CAS PS 324 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Numerical Analysis, Qualitative Property, Internal Validity
Document Summary
Potential sources for ideas for research studies: 1) personal experience and daily events, 2) prior research and theory, 3) real-world problems, 4) serendipity. Hypothesis: testable statement that is tentatively held to be true. Police detectives collect evidence and then paint a picture of a suspect: deductive: using a general principle to reach a more specific conclusion. If the food is black then it is burnt, and the temperature was too high. Approaches to conducting research: quantitative: relies on numerical data and numerical analysis to describe and understand behavior, qualitative: seeks to achieve a holistic or thematic description and understanding of behavior through non-statistical analysis of data. Methods of analysis: quantitative data: numerical analysis, qualitative data: non-numerical analysis; identifying, classifying, describing different types of characteristics, outcomes, response, or general patterns. Analyzing data through statistics: descriptive statistics: organize and summarize a set of data, inferential statistics: allows researchers to draw conclusions about a population based on data from a sample.