

Knowledge narrowly focused to answer a basic or applied research question, issue or concern with an outcome or task-oriented orientation

Knowledge used to broadly examine the assumptions, context, and moral-value positions of basic or applied social research, including the research process itself and the implications of what is learned

Research funded and conducted at the behest of someone other than the researcher; the person conducting the study often has limited control over the research question, methods of a study, and presentation of results

Research whose primary purpose is to examine a little understood issue or phenomenon and to develop preliminary ideas about it and move toward refined research questions

Research whose primary purpose is to explain why events occur and to build elaborate, extend or test theory

Any research that examines information from many units or cases across more than one point in time

Longitudinal research in which information can be about different cases or people in each of several time periods

Longitudinal research in which information is about the identical cases or people in each of several times

Research in which the researcher manipulates conditions for some research participants but not others and then compares group responses to see whether doing so made a difference

Quantitative research in which the researcher systematically asks a large number of people the same questions and then records their answers

Research methods in which people are not aware of being studied

Research in which one reexamines and statistically analyzes quantitative data that have been gathered by government agencies or other organizations

Qualitative research in which the researcher directly observes and records notes on people in a natural setting for an extended period of time

Qualitative research in which the researcher examines data on events and conditions in the historical past and/or in different societies

A type of theory that is general and applies across many specific topic areas

A type of theory that is specifically tailored to a particular topic area

An untested starting point or belief in a theory that is necessary in order to build a theoretical explanation

The co-occurence of two events, characteristics, or factors so that when one happens or is present, the other one is likely to happen or be present as well

A theoretical statement about the relationship between two or more concepts

An empirically testable version of a theoretical proposition that has not yet been tested or verified with empirical evidence. It is most used in deductive theorizing and can be restated as a prediction

A type of theoretical explanation about why events occur and how things work expressed in terms of causes and effects or as one factor producing certain results

The idea that simple is better; everything else being equal, a social theory that explains more with less complexity is better

A type of concept classification that presents a pure, abstract model of an event, process or idea. It is used in building social theory and in the analysis of data

A narrow, quasi-theoretical statement that expresses empirical patterns or describes empirical regularities using concepts that are not very abstract

An approach to developing or confirming a theory that begins with concrete empirical evidence and works toward more abstract concepts and theoretical relationships

An approach to developing or confirming a theory that begins with abstract concepts and theoretical relationships and works toward more concrete empirical evidence

A characteristics of a concept that ranges of empirical and concrete, often easily observable in daily experience, to very abstract, unseen mental creations

The units, cases or parts of social life that are under consideration. They are key to developing concepts, empirically measuring or observing concepts, and using data analysis

A nonscientific quasi-theory, often based on political values or faith with assumptions, concepts, relationships among concepts, and explanations. It is a closed system that resists change, cannot be directly falsified with empirical data and makes normative claims

A theorized classification or quasi-theory that is created by cross-classifying or combining two or more simple concepts tot form a set of interrelated subtypes

A type of inductive social theory often used in qualitative research that builds toward abstract theory, often by making comparisons of empirical observations

An association between two concepts or measures so that as one increased, the other also increases, to when is present, the other is also present

An association between two concepts or measures so that as on increases, the other decreases, or when one is present, the other is absent

Social theory focusing on the micro level of social life that occurs over short durations

Social theory focusing on the macro level of social life

Social theory focusing on the relations, processes and structures at a midlevel of social life

An area of philosophy that deals with the nature of being, or what exists; the area of philosophy that asks what really is and what the fundamental categories of reality are

An area of philosophy concerned with the creation of knowledge; focuses on how we know what we know or what are the most valid ways to reach truth

General cause-effect rules used in causal explanations of social theory and whose discovery is a primary objective of positivist social science

A change process emphasized in critical social science in which social relationships contain irresolvable inner contradictions; over time they will trigger a dramatic upset and a total restructuring of the relationship

A way to evaluate explanations in critical social science by putting theoretical explanations into real-life practice and the subsequent outcome is used to refine explanation

An idea used in critical social science referring to when people become detached from and lose sight of their connection to their own creations and treat them as being alien, external force

A general organizing framework for theory and research that includes basic assumptions, key issues, models of quality research, and methods for seeking answers

A word from German that means empathetic understanding and that is a primary goal for social research according to interpretative social science

An orientation toward social reality that assumes the beliefs and meaning that people create and use fundamentally shape what reality is for them

An informal model or scheme people use in everyday life to categorize and organize the flow of the events and situation that they can experience; often part of common knowledge or common sense, it simplifies and helps to organize the complexity and flow of life

A principle used in interpretive social science that no single point of view or value position is better than others, and all are equally valid for those who hold them

A positivist social science principle that social research should be conducted in an objective manner based on empirical evidence alone and without interference from moral-political values