Student Name Camila Moreda
Chapter 2 (Type directly on this document, feel free to adjust spacing to meet your needs)
1. What is a theory? How is this different than a hypothesis?
A
theory is an organized group of ideas supported by observations, experiences or logical reasoning that
explain a certain phenomenon. Theories differ from hypotheses due to the fact that the latter are not as
well sustained by evidence as theories are.
2. What is an operational definition?
An operational definition looks to identify specific, observable events or conditions
that any other researcher could independently measure or test for them.
3.
Create a chart to detail the following kinds on non-experimental studies (this means that this is
not done in a lab, and as such each of the non-experimental designs has its own set of
challenges.)
Design type
Describe or give definition
Pros
Cons
for this type of study
Very rich
Not conductive of
Case Study
The use of a descriptive
description of
empirical research
research approach to
Can’t be
obtain an in-depth analysis subject
Easy
to
control
generalized to a
of a person, group, or
larger population
phenomeno
Observer Bias
Naturalistic Observation
Naturalistic observation is a
research method that
involves observing subjects
in their natural environmen
Allows to study
behavior under
natural, less
artificial
conditions
Difficult to control
Difficult to make
observations
without affecting
the subject’s
behavior
Survey
A survey is a method for
collecting information or
data as reported by
individual
Easily
administrated and
analyzed
Can obtain the
perspective of
many people
Archival Research
Archival research is a type
of research which involves
seeking out and extracting
evidence from archival
records
Can be highly
accurate
Usually allows for
historical
comparisons or
trend analysi
Can be difficult to
generalize results
Might have
unreliable
participants who
give unnacurrate,
dishonest answers
Appropriate
records often not
available
Data collected by
nonscientist
Often allows for
comparisons
Need to learn how
records were
Longitudinal Study
Cross- Sectional Study
with larger
population
compiled to
assess validit
A longitudinal study is a
research design that
involves repeated
observations of the same
variables over short or long
periods of tim
Allows
researchers to
look at changes
over tim
Longitudinal
studies require
enormous
amounts of time
and are often
quite expensiv
A cross-sectional study is a
type of observational study
that analyzes data from a
population, or a
representative subset, at a
specific point in tim
The use of
routinely
collected data
allows large
cross-sectional
studies to be
made at little or
no expens
Can very useful
when looking at
changes in
development
over time
Facilitates
researchers to
examine
different
variables at the
same time.
The data on the
subject
researched is not
conserved