Research Methods Questions

Which of the following is an association claim?

"Owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction."

To evaluate how well a study supports a frequency claim, you need to focus most on evaluating which of the following validities?

Construct validity and external validity

Which of the following is NOT an example of a probability sample?

Convenience sample

According to its conceptual definition, a variable should be related to a particular behavior. If a researcher is able to demonstrate that his measure of the variable is related to the behavior, then he has established which of the following?

Criterion validity

Researchers conducting an experiment can ensure temporal precedence by doing which of the following?

Manipulating the cause before measuring the effect

A researcher's attempt to control sounds, smells, and even temperature in a testing environment is meant to reduce which of the following?

Situation noise

Dr. Gavin decides that instead of conducting a 2 x 4 independent-groups factorial design, he is going to conduct a 2 x 4 within-groups factorial design. Which of the following things will change?

The number of participants needed

Which of the following is an advantage of within-groups designs?

These designs rely on fewer participants.

A psychiatrist is testing a drug that treats depression. He has given the drug to all his patients, and all of them have experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms. Although this is interesting, his experience is limited because he does not have:

a comparison group that did not receive the drug

Which of the following graph formats is the best way to examine an association claim between two quantitative variables?

a scatterplot

Ceiling effects can affect:

both independent and dependent variables.

Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Which type of claim is Dr. Ramon making?

causal claim

If researchers measure every member of a population, they have:

conducted a census

If a person is asking whether the variables in an association claim are measured appropriately, _________ is being interrogated.

construct validity

Another term for probability sampling is:

random sampling

A study finds a correlation coefficient of r = -.64. This number gives you information about which of the following?

strength and direction of the relationship

To be a history threat, the external event must occur:

systematically, affecting most members of the group

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children. You know this relationship may not be causal because you are not sure which occurred first: watching television or being aggressive. You are questioning which of the following rules of causation?

the criterion of temporal precedence

Dr. Hadden wants to conduct a study that will allow him to make claims that apply to all college students. Which of the following validities is he prioritizing?

the external validity of the study

The belief that the participants in a research study should be representative of the type of people who would also benefit from the findings of the research stems from which principle of the Belmont Report?

the principle of justice

Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music. Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music.Which of the following is a variable in this study?

the sex of the participant

The mathematical way to describe an interaction is:

A difference in differences

A simple difference is also called:

A main effect

What is the difference between concurrent-measures designs and repeated-measures designs?

Concurrent-measures designs expose participants to the levels of the independent variable at roughly the same time; repeated-measures designs expose participants to the levels of the independent variable sequentially.

Which of the following questions assesses internal validity when evaluating causal claims?

Does the study establish temporal precedence?

When you are interrogating the external validity of a sample, which is the most important question to ask?

How was the sample collected?

What does it mean that "reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity"?

If a measure is valid, it is also reliable.

Dr. Cyril conducts a simple random sample of 500 men who became fathers for the first time in the past year. He finds that 23% of them report being unsure of their ability to be good fathers, plus or minus 4%. What does this mean?

If the study was done many times, the estimate of father uncertainty would be between 19% and 27%.

Which validity should researchers prioritize when conducting an experiment?

Internal validity

In what way does high within-group variance obscure the between-groups differences?

It causes more overlap between experimental/comparison groups.

All of the following are advantages of within-groups designs EXCEPT:

It is less time-consuming for the participants.

Which of the following is true of probability sampling?

It is the best way to obtain a representative sample.

Convenience sampling relies on which of the following?

Studying people who are easy to find

The need to balance the potential costs and benefits to participants taking part in a research study is done to address which principle of the Belmont Report?

The principle of beneficence

When evaluating the external validity of an association claim, which of the following is the most important issue to consider?

The way the sample was selected from the population

Neely is examining the graph of an interaction and sees that one line is flat and one line rises sharply to the right. Which of the following should Neely conclude?

There is a spreading interaction

What is the difference between a main effect and an overall effect?

There is no difference between main effects and overall effects.

Which of the following is true of instrumentation threats?

They can be avoided with counterbalancing.

An independent-groups design is also known as a _________ design.

between-subjects

The number of main effects that need to be examined is _________ the number of independent variables.

equal to

A variable that the researcher controls is a _________ variable.

manipulated

When examining the statistical validity of a frequency claim, one should look for the:

margin of error estimate.

A study finds a significant correlation between a categorical and quantitative varable with an effect size of Cohen's d = .52. According to Cohen's benchmarks, the magnitude of this effect is:

moderate

Which of the following could be an independent variable in a causal claim?

one that is manipulated

Practice effects and carryover effects are examples of _________ effects.

order

Testing threats involve _________, whereas instrumentation threats involve _________.

participants; measurements

The ability for a study to reveal a statistically significant difference between the levels of an independent variable when one truly exists is known as:

power

If there is not a full range of scores on one of the variables, this is known as _________.

restriction of range

Which of the following does NOT result in a representative sample?

snowball sample

The issue of obtaining informed consent deals with which of the following principles of the Belmont Report?

the principle of respect for persons

If a sample is biased, then it is _______________ the population of interest.

unrepresentative of