Page 304 - CyberSecurityEssentialsEnglish

TABLE 7-3: TYPES OF QUESTION AND THE EVIDENCE EACH REQUIRES
Type A simplified example A methodological caution

Do not interpret a proportion
What proportion of users completed
Descriptive without the quality of the measure
the service?
and the sample.

Does quality differ between two Establish whether the groups are
Comparative
pathways? genuinely comparable.

Do not turn an association into a
Associational Is use associated with satisfaction?
cause.

What is the effect of a specific It needs a design that addresses
Causal
intervention on the outcome? alternative explanations.

How do participants describe the Do not reduce experience to word
Qualitative
experience of change? frequency.

Why did the program succeed in one Separate implementation,
Evaluation
branch and not another? outcomes, and context.

TABLE 7-4: CHECKING THE QUESTION AGAINST FIVE CRITERIA

Criterion The check question

Feasible Are the data, the time, the skills, and the sample available?

Interesting Does it matter to those who hold the knowledge or the decision?

Novel What does it add compared with what we already know?

Ethical Are the risks justified and the approvals obtainable?

Relevant Will the answer change an understanding, a practice, or a decision?

TABLE 7-5: TURNING A GENERAL CONCEPT INTO AN OPERATIONAL DEFINITION

Concept A possible operational definition

Efficiency The average time to complete a defined transaction from opening to closing.

Quality The proportion of errors requiring rework within one week.

Confidence A score on a documented scale, or a defined set of behavioral indicators.

The number of sessions, the type of task, and the proportion of outputs used
Use of AI
after editing.

Learning The ability to apply the principle in a new case with an explanation of why.

303