| Abbreviation | The short form of a word or phrase |
| Abductive | A form of logical inference which goes from an observation to a theory which accounts for the observation, ideally seeking to find the simplest and most likely explanation |
| Abstract | A short summary of the aims and scope of a journal article |
| Agency | The capacity of a person to act in any given environment |
| Allegory | A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one |
| Anthropology | The study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology and cultural anthropology study the norms and values of societies |
| Appendix (plural – appendices) | A section at the end of a book or article containing supplementary information |
| Authority | A well-known expert on a subject |
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| Bias | A subjective preference for one point of view |
| Bibliography | A list of sources an author has read but not specifically cited |
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| Case study | A section of an essay which examines one example in detail |
| Citation | An in-text reference providing a link to the source |
| Cohesion | Linking ideas in a text together by use of reference words |
| Comorbidity | The presence of one or more additional diseases or disorders co-occurring with a primary disease or disorder |
| Conclusion | The final section of an essay or report |
| Concomittant | Naturally accompanying or associated |
| Construct | An idea or theory containing various conceptual elements, typically one considered to be subjective and not based on empirical evidence |
| Criteria (singular – criterion) | The principles on which something is judged or based |
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| Deductive | Characterized by or based on the inference of particular instances from a general law. Deduction theory Leads out from theory. |
| Demography | The statistical study of populations that is used to analyze a dynamic living population, i.e., one that changes over time or space. Demography encompasses the study of the size, structure, and distribution of these populations, and spatial or temporal changes in them in response to birth, migration, ageing, and death |
| Deviance | The fact or state of diverging from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behaviour |
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| Edited book | A book with contributions from number of writers, controlled by an editor |
| Empirical | Derived from or guided by experiment or experience |
| Epistemology | How we acquire, label and organise our knowledge |
| Epidemiology | The study and analysis of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations |
| Ethnography | The scientific description of peoples and cultures with their customs, habits, and mutual differences |
| Experimental (research) | Research carried out to support, refute, or validate a hypothesis. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated. Experiments vary greatly in goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results |
| Extract | A piece of text taken from a longer work |
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| Grey (Literature) | Grey literature is any information that is not produced by commercial publishers. It includes conference proceedings, theses, research reports, working papers, preprints, white papers and reports produced by government departments, academics, business and industry |
| Grounded Theory | The generation of theory from systematic research. A set of rigorous research procedures leading to the emergence of conceptual categories |
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| Hypothesis | A theory which a researcher is attempting to explore/ test |
| Hitherto | Until now or until the point in time under discussed |
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| Idiographic | Relating to the study or discovery of particular scientific facts and processes, as distinct from general laws |
| Introduction | The first part of an essay or article |
| Inductive | The inference of general laws from particular instances |
| Interpretivist | An approach to social science that opposes the positivism of natural science |
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| Journal | An academic publication in a specialised area, published monthly-quarterly |
| Juxtaposition | The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect |
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| Literature review | A description of other research on the topic in question |
| Longtitudinal (study) | A type of correlational research that involves looking at subjects over the course of many years/decades to discover relationships between variables |
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| Meta-analysis | A statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies |
| Meta-data | Data that describes other data. Metadata summarizes basic information about data, which can make finding and working with particular instances of data easier. For example, author, date created and date modified and file size are examples of very basic document metadata |
| Metaphysics | The branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, identity, time, and space |
| Mixed methods | Research including the use of more than one method of data collection or research in a research study or set of related studies, including the mixing of qualitative and quantitative data, methods, methodologies, and/or paradigms in a research study or set of related studies |
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| Orthodox | Following or conforming to the traditional or generally accepted rules or beliefs of a religion, philosophy, or practice |
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| Paradigm | A typical pattern or example of something; a pattern or model. A distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitutes legitimate contributions to a field |
| Paradox | A statement that is self-contradictory because it often contains two statements that are both true, but in general, cannot both be true at the same time |
| Paraphrase | A re-writing of a text with substantially different wording and organisation but similar ideas |
| Peer-review | The process of collecting comment from academic authorities on an article before publication in a journal. This system gives increased credibility to the publication |
| Plagiarism | Using another writer’s work without acknowledgement in an acceptable manner |
| Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | A mental disorder that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to/avoidance of trauma-related cues, alterations in how a person thinks and feels, and increased arousal. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event |
| Postulate | A thing suggested or assumed as true as the basis for reasoning, discussion or belief |
| Primary research | Original research e.g. a laboratory experiment or a sociological enquiry where new data is sought by the researcher |
| Psychiatry | The study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behaviour |
| Psychology | The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behaviour in a given context |
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| Qualitative (research) | Research method used to gain an understanding of subjective meanings and context. It is used to understand people’s experiences, views, opinions, and motivations. Qualitative research is typically used to capture a higher degree of detail that quantitative methods can enable, and to undertake in-depth analysis of a topic from the perspective of those involved. Qualitative data collection methods incorporate a range of techniques including (but not limited to) unstructured interviews, semi-structured interviews, visual methods, focus groups, observations, and internet-based research. The sample size is typically smaller than quantitative research and is selected based on groups or individuals able to provide information-rich cases. Rather than statistical generalisation, qualitative research aims for detail, context, and nuance |
| Quantitative (research) | Research method using data that can be transformed into useable statistics. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables – and generalise results from a larger sample population. Quantitative Research uses measurable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research. Quantitative data collection methods are much more structured than Qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data collection methods include various forms of surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, longitudinal studies, website interceptors, online polls, and systematic observations |
| Quotation | Use of the exact words of another writer to illustrate a fact, idea or point |
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| Redundancy | The unnecessary repetition of ideas or information |
| References | A list of all the sources cited in the work |
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| Sociology | The study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society |
| Source | The original text used to obtain an idea or piece of information |
| Summary | A shorter version of something |
| Synonym | A word or phrase with a similar meaning to another |
| Synopsis | A summary of an article or book |
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| Term | Word or phrase used to express a special concept |
| Theoretical | Concerned with or involving the theory of a subject or area of study rather than its practical application |
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| Wellbeing | The state of being comfortable, healthy and/or happy |
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Anglia Ruskin University,
