Describing research methods
Useful word combinations
We may carry out a procedure or an experiment or a pilot study, [preliminary study] We use or, more formally, employ a method or a technique or an approach or an instrument or a device, [an object or method used for a special purpose] You can also use or employ any particular type of research methodology.
Apparatus [equipment for a lab experiment] is assembled and checked. Apparatus is an uncountable noun but you can talk about a piece of apparatus.
Types of research method
research method	what the researcher does	limitation of method
experimental study	manipulates1 a variable [anything that can vary] under highly controlled conditions to see if this produces [causes] any changes in a second [dependent] variable	done in the highly controlled setting of the laboratory - these conditions are artificial2 and may not reflect what happens in the infinitely more complex real world; other researchers often try to replicate3 successful experiments
correlational study	attempts to determine the relationship between two or more variables, using mathematical techniques for summarising data	only shows that two variables are related in a systematic way, but does not prove or disprove4 that the relationship is a cause-and-effect relationship
naturalistic (empirical) observation (also known as field study)	observes and records some behaviour or phenomenon3, often over a prolonged period, in its natural setting without interfering with6 the subjects or phenomena in any way	can be very time-consuming as researcher may have to wait for some time to observe the behaviour or phenomenon of interest; difficult to observe behaviour without disrupting7 it
survey	makes inferences from8 data collected via interviews or questionnaires	intentional deception, poor memory, or misunderstanding of the question can all contribute to inaccuracies in the data
case study	keeps in-depth9 descriptive records, as an outside observer, of an individual or group	often involves only a single individual as the subject of the study and this person may not be representative10 of the genera! group or population [
1 makes changes to 2 not natural 3 do in seen, felt, tasted, etc. * altering 7 making it
exactly the same way A show something is change s comes to conclusions on the basis of
not true 5 something that exists and can be        9 detailed 10 typical
Remember that phenomenon is the singular and phenomena is the plural.The same applies | to criterion/criteria, [a standard by which you judge, decide about or deal with something] :■ ■"3$ See also Unit 31. :|s
90   Academic Vocabulary in Use
Exercises
41.1    Complete the sentences in these two texts with words from the opposite page.
Scientists disagree as to whether cold fusion, the controlled power of the hydrogen bomb in the
| laboratory, is possible. In the past, some believed that e................................s................................under
; la...................................c....................................using palladium and platinum electrodes could in fact cause heavy
: hydrogen atoms to fuse into helium and release energy, as the sun does. In carefully controlled
' experiments, researchers believed they could ma...................................the v.............................. arising from the
I complexity of the electrodes and other equipment used. In such co.....................................co...................................,
i they argued, cold fusion was possible. However, attempts to r.................................some of the
experiments which claimed to be successful failed, and many now believe that cold fusion is in
fact theoretically impossible.
Some linguists believe that we can best d..................................how language is processed by
laboratory experiments. However, laboratory experiments are by definition ar....................................
and may not r.....................................what happens in the real world. Other linguists believe, therefore,
that em....................................o......................................is better, and prefer to carry out f.....................................studies
and c....................................studies of individuals in ua....................................se...................................... In this way,
i.....................................- d.....................................data can be c....................................by observers without i....................................
with the process in any way, even though this may be a more t...................................-c...................................
method. However, individual studies in real situations may not be r.................................. of the
general p......................................of second language learners. In short, both approaches have their
advantages and disadvantages.
41.2    Use the words in the box to complete the diagrams. Add a/an and anything else needed to complete the phrase.
check   methodology   pilot study  procedure   assemble   technique   experiment   device piece
carry out
employ/use
apparatus
41.3 Now complete the sentences using phrases from 41.2.
1 It was a new............................. of apparatus so we............................it first and then.................................it
before using it.
2 The team carried out a.................................................................. before conducting the main
...............................to see if the............................. they were using was reliable.
3 The team needed to employ a different for measuring the pressure, so they used a new................................which they manufactured in their own laboratory.
41.4 Correct the eight spelling and other vocabulary mistakes in these sentences.
1 It was very difficult to make reliable interferences from the data as we had so little.
2 A correlational study is a good way of seeing if one phenomena is related to another in a system way.
3 The experiment neither proved nor deproved Jessop's theory.
4 We had to explain the unusual scores of five of the subjets in the sample, who all had totals well below the norm. It was possible there were unaccuracies in the data.
5 An exterior observer can often unintentionally erupt the behaviour of the subjects they are observing.
Academic Vocabulary in Use   91