Research Terms and Definitions

Match the letter of the term on the right to the definition of that term on the left.

A. Interval

B. Cross-sectional

C. Ordinal

D. Basic research

E. Exploratory

F. Longitudinal

G. Operational definition

H. Ratio

I. Applied research

J. Nominal

K. Descriptive

L. Causal

1.A research study which includes repeated observations over a period of time. ____
2.A type of research that uses focus groups or small studies to get a "feel" for the problem. _C___
3.It means in name only, data that consist of observations that can only be classified and counted by category and have no inherent order. For example: The colors chosen by car buyers at a dealership. __C__
4.Using basic research methods, the outcome of the research is applied to a business problem. ____
5.A measurement scale that has no meaningful absolute zero point. For example: The scheduled arrival times (2:00pm, 2:30pm, and 3:00pm) of delivery trucks at a loading dock. _H___
6.Often used in marketing and sales, this type of research always asks "who, what, when, where, and how" in research questions. ____
7.A measurement that uses absolute values. Height, weight, distance, and money are all examples. ____
8.Numbers assigned to objects representative of the rank order when the distance between each of the measures cannot be determined scientifically. For example, a measure that indicates how a person "feels" on an issue. ____
9.Research conducted where one unit is held steady, while the experiment is conducted on the other unit. This is to test whether the experiment itself is the reason for change in the experimental unit. ____
10.The clinical or scientific method of research. This type of research is often done in laboratories or in controlled circumstances. ____
11.A research question stated in terms of specific testing or measurement criteria. These terms must have empirical referents (this means that we must be able to count or measure them in some way). The object to be defined can be a physical one (a machine tool), or it can be an abstract one (achievement motivation). ____
12.A research study which uses data collected at a single point in time. This gives a snapshot of what is occurring somewhere at a given time. ____