| archival research | The use of existing sources of information for research. Sources include statistical records, survey archives, and written records.
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| case study | A descriptive account of the behavior, past history, and other relevant factors concerning a specific individual.
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| coding system | A set of rules used to categorize observations.
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| content analysis | Systematic analysis of the content of written records.
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| naturalistic observation | Descriptive method in which observations are made in a natural social setting. Also called field observation.
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| negative case analysis | In field observation, an examination of observations that do not fit with the explanatory structure devised by the researcher.
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| psychobiography | A type of case study in which the life of an individual is analyzed using psychological theory.
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| reactivity | A problem of measurement in which the measure changes the behavior being observed.
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| systematic observation | Observations of one or more specific variables, usually made in a precisely defined setting.
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