Research Methods I - Practice Exam 2

Having a representative sample is most important in which of the following example claims? a) "Receiving weekly feedback from your supervisor increases work productivity." b) "Having a dark triad personality is associated with having greater relationship problems." c) "People who report knowing someone who has been diagnosed with skin cancer also report having greater sunscreen use." d) "Forty-three percent of psychology majors report being frustrated by people asking them if they are psychoanalysing them."

"Forty-three percent of psychology majors report being frustrated by people asking them if they are psychoanalysing them."

A sample is to _________________ as a population is to _________________. a) External; internal b) Participants; groups c) People; groups d) Part; entire

Part; entire

Which of the following results in an unbiased sample? a) Systematic sample b) Convenience sample c) Purposive sample d) Snowball sample

Snowball sample

When examining an association in which one variable is categorical and one is quantitative, which of the following is most likely to be used? a) A scatterplot b) A bar graph c) An outlier d) A curvilinear association

A bar graph

When examining an association claim using a bar graph, an association is indicated by which of the following? a) A difference in the height between the bars. b) The number of bars in the graph. c) The number of observations that make each bar. d) The direction of the bars.

A difference in the height between the bars.

When using correlation coefficients to evaluate reliability, which of the following is undesirable? a) A strong correlation coefficient. b) It depends on the type of reliability being evaluated. c) A negative correlation coefficient. d) A correlation coefficient close to 1.

A negative correlation coefficient.

In which of the following cases would a large sample especially be needed? a) A study of first-time homeowners. b) A study of high school students. c) A study of people who have been to the doctor in the past year. d) A study of teenagers whose parents are both deployed overseas in the military.

A study of teenaged whoes parents are both deployed overseas in the military.

Naomi is studying the effect of popularity on academic success for her research methods project. To do this, she has elementary school students rate how popular each member of their class is. She then uses this information to rank the students on popularity (e.g., John is the most popular, Vanessa is the second-most popular). Which of the following best describes this variable? a) An ordinal scale of measurement. b) A self-report measurement. c) An interval scale of measurement. d) A categorical measurement.

An ordinal scale of measurement.

A researcher wants to know what people really do, not what they think they do. Which method would you advise him to use? a) Self-report questions. b) Neither behavioural nor self report questions is desirable for finding out what people really do. c) Both behavioural observations and self-report questions are equally good for finding out what people really do. d) Behavioural observations

Behavioural observations

How are quota sampling and stratified random sampling similar? a) Both identify subgroups that needed to be studied. b) Both randomly sample subgroups to be studied. c) Both result in non representative samples. d) Both result in representative samples.

Both identify subgroups that needed to be studied.

In which of the following ways are content and face validity similar? a) Both involve asking participants for their opinions about the measurement. b) Both are very difficult to establish. c) Both involve subjective judgments. d) Both are preferred by psychologists as ideal measures of validity.

Both involve subjective judgments.

Your friend Alanna says that when examining validity, you always want to see positive correlations. Why is she wrong? a) Negative correlations are desirable when examining validity. b) The strength of a correlation matters, but the direction of a correlation does not matter. c) Both the strength and the direction of a correlation matter when examining validity. d) Correlations are not used to examine validity.

Both the strength and the direction of a correlation matter when examining validity.

The difference between a cluster sample and a stratified random sample is a) There is no difference between cluster samples and stratified random sample. b) Cluster samples use randomly selected clusters; stratified random samples use predetermined strata. c) Cluster samples use oversampling; stratified random samples use undersampling. d) Cluster samples study all possible clusters; stratified random samples randomly select strata.

Cluster samples use randomly selected clusters; stratified random samples use predetermined strata.

If a person is asking whether the variables in an association claim are measured appropriately, what is being interrogated? a) Statistical validity b) Internal validity c) External validity d) Construct validity

Construct validity

RESEARCH STUDY 5.2: Dr. Sheffield is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is defined as being unable to resist impulses to gamble. Bothered by not having a good measure that he can give to clients to determine whether they are suffering from this condition, he creates a new measure of pathological gambling. The measure has 15 questions, and it takes 20 minutes to complete. Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to his supervisor, who is also an expert in pathological gambling. His supervisor says that his measure appears to test all the components of pathological gambling, including feeling restless when attempting to stop gambling, jeopardizing jobs in order to keep gambling, and using gambling to escape from problems and a bad mood. Given this information, Dr. Sheffield's measure has evidence of which of the following? a) Discriminant validity b) Content validity c) Criterion validity d) Convergent validity

Content validity

Jiyun has just conducted a study examining the association between a child's level of impulsivity and the amount of corporal punishment used by their parents. She used a questionnaire about discipline strategies to assess corporal punishment. She calculated the scale's internal reliability as .85 and concluded that her scale had good internal reliability. Jiyun most likely calculated reliability using what statistic? a) slope of a line b) Cronbach's alpha c) The average inter-item correlation (AIC) d) Kappa

Cronbach's alpha

Why might a researcher choose purposive sampling over systematic sampling? a) Only purposive sampling allows the researcher to study a particular type of participant. b) External validity is not vital to the researcher's study. c) Purposive sampling is always cheaper. d) The researcher does not have to specify a population of interest ahead of time.

External validity is not vital to the researcher's study.

Julian creates a survey asking participants first to report how happy they are in their marriage and then second to report how happy they are in their life. His advisor, Dr. Fuentes, recommends that he create a second version of the survey that reverses the order of these questions. Why is Julian's advisor recommending this? a) He is concerned that Julian's participants will use shortcuts. b) He is concerned that Julian's participants will try to fake good. c) He is concerned that Julian's results could be affected by question order. d) He is concerned that Julian has a double-barreled question.

He is concerned that Julian's results could be affected by question order.

When interrogating the construct validity of an association claim, which of the following statements is true? a) Only the construct validity of the outcome variable needs to be interrogated. b) The reliability of the measures is more important than their validity. c) How each variable was measured must be considered. d) Quantitative variables need to be assessed, but qualitative variables do not.

How each variable was measured must be considered.

Which of the following determines the construct validity of a survey question? a) How many responses options it has. b) How well it is worded. c) How short it is. d) How many people answer it.

How well it is worded.

RESEARCH STUDY 5.1: Dr. Rodriquez is considering conducting a study examining whether narcissistic people have poorer romantic relationships than those who are not narcissistic. One of her first tasks is to determine which of her participants are narcissistic and which are not. She decides to use the scale created by a colleague, the Donal scale. Question 1 reads, "I tend not to think about other people as much as I think about myself." Question 2 reads, "I do not have a high opinion of myself." Question 3 reads, "I think other people think I am really special." Before using the measure in her study, Dr. Rodriquez analyses the data she gets from her students. She looks at the relationship between each of the individual questions. She sees that participants who agree with Question 1 also agree with Question 3 and disagree with Question 2. This is a test of which of the following? a) Internal reliability b) Test-retest reliability c) Construct reliability d) Interrater reliability

Internal reliability

In interrogating the construct validity of measure, which question should a researcher ask? a) Has an expert said that this measure is reliable? b) Do I know that this measure is valid? c) Does this measure have the right kind of validity? d) Is there enough evidence that this measure is valid?

Is there enough evidence that this measure is valid?

In developing a measure of "need for cognition" (the degree to which people like thinking and problem-solving), Dr. Jonason asks his participants to rate their agreement with the following statement: "I frequently solve and enjoy solving crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles." What is the problem with this question? a) It is a double-barreled question. b) It is a leading question. c) It is a double negative. d) It is a forced-choice question.

It is a double-barreled question.

Why is the use of representative samples especially important in frequency claims? a) Frequency claims require a very large use of samples, and representative samples are always very large . b) It is unethical to make frequency claims without representative samples. c) Representative samples allow for enhanced internal and external validity. d) It is unlikely that the accuracy of estimates can be checked.

It is unlikely that the accuracy of estimates can be checked.

Which of the following is true of behavioural observation? a) It requires recording technology, such as video cameras. b) It is more reliable and valid method than self-report methodology. c) It may tell a different story than data collected by self-report questions. d) It requires a research assistant to be with the participant at all times.

It may tell a different story than data collected by self-report questions.

Which of the following is true of sample size? a) It primarily affects internal validity. b) It primarily affects statistical validity. c) It primarily affects external validity. d) It primarily affects construct validity.

It primarily affects statistical validity.

RESEARCH STUDY 5.2: Dr. Sheffield is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is defined as being unable to resist impulses to gamble. Bothered by not having a good measure that he can give to clients to determine whether they are suffering from this condition, he creates a new measure of pathological gambling. The measure has 15 questions, and it takes 20 minutes to complete. To test his measure, Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to a group of people in Gamblers Anonymous (GA) and another group of people in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He finds that people in the GA group have higher scores on his new measure than people in the AA group. This procedure is known as a a) Known-groups paradigm b) Prediction paradigm c) Test-retest paradigm d) Group evaluation paradigm

Known-groups paradigm

A question that suggests a particular viewpoint of respondents is known as a(n) a) Double-barreled question. b) Negatively worded question. c) Leading question. d) Ordered question.

Leading question.

Dr. Reyes is examining whether exercise is linked to mood. She recruits a sample of college students and asks them to answer whether they exercised at least three times last week (yes or no) and to rate their mood in the last week (1: Not happy at all to 5: Very happy). Her results show that students who exercised in the last week also reported happier moods. Can Dr. Reyes make a causal inference from her study? Select the best explanation for the response. a) Yes, Dr. Reyes' study meets all three of the causal criteria. b) No, Dr. Reyes's study meets only one the three causal criteria: covariance. c) No, Dr. Reyes's study meets only two of the three causal criteria: covariance and temporal precedence. d) No, Dr. Reyes' study meets only one the three causal criteria: temporal precedence.

No, Dr. Reyes's study meets only one the three causal criteria: covariance.

For his research methods class, Felipe plans to watch how teachers treat children in their classrooms who have ADHD. He will evaluate how positively or negatively the children are treated. This is an example of what type of measurement? a) Archival measurement b) Physiological measurement c) Self-report measurement d) Observational measurement

Observational measurement

Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs. Imagine that Dr. Ewell wants to videotape the children interacting in the park. Why would most psychologists have no problem with the ethics of Dr. Ewell's study? a) Research with children is generally not risky. b) His research topic is interesting. c) People in a public park do not expect their behaviour to be private. d) Observing children is the only way to collect data about this topic.

People in a public park do not expect their behaviour to be private.

RESEARCH STUDY 6.1: Professor Singh creates a survey to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes: Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He writes the following questions for his survey: A. What was your favorite part of this class? B. Please rate how much you agree with the following statement using the scale below: This was one of my favorite classes all semester. 1 to 5 C. Which of the following is most true of you?-I am a very serious student-I try only as hard as I have to. D. How easy did you feel this class was?1 to 5 Which of these questions above is an example of a question that uses a Likert scale? a) Question C b) Question D c) Question A d) Question B

Question B

Another term for probability sampling is a) Convenience sampling b) Purposive sampling c) Cluster sampling d) Random sampling

Random sampling

Which of the following is true of question wording? a) It has no effect on the results of a survey/poll. b) Differences in how questions are worded always lead to different results. c) Researchers may alter the wording of a question to determine if it does have an effect on the results. d) No research has scientifically demonstrated that question wording affects the answers participants give.

Researchers may alter the wording of a question to determine if it does have an effect on the results.

If there is a very little variance on one of the variables, this is known as a) Spurious data b) An outlier effect c) Restriction of range d) Null effect

Restriction of range

Statistical significance depends on which of the following? a) Sample size and number of variables analysed. b) Sample size and effect size. c) Direction of association and strength of the association. d) Number of outliers and direction of the association.

Sample size and effect size.

Dr. Guidry conducts a study examining the relationship between the number of friends one has and the experience of daily stress and life satisfaction. She randomly samples 1,500 elderly men and women in Nashville, Tennessee (the state capital), located in the southern United States. Below are her findings. • Life satisfaction and experience of daily stress: r = .57, 95% CI [-.77, -.37] • Number of friends one has and experience of daily stress: r = .09, 95% CI [-.27, .45] • Number of friends one has and life satisfaction: r = .36, 95% CI [.12, .60] Which of the following best describes the 95% CI for the relationship between the number of friends and daily stress? a) She can reliably predict a study participant's experience of daily stress from the participant's number of friends. b) There is a statistically significant association between the two variables. c) Effect size could not be calculated. d) It is likely that the association between number of friends one has experience of daily stress is from a zero association population.

She can reliably predict a study participant's experience of daily stress from the participant's number of friends.

Faking good is also known as a) Acquiescence b) Socially desirable responding c) Nondifferential d) Fence sitting

Socially desirable responding

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using open-ended questions? a) The answers must be coded. b) The answers provided are often spontaneous. c) The answers are not taken seriously by participants. d) The answers are unscientific.

The answers must be coded.

Which of the following best describes the circled dot in the figure below? a) The dot represents a single participant. b) The dot represents a single outlier. c) The dot represents the 95% CI. d) The dot represents the effect size.

The dot represents a single participant.

Dr. Guidry conducts a study examining the relationship between the number of friends one has and the experience of daily stress and life satisfaction. She randomly samples 1,500 elderly men and women in Nashville, Tennessee (the state capital), located in the southern United States. Below are her findings. • Life satisfaction and experience of daily stress: r = .57, 95% CI [-.77, -.37] • Number of friends one has and experience of daily stress: r = .09, 95% CI [-.27, .45] • Number of friends one has and life satisfaction: r = .36, 95% CI [.12, .60] Dr. Guidry submits her study for publication in a scientific journal. If one of the peer reviewers is concerned about the external validity of her study, which of the following is the most important aspect of Dr. Guidry's study to consider? a) The random sampling technique used to recruit the participants. b) The number of significant findings. c) The number of people in the sample. d) The use of three measured variables.

The random sampling technique used to recruit the participants.

Which of the following is true of operational definitions? a) Conceptual definitions are created after operational definitions are determined. b) Operational definitions and conceptual definitions are the same thing. c) There is only one operational definition that is possible for each conceptual definition. d) The specification of operational definitions is one of the creative aspects of the research process.

The specification of operational definitions is one of the creative aspects of the research process.

A correlation coefficient and a scatterplot both provide which of the following pieces of information? a) The strength and direction of the relationship between two measurements. b) The validity and reliability of two measurement. c) The path and significance of the relationship between two measurements. d) The outliers present in the two measurements.

The strength and direction of the relationship between two measurements.

For a third variable to be plausible as the explanation in an established association, which of the following must also be true? a) The third variable must be a categorical variable. b) The third variable must be related to both of the measured variables in the original association. c) The third variable must have a positive relationship with the two measured variable in the original association. d) The third variable must be measured on the same scale as the original measured variables.

The third variable must be related to both of the measured variables in the original association.

When evaluating the external validity of an association claim, which of the following is the most important issue to consider? a) The way the sample was selected from the population. b) The size of the original population. c) The number of subgroups. d) The size of the sample.

The way the sample was selected from the population.

Which of the following is true about outliers? a) They have the biggest effect when dealing with small sample sizes. b) They can affect the strength, but not the direction, of an association. c) They are only problematic when they affect one variable and not the other. d) They usually affect a majority of the data points.

They have the biggest effect when dealing with small sample sizes.

Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is a categorical way to operationalize caffeine consumption? a) The frequency of buying energy drinks. b) The number of milligrams of caffeine consumed during the study. c) Whether the participant drank coffee in the 24 hours prior to the study. d) The number of cups of coffee consumed in a day.

Whether the participant drank coffee in the 24 hours prior to the study.

You are looking to purchase a new pair of running shoes. Which of the following should you consider when looking at the Zappos.com headline "61% said this shoe felt true to size?" a) Whether the people who rated the hade Internet access. b) Whether the people who rated the shoe were randomly assigned to the running shoe. c) Whether the people who rated the shoe share same characteristics as others who bought the shoe. d) Whether the people who rater the shoe were more conscientious than average.

Whether the people who rated the shoe share same characteristics as others who bought the shoe.

Observer bias related mainly to ______, whereas observer effect stems from _______. a) validity; reliability b) Outcomes; expectations c) Faking good; faking bad d) researchers; participants

researchers; participants

A sample is always __________ a population. a) More expensive to measure than b) Smaller than c) More interesting than d) More scientific than

smaller than