Chapter 2 Exam

What is the difference between a cross-sectional study and a cross-sequential study?

A cross-sectional study compares groups at the same time, while a cross-sequential study compares groups over different periods of time.

A scientist plots data points from an experiment, and notices that the dependent variables and the independent variables in the data set are decreasing together. What kind of correlation have they discovered, and why?

A positive correlation, because these describe situations where the dependent variables and the independent variables in a data set increase or decrease together.

Which of the following would be a good fit for a case study?

An in-depth examination of one study subject, when a researcher has a long time in which to conduct the study.

Why is it important to know a person's date and place of birth when doing social research?

Because a group of people born at a certain time and in a certain place are subject to similar influences.

A scientist finishes an experiment, and concludes that there is a causal link between the independent variable and the dependent variable. Why might they come to this conclusion?

Because changes in the independent variable appear to cause changes in the dependent variable.

A scientist is designing an experiment with rats, and designates weight as the dependent variable. Why might this be the case?

Because the weight will be influenced by an outside factor that the scientist controls.

How can a researcher increase the validity of a case study?

By describing only what is being seen and avoiding making inferences.

Which of the following studies could the cohort effect be most problematic for?

Cross-sectional studies

Mary is designing a research study and preparing to select her sample. Which of the following are all important considerations concerning the representativeness of her sample?

Her sampling procedure, sample size, and participation rate.

In what way is a survey better than a case study? I. It allows the researcher to collect information on a lot of people. II. It doesn't take that much time. III. It produces the most accurate data.

I and II

In evaluating potential experiments, a research organization's Institutional Review Board tries to _____.

find a balance between the value to science and the potential harm done

Which of the following will not help a researcher ensure that their research is representative?

Increasing the sample diversity.

What is a condition or piece of data in an experiment that can be controlled or changed?

Independent variable

Which method(s) of data collection make use of interviews?

Interviews and case studies

All of the following are benefits of a true experiment, EXCEPT:

It always helps to prove that your hypothesis is true.

All of the following statements are true about correlational research, EXCEPT:

It is not able to show negative relationships, or relationships that change in different directions.

Which of the following accurately describes the sampling frame in a research study?

It is the group of people from which the sample is drawn.

The cohort that came of age around the year 2000 is most commonly referred to as which of the following?

Millennials

What is it called when dependent variables and independent variables in a data set either increase or decrease opposite from one another?

Negative correlation

Kim is participating in an experiment. She has as much a chance of being in Group A as she does of being in Group B. What is this called?

Random sampling

Janet is studying the effect of social media use on academic achievement for fourth graders at the school where she teaches. Which of the following sampling methods would provide Janet with the most representative sample of the fourth grade population?

Randomly choosing ten students from each of the fourth grade classrooms by picking names from a hat.

How do you define cross-sectional research?

Research studies that make a comparison of different groups at the same time.

By looking at long-range data, a sociologist notices that occurrences of drunk driving are on the decline. How could the cohort effect be used to explain these changes?

Successive generations have been increasingly warned against the dangers of drunk driving, thus lowering drunk driving incidents.

The effects of major social and cultural trends or events on a particular group is referred to as what?

The cohort effect

When someone refers to the population of a study, they are referring to:

The group of people a researcher is interested in.

The sample of a study consists of:

The group of subjects in the study.

Which of the following statements is true?

The independent variable is changed in the experimental group.

How are surveys and interviews similar?

They both might elicit inaccurate responses.

Why might a researcher choose to do a case study rather than a survey or an interview?

They produce the most accurate data.

Why do people collect data?

To see if their hypotheses are true or not.

Under which circumstances would a true experiment NOT be used?

When a random sample cannot be used.

How do you test an experiment's hypothesis?

You compare results from the experimental group with results from the control group.

Deception in psychological research is _____.

allowed but minimized as much as possible

Which of the following is an example of a positive correlation?

as income goes up, purchases go up

Dr. Hollins is interested in finding more about how parents work with their children when they are helping them with homework. Which of the following would probably provide the most detailed and accurate portrayals for use in Dr. Hollins' research?

case studies

Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment wouldn't be approved today because it _____.

caused physical and psychological harm

A researcher performs a cross-sectional study examining how interpersonal communication changes over a lifetime. One of the researcher's cross-sections, consisting of adults who reached adulthood in the early 2000s, demonstrates a very different, technology based style of communication in early adulthood as compared to the other groups. These findings might reflect the _____ since young adults who came of age in the early 2000s were surrounded by technology.

cohort effect

Dr. Edmundson is conducting research on memory over an average lifespan. He breaks his study participants down into four groups arranged by age groups; 18 - 35, 36 - 53, 54 - 71, and 72 - 89. Then he has all four groups take the same set of memory tests on a Saturday in late May. Dr. Edmundson is using a _____ research design.

cross-sectional

Doctor Weiss conducts an experiment where he manipulates the speed of an educational video, and then tests student recall of the material to see whether a difference in pace of an educational presentation affects recall. In this experiment, the level of student recall is the _____.

dependent variable

Dr. Zant is conducting an experiment to see whether or not a preview video, outlining some of the content that students will hear in a lecture, seems to aid student retention. Half of the students in the experiment are shown the video before the lecture, while the other half only see the lecture. In this experiment, the preview video is a(n) _____.

independent variable

Researchers provide a(n) _____ form to study participants in order to provide details regarding the study, as well as information regarding any risks or benefits connected with participation.

informed consent

Janet plans to study changes in intelligence over a period of 20 years for her group of research participants. She plans to test participants' IQs at five year intervals with one final test at the end of the 20 year period. Janet's study is _____.

longitudinal

Research studies that look at one individual or one group over a period of time are called _____.

longitudinal research

The two guiding principles for ethical standards in psychological research are _____.

minimize harm and obtain informed consent

In order to ethically conduct research a psychologist must make every effort to _____ from participants.

minimize harm, and obtain informed consent

Lionel notices that his customers spend more on rainy days and it seems like as the rain gets heavier, their spending increases. This is an example of _____.

positive correlation, since it demonstrates that as rain becomes heavier, spending increases

The American Psychological Association most commonly allows experiments to be conducted involving all of the following, EXCEPT _____.

primates

Sam solicits volunteers for his study on consumer preferences, and ends up with a group of 60 volunteers from which he will pick a study sample. He then places the names of all of the volunteers on separate slips of paper in a bowl, and has a blindfolded friend reach in and pull out 20 names to use in the sample. This is an example of _____.

random sampling

Dr. Jensen is conducting research in which one group is given a twelve week live course in Biology while another is provided with a self-paced online course that covers the exact same material. At the end of the experimental period, both groups are given a test in order to see which group retained more of the course content. The dependent variable in this experiment is the _____.

retention score

As part of his dissertation research, James is sending questionnaires to all of the students enrolled in the university's economics department along with an explanation of the research he is conducting and a request for student participation. This is an example of _____ research.

survey

A cross-sequential study compares _____.

two separate but similar longitudinal research studies that are conducted at different times