Research

Items

• pilot studies

  It is the first step of the entire research protocol and is often a smaller-sized study assisting in planning and modification of the main study.
• plagiarism

  The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.
• platform/platforms

  Tool/s for research projects. Platforms provide the opportunity for researchers to conduct related investigations that deploy different methods and styles.
• plausibility

  Refers to an alternative way to navigate the translation process from systematic evidence reviewing relevance of the information found. It allows for consideration of theory or the empirical studies that are of reasonably high quality yet fall short of the gold standard in evidence.
• polemics

  A contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position.
• policy analysis

  The process of identifying potential policy options that could address existing problem, and comparing those options to choose the most effective, efficient and feasible one.
• population ethics

  A philosophical study of the ethical problems arising when people’s actions affect who is born or how many will be born in the future.
• population

  Also known as target population, it refers to the entire group or set of individuals, objects, or events that possess specific characteristics and are of interest to the researcher.
• portray

  Depict in a work of art or literature.
• portrayal

  The way something or someone is described or represented in a painting, movie, book or other artistic work.
• position papers

  Refers to essays written by prominent scholars or organisations to advance an argument, opinion, program, or actions. Position papers are usually invited and they are shorter than empirical research and review papers.
• positivism

  A paradigm that relies on measurement and reason, that knowledge is revealed from a neutral and measurable observation of activity, or action of reaction. It states that if something is not measurable in a precise/particular way it cannot be known for certain.
• positivists

  Individuals who believe that society shapes the individual and use quantitative methods while interpretivists believe individuals shape society and use qualitative methods.
• post-apartheid

  Existing or happening after the end of apartheid
• post-positivist worldview

  A worldview that argues that the idea, and even the identity of the researcher influences what they observe and therefore impacts upon what they conclude.
• [Untitled]

  Post-positivism pursues objective answers by attempting to recognise and work with such biases with the theories and knowledge that theorists develop.
• postal research

  Postal research/surveys are self-administered, paper-based, standardised surveys in which the questionnaires are sent by post. Also known as Paper-and-pencil-surveys.
• post-anarchism

  A way of thinking and acting… a period associated with autonomous modes of thinking and acting, considerably important in the discussions of radical intellectuals across the globe.
• posterior probability

  A posterior probability, in Bayesian statistics, is a revised or updated probability of an event occuring after taking into consideration new information. The posterior probability is calculated by updating the prior probability using Bayes’ theorem.
• postulate/postulates

  To suggest or assume the existence of something, fact, or truth of something as a basis for reasoning, discussion or belief.
• pragmatic worldview

  It refers to dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.
• pragmatism

  Pragmatism is a paradigm based upon the premise of utilising the best methods to investigate real-world problems, allowing for the use of multiple sources of data and knowledge to answer research questions.
• pragmatist

  A person who guided more by practical considerations than by ideals/who deals with problems or situations by focusing on practical approaches and solutions.
• preconceptions

  They are assumptions about the nature of the phenomenon being studied, the methods and techniques to be used, and the expected       outcomes or findings.
• predict

  The use of logical reasoning, statistical methods and domain knowledge to infer what might happen in the future based on what one may have observed in the past.