Query-

search terms used in a database to find sources

Abstract-

the short paragraph at the beginning of an article that summarizes the its main point

Confidence interval-

a range of values in which the true value is likely to be

Null hypothesis-

the assumption that no relationship exists between the variables in question

P-value-

a statistical measure of the probability that there is no relationship between the variables under study

Statistical significance-

the likelihood that the relationships that are observed could be caused by something other than chance

Table-

a quick, condensed summary of the report’s key findings

Literature review-

a survey of factual or nonfiction books, articles, and other documents published on a particular subject

Signposting-

words that identify the organization and structure of a literature review

Target population-

group of people whose needs your study addresses

Concept-

notion or image that we conjure up when we think of some cluster of related observations or ideas

Conceptualization-

writing out clear, concise definitions for our key concepts, particularly in quantitative research

Multi-dimensional concepts-

concepts that are comprised of multiple elements

Reification-

assuming that abstract concepts exist in some concrete, tangible way

Index-

measure that contains several indicators and is used to summarize a more general concept

Indicators-

represent the concepts that we are interested in studying

Operationalization-

process by which researchers conducting quantitative research spell out precisely how a concept will be measured and how to interpret that measure

Scale-

composite measure designed in a way that accounts for the possibility that different items on an index may vary in intensity

Typology-

measure that categorizes concepts according to particular themes