Methods Exam 1 & 2
What is covered in 45 CFR 46 Subpart A, also known as the Common Rule? a. Requirements for informed consent b. Protections for vulnerable populations c. Regulations for conducting ethical research with animals d. formation of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC)
a. Requirements for informed consent
Which of the following explains the use of the hourglass as a metaphor for the research process? a. Starting with a broad phenomenon, narrowing it down to a conducting a study, generalizing findings to broad conclusions b. Starting with a broad method, narrowing it down to a specific conclusion, generalizing findings to real world c. Starting with a broad conclusion, narrowing it down to a conducting a study, generalizing findings to theory d. Starting with a real-world problem, narrowing it down to a specific conclusion, generalizing findings to theory
a. Starting with a broad phenomenon, narrowing it down to a conducting a study, generalizing findings to broad conclusions
Which of the following is true about structured interviews? a. They are typically used to collect quantitative data. b. They are typically used to collect qualitative data. c. They are subjective in nature. d. They do not follow a fixed format.
a. They are typically used to collect quantitative data.
Which of the following is NOT a confounding variable? a. Type of administered intervention b. Socioeconomic status c. Sex d. IQ
a. Type of administered intervention
Imagine that you participated in Stanley Milgram's obedience study and that you administered the highest level of shock (most people do this). What are the most likely risks this might produce for you and other participants who behaved similarly? a. You might have a change in self-perception ̧ leading to psychological harm. b. You are unlikely to suffer any harm ̧ because behavior within an experiment does not generalize well to the real world. c. You might experience direct physical harm from being shocked. d. You might experience group harm when you realize that all participants in the study were men.
a. You might have a change in self-perception ̧ leading to psychological harm.
Suppose you have 4 independent groups in your study and after running a statistical test you've found a significant main effect of your independent variable, what is most logical next step in your analysis? a. conduct post-hoc comparisons between pairs of means b. do not conduct any other analyses if there were not planned c. redo the original statistical test d. manipulate your data to lower your p-value even further
a. conduct post-hoc comparisons between pairs of means
The Tuskegee Experiment is now considered unethical because of which of the following? a. it withheld the standard of care (i.e. penicillin). b. it involved a minority group. c. the incentives were too low. d. no one knew what the researchers were doing.
a. it withheld the standard of care (i.e. penicillin).
All of the following are parts of the methods section EXCEPT a. limitations and future directions b. participants c. measurement d. procedure
a. limitations and future directions
The sample size in survey research depends on your confidence level, margin of error and the standard deviation for the measured characteristic in the population. If the confidence level is 95% (corresponds to a z-score of 1.96) and the margin of error is +/- 5% what is the required sample size according to the following equation: Sample Size = (Z-score)2 * StdDev*(1-StdDev) / (margin of error)2 Hint: If population SD is not known 0.5 is assumed. a. 96 b. 384 c. 600 d. 1,067 e. 2,401
b. 384
What is a longitudinal survey? a. Observations of the same variables taken from three non-overlapping groups of people at the same time b. A survey that follows respondents over months or years c. An observational study in which data is collected at a specific point in time d. A survey that asks opinions regarding a service or product
b. A survey that follows respondents over months or years
What feature distinguishes between the ratio and interval levels of measurement? a. Categorizing b. Absolute zero c. Ordering d. Meaningful statistical comparison
b. Absolute zero
What feature distinguishes between the ratio and interval levels of measurement? a. Distinctiveness b. Absolute zero c. Ordering in magnitude d. Equal intervals
b. Absolute zero
Which of the following is true? a. Abstracts evaluate the quality of the research. b. Abstracts provide basic information about all sections of study. c. Abstracts evaluate the importance of the conclusions. d. Abstracts provide a summary of only the results of a study.
b. Abstracts provide basic information about all sections of study.
A reading intervention that is developed using findings from a study that focused on the effects of vocabulary acquisition on reading comprehension is an example of _______. a. Prediction b. Application c. Explanation d. Description
b. Application
Which of the following are examples of generating conditions in complete design? a. Latin square b. Block randomization c. Greek Square d. all possible orders
b. Block randomization
In a study investigating the effects of a medication on behavior, patients are assigned to a no medication group or a high dose medication group. The group that does not receive any medication is an example of a ______________ group. a. Placebo b. Control c. Experimental d. Dependent
b. Control
Which of the following examples represent the nominal level of measurement? a. room temperature b. Ethnicity c. Intelligence scale d. Motivation scale
b. Ethnicity
Most studies in psychology are likely to be categorized as which of the following types of IRB review? a. Exempt b. Expedited c. Full IRB review d. No one category is more likely for psychological studies.
b. Expedited
Which of the following allows the researcher to meaningfully talk about causality? a. Observational design b. Experimental design c. Survey design d. Correlational design
b. Experimental design
In inferential statistics, p > .05 suggests that one can do which of the following? a. Reject the null hypothesis b. Fail to reject the null hypothesis c. Fail to reject the alternative hypothesis d. Accept the alternative hypothesis
b. Fail to reject the null hypothesis
Choose the answer that best depicts the following level of measurement. (IQ scores bell curve) a. Ordinal b. Interval c. Ratio d. Nominal
b. Interval
Imagine that you examined survivors of car accidents and found out that these people experienced increased physiological responses (i.e., heart rate and adrenaline) during the accidents. Imagine yet that the increased physiological responses during the real-life situation was much higher relative to the virtual simulation that you examined in a laboratory setting. In this example, your study has ______________ ecological validity. a. Moderate b. Low c. High d. No
b. Low
What level of measurement does the graph depict? ("pie" chart with US, UK, France, Australia, and Germany) a. Ordinal b. Nominal c. Interval d. Ratio
b. Nominal
Assigning numeric value 5 to a student with a lower math ability and numeric value 9 to a student with a higher math ability is an example of the following feature. a. Distinctiveness b. Ordering in magnitude c. Equal intervals d. Absolute zero
b. Ordering in magnitude
Marcus would like to understand why people join activist groups, so he begins to interact online with several groups under a disguised screen name. Which observational method is Marcus using? a. Naturalistic observation b. Participant observation c. Structured observation d. Field experiment
b. Participant observation
The ______________ effect occurs when improved task performance is a consequence of repeated exposure to the task. a. Fatigue b. Practice c. Repeated d. Boredom
b. Practice
David reads a study that reports a strong negative correlation between time spent on social media and a measure of academic performance, which of the following conclusions can we make? a. Spending time on social media causes a decrease in academic performance b. Students who spend a lot of time on social media also tend to get lower grades in school c. There is no relationship between the amount of time spent on social media and academic performance d. Spending a large amount of time on social media results in caring less about your academic performance
b. Students who spend a lot of time on social media also tend to get lower grades in school
Which of the following scenarios demonstrate deception? a. An informed consent provides procedural details and informs participants of the main purpose of the study. b. The design of the study uses a confederate ̧ or a "fake" participant. c. The study relates to a topic with which the participants are not familiar. 6 d. The researcher is unable to comment on a particular participant's performance because data have been collected anonymously.
b. The design of the study uses a confederate ̧ or a "fake" participant.
Which of the following is a criterion for deciding whether something constitutes as "research" according to the Common Rule? a. The researchers intend to publish and present their results publicly. b. The study is intended to develop generalizable knowledge. c. The study uses quantitative methods of analysis. d. Human participants are involved as opposed to tissue samples.
b. The study is intended to develop generalizable knowledge.
Under what circumstances might an IRB waive collection of written informed consent? a. When the study needs a full IRB review b. When participants are clearly anonymous c. When a study involves deception d. When a study is classified as expedited
b. When participants are clearly anonymous
An average reading comprehension score of 98 reported in the results section for the participants in a study represents a. participant characteristics b. descriptive statistics c. significance testing with a statistical test d. none of the above
b. descriptive statistics
A representative sample is said to a. have a more limited set of characteristics than the population, from which it was selected b. have the same set of characteristics as the population, from which it was selected c. have a greater set of characteristics than the population, from which it was selected d. have a different sampling frame than the population, from which it was selected
b. have the same set of characteristics as the population, from which it was selected
Manipulating data to obtain statistically significant results is called ______________. a. normal data analytic practice b. p-hacking c. significance testing d. post-hoc analyses
b. p-hacking
Which of the following is NOT an aspect of a good scientific theory? a. falsifiability b. untestability c. parsimony d. ability to describe a relationship between two or more variables
b. untestability
If a student has an observed reading comprehension score of 70 and his true score is 88, then the measurement error would be? a. 6 b. 12 c. 18 d. 20
c. 18
A researcher is interested in examining the effectiveness of four different learning styles. The researcher decided two assign 25 participants to each condition. How many participants are needed for the within-subjects design? a. 50 b. 100 c. 25 d. 75
c. 25
The minimum number of people in an IACUC is _____. a. 1 b. 5 c. 3 d. 8
c. 3
Elizabeth is interested in predicting reading outcomes in 6th grade second language learners. Her research program can be considered as narrowed down to: a. A clearly specified hypothesis b. Clearly specified predictors c. A clearly specified population d. Clearly specified research interests
c. A clearly specified population
Which of the following represents a confirmation bias? a. A researcher who discounts examples that are supportive of his/her hypothesis. b. A researcher who discounts examples that are supportive of his/her hypothesis under some circumstances, and are not supportive of the hypothesis under other circumstances. c. A researcher who discounts examples that are not supportive of his/her hypothesis. d. A researcher who considers both supportive and disconfirmatory examples against his/her hypothesis
c. A researcher who discounts examples that are not supportive of his/her hypothesis.
A researcher would like to evaluate the effectiveness of three reading interventions. He plans to recruit 60 participants and randomly assign 20 of them to one of the three interventions. Which of the following design should be used to best address the question of interest? a. Repeated measures design b. Within-subjects design c. Between-subjects design d. Correlated groups design
c. Between-subjects design
A researcher examines the effects of music on reasoning skills. She randomly assigns a sample of college students to two groups. Students in Group 1 are asked to listen to the music before solving a math problem, while students in Group 2 do not listen to the music before solving a math problem. Group 1 is the ______________ group. a. Placebo b. Control c. Experimental d. Dependent
c. Experimental
One issue with Cronbach's alpha is that which of the following is true? a. It is not a very accurate measure of internal consistency. b. It does not depend on the size of the correlations. c. It can be increased by increasing the number of items in the scale. d. It is not a measure of reliability.
c. It can be increased by increasing the number of items in the scale.
If there are more than several conditions and complete counterbalancing will result in too many different orders, then it is practical to use _____________. a. Order effects b. Practice effects c. Latin square technique d. ABBA technique
c. Latin square technique
Which of the following exemplifies a random assignment? a. Participants are assigned to two groups based on hair color. b. Participants are assigned to two groups based on socioeconomic status. c. Participants are assigned to two groups based on drawing their names from a hat. d. Participants are assigned to two groups based on age.
c. Participants are assigned to two groups based on drawing their names from a hat.
A researcher describes a study's findings using exactly the same words as the authors did and does not provide a citation. This form of writing is called ________. a. Summarizing b. Quoting c. Plagiarizing d. Paraphrasing
c. Plagiarizing
A researcher is interested in creating Latin squares and starts with the following sequence: B C A D. What is the next step? a. Put C at the far right and slide the rest of the symbols one to the left. b. Put A at the far right and slide rest of the symbols one to the left. c. Put B at the far right and slide rest of symbols over one to the left. d. put D at the far left and slide rest of symbols over one to the right
c. Put B at the far right and slide rest of symbols over one to the left.
Imagine that you searched for articles using the PsycINFO database. Based on your search criteria, you found 60 articles, and you looked at their titles. What should you do next? a. Read full articles to determine which ones are relevant for your study b. Begin a new search c. Read all the abstracts so you can decide whether to read each article d. Disregard articles that are longer than 20 pages
c. Read all the abstracts so you can decide whether to read each article
Which of the following examples are better suited for an observation relative to other methods? a. Studying effects of reading intervention among middle school students b. Studying attitudes towards drug use among middle school students c. Studying dishonest behaviors among middle school students d. Studying EEG sleep patterns among middle school students
c. Studying dishonest behaviors among middle school students
Identify a possible limitation of a survey. a. Low sampling error b. A random sampling technique was used to collect data c. The non-response rate was 70% d. There was no missing data from the sample
c. The non-response rate was 70%
Why do so many people believe in things like haunted houses and ghosts? a. Only people who are poorly educated believe in these things. b. They are probably true. c. These types of phenomena do not lend themselves to empirical testing. d. Scientists are biased and thus cannot conduct good experiments on these phenomena.
c. These types of phenomena do not lend themselves to empirical testing.
If a survey has been validated by comparing the survey results with other measures that have deemed to be valid, then the survey has ______________. a. face validity b. test-retest reliability c. criterion validity d. internal consistency
c. criterion validity
Sort the following sections of a research paper in the usual order of occurrence. a. methods, discussion, results, introduction b. discussion, results, methods, introduction c. introduction, methods, results, discussion d. introduction, methods, discussion, results.
c. introduction, methods, results, discussion
Consider the output from a power analysis below. According to this output the total sample size needed to detect a significant difference between two independent groups depends on all of the following EXCEPT a. power b. effect size c. margin of error d. alpha level
c. margin of error
Which test is most appropriate when comparing means of 3 independent groups? a. independent groups t-test b. paired-sample t-test c. one-way ANOVA d. Chi-Square test
c. one-way ANOVA
A correlation allows us to determine all of the following EXCEPT? a. Whether two variables are related to one another b. How strongly the two variables are related c. whether one variable is a cause of another variable d. Direction of a relation among two variables
c. whether one variable is a cause of another variable
If researcher has four experimental conditions, what is a total number of all possible orders? a. 4 b. 8 c. 12 d. 24
d. 24
Six observations are drawn independently and at random for a normal population of IQ's. The obtained values are: 106 97 103 101 320. Which of the following observations is a potential outlier? a. 106 b. 97 c. 101 d. 320
d. 320
The base response rate of a sample size equal to 2500 in which 1600 people responded is ______. a. 60% b. 15% c. 55% d. 64%
d. 64%
The more hours spent playing violent video games, the more aggressive behavior children exhibit. This is an example of what? a. Proof that playing violent video games causes an increase in aggressive behavior b. Children who are bullied at school play violent video games and as a result show an increase in aggressive behavior c. Children who are aggressive play violent video games d. A positive association (correlation) between hours spent playing violent video game and exhibiting aggressive behavior
d. A positive association (correlation) between hours spent playing violent video game and exhibiting aggressive behavior
Which of the following techniques of group assignment is not used in between- subject experimental designs: a. random group assignemnt b. matched group assignemnt c. independent group assignment d. ABBA counterbalancing
d. ABBA counterbalancing
Which of the following raises significant ethical challenges? a. A study on genetics that asks that all study participants to tell their family members about their family history and risk for disease (the other family members are not part of the informed consent process) b. Data which is stored on Google Drive without a private password c. Data collection that takes place before the IRB process and before publication d. All of the above. e. None of the above.
d. All of the above.
In the repeated measures design the ______________ variable is measured more than ______________ time(s). a. Independent, one b. Independent, two c. Dependent, two d. Dependent, one
d. Dependent, one
Cronbach's alpha of 0.90 or above demonstrates excellent ______. a. Criterion validity b. Content validity c. Inter-rater reliability d. Internal consistency reliability
d. Internal consistency reliability
Which of the following exemplify a meta-analysis? a. Jeremy conducts a statistical analysis using collected data. b. Jeremy conducts a statistical analysis using archival data. c. Jeremy conducts a statistical analysis using data from a single previously published article. d. Jeremy conducts a statistical analysis using data from previously published articles.
d. Jeremy conducts a statistical analysis using data from previously published articles.
Which of the following illustrate the "principle of respect" as outlined in the Belmont Report? a. Minimizing harm b. Maximizing benefits c. Distributing benefits and burdens of research fairly d. Providing extra protection for vulnerable populations
d. Providing extra protection for vulnerable populations
If the objective is to hit the bullseye, the following graph represents ______________ and ______________ data. a. Not reliable, valid b. Reliable, valid c. Not reliable, not valid d. Reliable, not valid
d. Reliable, not valid
One disadvantages of using closed-ended questions is that which of the following is true? a. They can be answered quickly and respondents can become careless with their answers. b. They are not ideal for quantitative research. c. They prompt respondents to remember ideas they have forgotten. d. Respondents may feel compelled to express attitudes or opinions even if they do not believe them.
d. Respondents may feel compelled to express attitudes or opinions even if they do not believe them.
Christa performed a meta-analysis and the results pointed toward a causal connection between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior. The Effect size was .16. What can she conclude about the results? a. There is a strong causal connection between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior b. There is no causal connection between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior c. There is a correlation between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior d. There may be a causal connection between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior but it is small.
d. There may be a causal connection between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior but it is small.
Which of the following represents the strongest relation? a. -0.9 b. 0.4 c. 0.7 d. 0.3
a. -0.9
Which choice is likely to reflect a vulnerable (or more vulnerable) group? a. 17-year-old with depression b. 18-year-old with schizophrenia c. 19-year old with bipolar disorder d. 20-year old with a generalized anxiety disorder
a. 17-year-old with depression
If a median is equal to 77, choose the sample that corresponds to this median. a. 55 106 76 77 81 b. 55 106 76 77 74 c. 34 106 62 77 55 d. 55 14 62 77 81
a. 55 106 76 77 81
What is the running head? a. A brief version of the paper's title b. An abbreviated list of author's names c. A statement of the study's hypothesis d. Brief version of the conclusion
a. A brief version of the paper's title
Which of the following represent the file drawer problem? a. A journal publishes articles with statistically significant findings only. b. A journal publishes articles with scientific importance that did not necessarily reach statistical significance. c. A journal publishes articles that meet expectations of editor and reviewers. d. A journal publishes the findings that are not supported by research.
a. A journal publishes articles with statistically significant findings only.
Which of the following is a type of systematic observation? a. Adam uses a random number generator to select a sample from his college's list of freshman males to send a survey asking if they plan on joining a fraternity. b. Adam volunteers to man a booth during the college's freshman week and asks males who pass by if they plan on joining a fraternity. c. Adam polls males freshman students in the university student union and asks them if they plan on joining a fraternity. d. Adam asks the males in his classes if they plan on joining a fraternity.
a. Adam uses a random number generator to select a sample from his college's list of freshman males to send a survey asking if they plan on joining a fraternity.
In order to be properly formal, scientific writing should do which of the following? a. Avoid metaphors and flowery language b. Be in the 3rd person c. Avoid most transitions d. Include complex descriptions
a. Avoid metaphors and flowery language
A researcher is interested in examining group differences between boys and girls in figure rotation capacity. His null hypothesis is that ______________. a. Boys and girls do not differ in figure rotation capacity b. Boys have a higher figure rotation capacity c. Boys have a lower figure rotation capacity d. Girls have a higher figure rotation capacity
a. Boys and girls do not differ in figure rotation capacity
When examining the characteristics of a single variable what two statistical aspects are we most interested in? a. Central tendency and dispersion b. Dispersion and multiple regression c. Central tendency and first quartile d. Correlation and causation
a. Central tendency and dispersion
Which of the following help to ensure that an observation is successful? a. Clearly specified operationalization of behavior b. Randomly picking an observer c. A selection of at least 20 participants d. encouraging participants to engage in behavior of interest
a. Clearly specified operationalization of behavior
An independent samples t-test can be used when ______. a. Comparing two groups b. comparing three groups c. Comparing pre-test and post-test data d. when all study participants receive all levels of the Independent Variable.
a. Comparing two groups
A ______________ condition is the same as the ______________ condition except that the independent variable is absent or held constant. a. Control, experimental b. Experimental, control c. Dependent, experimental d. Experimental, dependent
a. Control, experimental
Unreliable data yields which of the following? a. Inconsistent conclusions b. Accurate conclusions c. Repeatable conclusions d. Measurement error free conclusions
a. Inconsistent conclusions
The image below represents _________. a. Latin squares b. Block randomization c. ABBA counterbalancing d. all possible orders
a. Latin squares
A graduate student examines the effects of sleep deprivation on test performance among young professionals. He decides to assign a numeric value "1" to individuals who are 23 or younger and a numeric value "2" to individuals who are older than 23. What level of measurement is being used? a. Nominal b. Ordinal c. Interval d. Ratio
a. Nominal
Forced choice questions that require the respondent to commit to one response category collect what level of data? a. Nominal b. Ordinal c. Interval d. Rank
a. Nominal
Which of the following can be considered threats to internal validity in a naturalistic observation? a. Observer bias b. social desirability response bias c. non-response bias d. sampling bias
a. Observer bias
Which answer best depicts the following level of measurement? (yellow circles-quality of audio-visual equipment) a. Ordinal b. Interval c. Nominal d. Ratio
a. Ordinal
Counterbalancing involves which of the following? a. Presenting experimental conditions in different orders so that order effects are controlled. b. Matching participants on several independent variables. c. Holding confounding variables constant. d. Holding independent variables constant.
a. Presenting experimental conditions in different orders so that order effects are controlled.
Which of the following are characteristic of scientific theories? a. Provides models of how or why something works b. Discusses hypothetical situations c. Suggests a reasonable "hunch" or guess about an outcome d. Discusses values
a. Provides models of how or why something works
In an experimental design, an independent variable is ______. a. Purposefully manipulated by a researcher b. Measured by a researcher c. Ignored d. Not controlled by a researcher
a. Purposefully manipulated by a researcher
Which of the following is NOT one of the 3Rs of animal research written into the legislature in the United Kingdom? a. Re-think b. Refine c. Reduce d. Replace
a. Re-think
If we wanted to determine if playing violent video games caused increased aggression in children, the best scientific method would be to do which of the following? a. Look at anecdotal evidence meaning we could ask people if they felt that playing violent video games increased aggression in children b. We could look at case studies of school shootings c. We could survey people at a shopping mall d. We could formulate an experiment in which half of the children were exposed to violent video games and half were not and then measure the level of aggression in each group
d. We could formulate an experiment in which half of the children were exposed to violent video games and half were not and then measure the level of aggression in each group
Which of the following statements might indicate that we are not using good critical thinking? a. My best friend says that Pitbulls are dangerous so it must be true b. If a black cat crosses the street in front of me ̧ I know I am going to have bad luck c. A celebrity drinks diet coke ̧ so I drink diet coke too d. all of the above e. none of the above
d. all of the above
Why is it important for scientific results to be shared freely? a. Science is a collaborative enterprise and each scientist benefits from the previous work of others b. the public nature of science makes the process self-correcting c. Studies can be replicated which lends credibility to previous research d. all of the above e. none of the above
d. all of the above
Use of biofeedback in treatment of tension headaches is an example of a. description b. explanation c. prediction d. application
d. application
Scientific journals use peer review because it ______________. a. is economically efficient b. allows them to select studies that the readers would like to read c. increases their subscription base d. ensures the high quality of published research
d. ensures the high quality of published research
If participants in your experimental group had a mean score on the dependent variable that was significantly different from the mean score in the control group, which of the following p values is associated with the strongest evidence against the null hypothesis. a. p<.05 b. p=.05 c. p<.01 d. p<.001
d. p<.001
Typically used cut-off point for statistical significance is equal to? a. p < .1 b. p > .05 c. p < .01 d. p<.05
d. p<.05
In a classic study by Wexley et al. (1972) participants' ratings of a job applicant's qualificaitons varied significantly depending on wthether they had to rate the applicant in isolation or in comparison to those who what more qualified or less qualified. This type of order effects related to the participant's reactivity to the previous condition are known as a. fatigue effects b. carryover effects c. practice effects d. sensitization effect
d. sensitization effect
Kate decides that she will observe every fifth person who rides by her observing station on a heavily used student bike path. Kate is using ______________ sampling to select her participants. a. simple random b. stratified c. cluster d. systematic
d. systematic
A good hypothesis is a statement that is ________. a. Understandable b. Predictive c. Inductive d. Deductive e. Testable
e. Testable
