chapter 2

Your college or university library may have subscriptions to scientific journals. Once you graduate or leave your institution, you may find that you no longer have access to some articles that are -Press Space to Some solutions for this are to look for articles that are -or to check the researcher's website.

paywalled, open access

Agustín is looking for a new album to listen to and searches throughout a record store, comparing several different albums. He finds an album that he remembers hearing two of his friends praise in the past. Agustín thinks that because two of his friends liked it, he will like it too; however, he fails to notice that he has many other friends who have not told him their opinions on the album.

present/present bis

Seattle libraries were interested in the effectiveness of summer reading programs in improving the reading ability of elementary school students. The libraries near the city center were all selected to implement a 2-week camp. Those on the outskirts of the city were all selected to implement a longer program that lasted the entire summer. One year later, city officials compared reading abilities using standardized tests of all the elementary schools in Seattle. They found that elementary schools whose students had attended the longer summer reading programs and thus read more books boasted higher reading comprehension.

- The libraries were located in areas whose populations differed in socioeconomic status. -The elementary schools were of different qualities.

Which of the following scenarios could potentially have confounds?

-A graduate student attending a stress-reduction seminar decides that the seminar has significantly reduced her stress and anxiety. -A graduate student attending a stress-reduction seminar decides that the seminar has significantly reduced her stress and anxiety. -

Jayla comes across a celebrity's website promoting the healing power of crystals. Which of the following should Jayla do to determine that the claim about crystals is trustworthy?

-She should find out whether there is research comparing the effectiveness of crystals with the effectiveness of other treatments. -She should find out whether the celebrity is basing the claim on empirical evidence.

Which of the following statements are ways to identify high-quality scientific journals?

-Utilize online reports of exploitative journals. -Find out whether the impact factor of the journal is at least 1.0.

meta-analysis article

-a computation of the average effect size of various studies on age and creativity. -an article that quantitatively analyzes 30 previously conducted studies on gender discrimination

Empirical article

-an article about a 3-year field study on risky decision making among at-risk youths - a report of an experiment that tested the effects of different types of grammar on decision making

Lethabo's psychology professor tells him that people are likely to be swayed by a story that sounds good or makes sense. Later, Lethabo begins experiencing stomach pain and thinks he may have a stomach ulcer. His girlfriend suggests that the pain must be from all the spicy food he likes to eat. Lethabo believes he is objective and finds his girlfriend's point to be reasonable, so without doing any research, he avoids spicy food in an attempt to help his stomach pain.

bias blind spot

A school district decides to compare a new math textbook with the textbook that has been used for the past few years. Each of the fourth graders in one school is randomly assigned to be in one of two classes, one in which a teacher continues using the old book and another in which a new teacher uses the new book. The school administrators compare the average scores of the two classes on a mathematics standardized test at the end of the year and find that the class with the new textbook performed better on the test. Which of the following, if they occurred, could be potential confounds in the study?

The class using the new textbook is smaller than the class using the old textbook. -The teacher using the new book has more teaching experience.