If you are a seasoned academician, or a PhD scholar with a few years of research experience, you will be familiar with a lot of terms that research writers use. Specific terms are used for some activities that they perform during the course of research, and most of these terms can be confusing if you are not careful about the way in which you are using them.
The first two terms, are theoretical and empirical, used often in a contrasting form. Theoretical implies being concerned with developing, exploring and testing the theories or ideas that explain how the societies function. On the other hand, an empirical research is one where the results are based on observation and real measurements or data. Here, the researcher’s perception of the world around him will play a critical role. Most social science researches are a blend of the two ideologies. Scholars need to explore prior data, as well as note their observations of the research participants. When a scholar approaches Dissertation Writing Services, he will be advised on the use of theoretical and empirical approach, and the extent to which they must be combined.
Another peculiar term is nomothetic, which refers to the general population. Since research at the higher academic level yields results which are applicable for to the general population, they can be described as nomothetic. When a scholar is taking up case studies, he will limit his study to a single person or case. This approach is called idiographic since ‘idios’ means the characteristics of an individual in Greek. If you are not aware of the terms that instructors use, at times everything can sound like Greek.
Probabilistic is another term that is probably the most hyped word in new age research. This word connotes that t results are based on probability of a factor, and may not be applicable to all cases covered under the population or within the sphere of the subject. There is the need to validate the results to show their exact coverage. Scholars use statistical tools and tests to find the percentage and ratios of probability for research results. For scholars in UK Dissertation Consultation Company offers mentoring for determination of probability and application of the statistical tools.
The last word that we will talk about today is causal. Beware of replacing ‘causal’ with ‘casual’, since this is a common mistake that scholars commit when they are too tired or in a rush to submit their project. This term denotes the cause-effect relation between the factors being considered by the research and the results derived. While many studies may be limited to studying prior theory and making a comparison, as well as observing the participant group and stating the observations, social science studies can go beyond this scope. The ultimate aim of research must be to bring about a change and improve the way things work. For this, it is necessary to have study the causal relationship.
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