ABSTRACT Several social scientific research methods are used to investigate speech, language and human communication. There are three principal approaches: (1) experiments, (2) surveys, and (3) ethnography. This article sets out the strengths and weaknesses of each and provides a glossary of common terms. Social scientific research Social…
ABSTRACT The strengths and weaknesses of the three principle social scientific research methods of experiment, survey and ethnography are highlighted. For each, the relative emphasis placed on the setting, reliability, generalizability, description of explanatory variables and control of extraneous is summarized. The following table summarizes the strengths…
ABSTRACT Speech therapy, as a social science, uses several research tools that are common to the social sciences in general. It is convenient to identify the main research styles as experiments, surveys and ethnography. This article expands these categories and includes a discussion of standardized tests, observations, and…
Question Can speech and language therapy help people with schizophrenia? How? For example, by improving self-verbal monitoring and inner speech (if we assume that these patients exhibit distorted self-verbal monitoring or inner speech). My reply The state of the art…
ABSTRACT Writing a research proposal requires clarity about which methodological, ethical and political questions need to be answered at each stage of research. This article presents a table of relevant questions that will assist in the planning of a robust research strategy. How to write a research proposal…
ABSTRACT Hypothesis testing involves formulating statements about relationships between two or more variables and then stating the hypothesis of interest. A null hypothesis is used to describe what is true if the hypothesis of interest is incorrect. An appropriate statistical test is then conducted. The results are used…
ABSTRACT Incidence and prevalence are measures used to describe patterns of disease in communities. Data on preschool stuttering is used to demonstrate how to calculate an incidence rate and a prevalence rate. Definition of disease The term disease is used here in its broadest sense to mean…
ABSTRACT Effective technical writing requires precision in the use of terminology. The word ‘significant’ is frequently misused as meaning only ‘important’ or ‘noteworthy’. This article demonstrates how the term should properly be used to indicate ‘statistical significance’. The process of hypothesis testing is necessary in order to determine…
