50 Common Terms Used in Academic

Research and Their Meanings

1. Abstract: A brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, or other study.

2. Annotated Bibliography: A list of citations to books, articles, and documents, each

followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph.

3. Case Study: A research method involving an up-close, in-depth, and detailed

examination of a subject of study (the case), as well as its related contextual
conditions.

4. Citation: A reference to a published or unpublished source.

5. Cohort Study: A type of observational study that analyzes risk factors and follows a
group of people who do not have the disease, and uses correlations to determine
the absolute risk of subject contraction.

6. Control Group: In experiments, a group of subjects that does not receive the
treatment being tested, used as a benchmark to measure how the other tested
subjects do.

7. Correlation: A measure indicating the extent to which two or more variables

fluctuate together.

8. Dependent Variable: The variable being tested and measured in a study.

9. Double-blind Study: A study in which neither the participants nor the experimenters
know who is receiving a particular treatment.

10. Empirical Study: A study based on factual statements and statistics.

11. Ethnography: A qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena.

12. Experimental Group: In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment
that constitutes the independent variable.

13. Hypothesis: A proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a

starting point for further investigation.

14. Independent Variable: The variable that is varied or manipulated by the researcher.

15. Inferential Statistics: Statistics that are used to infer patterns about a population
based on a sample.

16. Literature Review: A comprehensive survey of scholarly articles, books, and other
sources relevant to a particular area of research.

17. Longitudinal Study: A research design that involves repeated observations of the
same variables over short or long periods of time.

18. Meta-analysis: A statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific
studies.
19. Methodology: The systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field
of study.

20. Mixed Methods: A research approach that combines quantitative and qualitative
research methods.

21. Operational Definition: A definition of a variable or condition in terms of the specific

operation or procedure used to determine its presence.

22. Peer Review: The evaluation of work by one or more people of similar competence
to the producers of the work (peers).

23. Population: In research, the entire group of individuals or instances about whom the
information is desired.

24. Primary Source: An original source of information about the topic.

25. Qualitative Research: Research that seeks to provide understanding of human

experience, perceptions, motivations, intentions, and behaviors based on description
and observation and utilizing a naturalistic interpretative approach to a subject and
its context.

26. Quantitative Research: Research that focuses on quantifying the collection and
analysis of data.

27. Random Sample: A sample that fairly represents a population because each member
of the population has an equal chance of being included.

28. Reliability: The degree to which the result of a measurement, calculation, or

specification can be depended on to be accurate.

29. Research Design: The overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different
components of the study in a coherent and logical way.

30. Sample Size: The number of subjects included in a study.

31. Secondary Source: Any source about an event, period, or issue in history that was
produced after that event, period or issue has passed.

32. Statistical Significance: A measure of the strength of the evidence that rejects the
null hypothesis.

33. Survey: A research method for collecting information from a predefined group of
respondents to gain information and insights on various topics of interest.

34. Theory: A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something.

35. Thesis Statement: A statement of the central argument of the thesis/dissertation.

36. Validity: The extent to which a concept, conclusion, or measurement is well-founded

and corresponds accurately to the real world.

37. Variable: Any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types.

38. Blinding/Masking: A procedure in which one or more parties in the trial are unaware
of the treatment assignments.
39. Cross-sectional Study: A type of observational study that analyzes data from a
population, or a representative subset, at a specific point in time.

40. Data Analysis: The process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical
techniques to describe and illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data.

41. Descriptive Statistics: Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study.

42. Experimental Design: The design of any information-gathering exercises where

variation is present, whether under the full control of the experimenter or not.

43. Factor Analysis: A statistical method used to describe variability among observed,
correlated variables in terms of potentially lower number of unobserved variables.

44. Generalizability: The extent to which research findings and conclusions from a study
conducted on a sample population can be applied to the population at large.

45. Intervention Study: A study where the researchers intervene to change something
(e.g., administer a drug).

46. Narrative Analysis: A method of analyzing the narratives or stories that participants
tell to investigate the meanings that these narratives have for the participant.

47. Observational Study: A type of study in which individuals are observed or certain
outcomes are measured.

48. Pilot Study: A small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, time,
cost, risk, and adverse events involved in a full-scale study.

49. Regression Analysis: A statistical process for estimating the relationships among
variables.

50. Sampling Error: The error caused by observing a sample instead of the whole
population.