Research Methods Final

A major weakness of observational research lies in the operational definitions. Which question is an example of an operational definition?

What behaviors characterize a good teacher or good coach?

A job analysis is primarily a form of what research technique?

case study

In socio-historical research, technology is not used to

determine the accuracy of the material found

The first step in conducting a questionnaire survey is to

list specific objectives to be achieved

The one characteristic of true experimental designs that preexperimental and quasi-experimental designs do not have is

random assignment to groups

A fundamental goal of philosophy is to examine reality primarily through

reflective procedures

In comparison to the traditional chapter format, the body of a dissertation using the journal format is almost always

shorter

The A-B-A-B designation refers to which type of research design?

single subject

In a meta-analysis, the ES for the experimental versus control groups was 0.68, which represents a percentile equivalent of 75. This means that

the average score of the experimental group was better than 75% of the control group's scores

The major weakness of epidemiological studies is

the inability to experimentally establish cause and effect

The five-chapter format for theses and dissertations differs from the four-chapter model in that a separate chapter is devoted entirely to

the literature review

Sometimes it is not possible to actually administer the treatment (e.g., when comparing children who had been in Head Start vs. children who had not). However, the researcher is trying to imply causation. This type of design (sometimes called causal comparative) is referred to as

an ex post facto design

Additional factors that can affect the relationship between physical activity and blood cholesterol, such as smoking, body fat, and so on, are called

confounding factors Answers: control factors confounding factors cohort factors construct factors

Which of the following would be included in a grant proposal but not in a thesis proposal?

curriculum vitae of the author

Trustworthiness in qualitative research

deals with both data collection and analysis

The inclusion criteria in a meta-analysis are very much like

delimitations

Generalizing as an approach to socio-historical research occurs when the researcher

is interested in how things fit into the bigger picture

In calculating ES for a treatment effect between a pretest and a posttest, the text recommends the use of which standard deviation?

the pretest standard deviation

Measurements are frequently made and then averaged across several participants. To what degree of precision should the average be reported in a research paper?

to the precision with which it was measured

A researcher finds that the control group performs above its usual performance when compared with the experimental group. This effect is named the

Avis effect

A survey technique that asks a jury of experts to respond to a series of questionnaires in order to reach a consensus about important issues is the

Delphi survey method

Consider the following questionnaire item (which uses a yes/no format): "Do you use objective test items or essay items?" What rule regarding item construction does it violate?

Do not use items that have two or more separate ideas in the same item

Which of the following is not a common paradigm for socio-historical research?

Functional-Modernism

Individuals performing well merely because they are being observed (and not necessarily because of any effect of treatment) are considered to be under the influence of the

Hawthorne effect

Which of the following terms is used in connection with intensity of exercise and refers to the ratio of metabolic rate during exercise to the rate while resting?

MET

Which of the following is not true about a mixed-method study?

The emphasis on quantitative and qualitative methods is based on other similar studies.

Which of the following represent(s) a secondary source regarding those waiting overnight for tickets for a basketball game?

an article written by a newspaper columnist who did not observe everyone waiting in line Answers:

A type of study that matches individuals with and without disease on factors such as age and ethnicity is the

case-control study

Choose the correct sequence for developing a questionnaire.

determining objectives, delimiting the sample, writing items, pilot testing

Which of the three branches of philosophy focuses on knowledge?

epistemology

Multiple-treatment interference and the interaction of selection bias and experimental treatment are threats to

external validity

A qualitative research technique involves interviews of small numbers of participants in a group setting. These groups are called

focus groups

According to the text, the proposal should be written in

future tense

Of the surveys frequently used for measuring physical activity in epidemiological research, the shortest (one to four items) is the

global questionnaire

Reasoning that moves from a limited number of specific observations to general conclusions is termed ____ reasoning.

inductive

Interviewers may become more skilled with practice, which could cause differences between the results of participants interviewed early in the study and those of participants interviewed later. This threat to internal validity is an issue of

instrumentation

In the alternative format for a thesis or dissertation, the body of the thesis or dissertation

is a paper in research journal format

Generally speaking, an oral presentation at a conference has

less detail than a poster

A table of descriptive data should include what information for each group?

mean, standard deviation, and number

Which of the three branches of philosophy focuses on the nature of things?

metaphysics

The descriptive, analytical narratives that are a trademark of qualitative research are also called

narrative vignettes

A double-blind experiment is one in which

neither the researcher nor the participants know which participants receive the experimental treatment

In the journal format for theses and dissertations, the preliminary part

only a and b

A study is designed to determine whether the addition of programmed instruction will produce greater achievement scores than the traditional lecture-discussion method. Participants are randomly assigned to two instructional groups. Both groups are tested at the end of the experimental period. What statistical test is indicated?

t test

Which of the following is not included in a proposal?

tables of results

Which of the following statements about constructing tables is not true?

The table should include whatever test of significance was used.

In the results section of a research report, the author should include

a and b only

Which of the three branches of philosophy focuses on the value of things?

axiology

The case study

gathers data from a single person or from a limited number of similar people

Which of the following should be included in the discussion section of a research report?

implications of the results

In comparison to survey interviews, qualitative interviews tend to be

less structured

A researcher wishes to study a group of children over a period of 10 years beginning in 2016 and ending in 2025. This is an example of a ________ study.

longitudinal

In developmental studies, when one wants to determine how individual children change rather than what is typical at each stage, one would prefer the ________ method.

longitudinal

The qualitative researcher typically

studies a small number of participants

Mixed-methods research

was being conducted while some scholars debated whether it was possible

In a meta-analysis, the researcher found that the mean for the experimental group in a study was 14, and the mean for the control group was 10. The standard deviation of the control group was 5. Based on these data, what is the ES?

0.80

Which of the following represent(s) a primary source regarding a fight at a ball game?

notes taken by a spectator at the game

Which of the following are most difficult to analyze in a questionnaire study?

open-ended items

It is reasonable to expect volunteer participants to be similar in nature to

other volunteers from similar populations

It is common when looking at a distribution to encounter extreme or unusual scores that could have a misleading effect on the results. These extreme scores are termed

outliers