Glossary

literature reviews that are organized around a theme, topic, trends or issue

A formal way of presenting evidence in a clear, concise, focused and structured manner according to the conventions of the discipline.

A technique to visually code data and establish relationships between them to discern themes and patterns.

This will tell you what topics and concerns the journal is interested in. It will also provide information such as whether the journal is peer-reviewed, frequency of publications, types of readers (academic versus practice), speed of publication, and types of articles that are considered

selective examinations of the literature with the goal of supporting or refuting an argument, deeply embedded assumption or a philosophical problem already established in the literature.

the descriptives (usually sample size, mean, distribution etc.) or characteristics (e.g. gender, age, class, ethnicity) of participants/unit of observation

The process of finding relationships between codes and developing broader categories.

Data with defects such as information acquired through erroneous or sufficiently low-quality collection methods, study designs, or sampling techniques.

words or statements that express your conviction about the validity of your statement(s)

A description of the themes at a conference and an invitation for your to indicate your interest in participating by submitting an abstract.

Create A Research Space or CARS is Swales' (1990) model for writing effective literature reviews involving determining the territory, establishing a niche and occupying the niche.

undertakes a linear or progressive examination of the literature in the field over time.

The process of organizing data into categories so that it can be analyzed

A graphical representation of concepts and relationships between those concepts.

When sufficient studies discussing a concept are found in a literature search such that the research is unable to find new details, applications or meanings in relation to it. In other words, it is when a  concept or paper becomes too prevalent in your literature review.

Taking note of how often a paper or concept is mentioned in the literature review.

the practice of ensuring that the context under which data is collected is similar across all cases in the study.

An aspect of grounded theory where a researcher sorts and organizes raw data into groups according to attributes to generate a new theory.

A technique used to analyze the content and features of social artifacts often by identifying the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts.

In qualitative research, it is the process of enumerating or assigning numbers to data that is non-numerical

Failure to include all components of the target population being studied, often arising from incomplete sampling frames.

The process of evaluating data and synthesizing them into a coherent manner in response to research question(s).

The processes and procedures used to collect, measure and analyze data.

Where two or more experts in the field who hold clearly differing points of view exchange insights on a topic. The interaction is usually moderated by a chairperson with a prepared set of questions.

Description or summary of the characteristics of a sample.

A qualitative analysis technique used to understand the meanings of language taking context into account.

prose which not only lists descriptions, but evaluates the evidence according to your research question

A collection of scholarly or scientific works (chapters) written by different authors and compiled in a single source by an editor (e.g. a book).

systematically observing social phenomena and or measuring constructs to demonstrate relationships among variables

Formal presentations by an acknowledged expert in the field who will share conceptual or methodological innovations through a lecture followed by response to audience questions

A record of the measurements, reflections, concerns, and other observations made by a researcher.

Uses preconceived categories, grids or matrices to determine patterns from the data.

Representations, either in a graphical or tabular format, that displays the number of observations.

The ambiguities, faults, and missing aspects of the established literature.

The ability to make inferences (broad statements) about the population from which the sample is drawn.

the agreed upon forms (the how’s) that a community believes best achieves their goals

What one hopes to achieve by answering the research question.

A method of generating hypotheses and theories through the process of collecting and analyzing data.

Thinking of one’s work as “in progress”, continually being improved rather than complete.

refers to the boundary (hedges) we place around our argument (what it can and cannot speak for)

An extreme form of self-doubt, one in which you feel a constant sense of paranoia that you will be found out, that at any moment the act will be up

Statistical procedures that allow researchers to draw inferences from the data, i.e., make predictions or deductions about the population from which the sample is drawn.

The tools used to obtain data (e.g., questionnaires, interviews etc.).

In data analysis refers to how reliable one’s coding scheme is and whether it actually measures the constructs as intended.

a paradigm that sees social reality as not singular or objective, but is rather shaped by human experiences and social contexts (ontology), and is therefore best studied within its socio-historic context by reconciling the subjective interpretations of its various participants (epistemology) –see Bhattacherjee (2012).

Relates to how one’s subjective interests link to others.

A talk that establishes a main underlying theme usually delivered by an expert.

An analytical summary of previous work on a topic. It describes, summarizes, clarifies and evaluates existing works as a means of understanding what is done or omitted in the field.

Identifying and making plans to address goals that address milestone components in a project, usually over a relatively longer time horizon (e.g. monthly).

A table which organizes your quotations under broad themes (in the columns) and cases (in the rows) to allow for easy comparison.

When the response provided differs from the real value; such errors may be attributable to the respondent, the interviewer, the questionnaire, the collection method or the respondent's record-keeping system (OECD, 2013).

the process of documenting ideas about concepts and their theoretically coded relationships as they evolve during the research process.

focus primarily on the different ways that a phenomenon have been studied

Identifying and making plans to address goals that address small tasks in a project, usually over a relatively shorter time horizon (e.g. weekly or daily).

Occurs when a researcher fails to get a response to at least one of the questions on an instrument.

Questions about whether the paper advancing new knowledge or an original contribution to the field

A further elaboration on goals i.e., details about the steps that will be taken to achieve the goal.

The practice of distributing research outputs and other scholarships online, free of access charges or other barriers.

The first stage in grounded theory where bits of information are assigned labels purely based on the data being analyzed

The process of defining how one is going to measure a phenomenon that is not directly measurable.

Where one or more speakers (joint-presenters) share research results, completed works, innovative concepts, theoretical application, methodologies or tools.

the practice of sketching out the main points and sub-points (or arguments) and the supporting evidence that will be provided.

Where multiple speakers present their perspectives, ideas or research on a common theme or issue.

A measure of the linear relationship between variables (commonly used in regressions).

Evaluation of scientific, academic work by others working in the same field

The way that one’s position in the social hierarchy potentially shapes his/her/their identity and mediates access to power, opportunities and understandings of others.

is a description of an author’s identity, social location, experiences, influences, and philosophy concerning an issue.

A visual representation of your research through text, charts, graphs, and other visual aids on a poster.

Exploitative academic publishing business models that involve charging fees to authors while failing to perform rigorous review to uphold quality and integrity of scholarship.

Research that collects and derives its own raw data by sampling participants or cases, such as selecting and interviewing respondents.

The activities that a researcher takes to collect data.

The data that are fit for their intended purpose, and have a close relationship with the construct they are intended to measure.

A statement outlining the reason that the researcher is conducting the study and a justification of the significance of the study.

the bias that results when answers to certain questions are hard to recall

how you advertised the study, whether a stipend or incentive was offered, and how students finally agreed to join in the study

One’s ability to recognize, examine, react, and articulate his/her/their emotions, motives, and situation and articulate how external power relations influence research. 

The sense of accountability that a researcher has to participants and their communities.

The notion that another researcher should be able to repeat your methods and find the same results (see replicable).

Refers to the ability to repeat a study’s method and produce the same results (see repeatable).

A committee of experts who applies research ethics to prospective research by reviewing the ethics applications and methods to ensure that they meet ethical standards.

The common beliefs, preferences, and assumptions shared amongst a group of researchers

A statistical error arising from the failure to select a sample that fully represents the population. It is inevitable each time a sample is drawn.

A list of the items or people forming a population from which a sample is taken.

The extent to which a phenomena will be studied and the parameters within which the study is being conducted.

Uses data from other primary research projects, such as a systematic literature review of other research.

The identification of core categories that captures the essence of the data and relating them to the rest of the data, i.e., developing overarching categories.

Acts of attending to one’s physical, emotional, mental and other needs.

Excessive or unrestrained gratification of one's own appetites, desires, or whims.

Extreme lack of attention to one’s mental, emotional and physical needs.

words used to convey transitions between different ideas in your paper e.g., ‘however’, ‘furthermore’ etc.

Goal setting technique to ensure that your plans are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, engaging and rewarding (see MacLeod, 2012).

things created by humans e.g., books, graffiti, advertisements, photographs, blogs etc.

the tendency not to disclose “anti-social” information about oneself and others –is common in primary data collection. Similarly, recall bias –the bias that results when answers to certain questions are hard to recall

The conditions, events, behaviors, or actions that either disrupt society or negatively impact many people.

Tools for charting the relationships and visually representing the social links and preferences of individuals.

The practice of locating individuals' private troubles and their intersection with the social structural, political and historical context that shapes their experiences.

A nonparametric measure of the relationship between variables, and is useful when variables are measured on scales that are at least ordinal.

When the data obtained is able to address the research question in an unbiased manner.

A research method involving sample data collected via questionnaires or interviews in a systematic manner.

provide an overview of existing evidence (findings) as they relate to the research question of interest, drawing on previously published empirical observations, noting their methods, findings and analyses.

Provides an overview of existing evidence (findings) as they relate to the research question of interest, drawing on previously published empirical observations, noting their methods, findings and analyses.

Refers to the coding of data using predetermined categories i.e., based on a template.

Uses other papers and articles, sometimes even other data (like secondary research), but with the purpose of advancing a new argument in the field.

A process of data collection where the researcher simultaneously collects, codes and analyses data, which informs decisions about the next steps in data collection. The aim is to generate theory from the process.

Refers to when additional data fails to yield any significant change in the core categories or the relationships (see Bhattacherjee, 2012).

Entails testing, exploring or developing arguments or theories based on observations or the compilation of information.

focused on the selection of social artifacts, ideas, theories and other secondary data to make an argument or to critique, expand, evaluate, compare or make applications of a theory(ies).

Details of the contexts of behaviors and actions as interpreted by actors so that outsiders can have a better understanding of them.

The process of determining needs, setting goals to achieve these needs, and prioritizing and planning tasks required to achieve these goals

word-for-word reproduction of verbal data, where the written words are an exact replication of the audio recorded words.