Unit 1
Distinguish between a confirmational and a disconfirmational strategy
A confirmational strategy is a method of testing a theory or hypothesis in which a positive result confirms the predictions made by that theory or hypothesis; a disc confirmational strategy is a method of testing a theory or hypothesis in which a positive result this confirms the predictions made by that theory or hypothesis
To avoid experimenter bias, a researcher conduct a double blind study. Why is this a good strategy to minimize experiment bias?
A double blind study minimizes experimenter bias because the researcher is unaware of the conditions that participants are assigned
State whether each of the following examples is likely to have high or low content validity. A: a friend place is a posting on an online dating website and completely and honestly fills in the required fields concerning his personal information. B: you find a job posting that does not explain key information concerning salary, benefits, and hours of availability required. C: a researcher measures to construct love by having participants write a group of characteristics known to be associated. (E.G., caring, trustworthiness, commitment)
A: high content validity, B: low content validity, C: high content validity
The APA code of conduct requires that all research to be approved prior to the conduct of the research. A: what is the name of the committee that is charged with reviewing research that uses human participants? B: what is the name of the document that researchers must submit to the review board committee
A: institutional review board (IRB). B: research protocol
Based on the description of the following hypothetical study adapted from published research, answer the questions below: A study test of the hypothesis that wearing different clothing can influence how people describe their personality. Researchers first gain consensus on a list of personality traits associated with individuals in formalwear (E.G., cultivated, accurate) in casualwear, (E.G., easy-going, tolerant). They then asked some participants to arrive in formalwear and some to rhyme and casualwear and then have them write their own personality traits. As predicted, they found that participants and formalwear rated themselves with more "formal appropriate traits," where is those and casualwear braided themselves with more "casual appropriate traits." A: what is the construct being measured in the study? B: what is the operational definition for the construct? C: what is the hypothesis confirmed? Explain.
A: personality B: self ratings of personality traits C: yes, the hypothesis was confirmed, and the clothing where did influence how people describe their personality
State whether each of the following is an example of quantitative or qualitative research A: a researcher interviews a group of participants and ask them to explain how they feel when they are in love. Each participant is allowed to respond in his or her own words. B: a researcher records the blood pressure of participants during a task meant to induce stress. C: a psychologist interested and in attention injects rats with a drug that enhances attention and then measures the rate at which the rat presses a lever. D: a witness to a crime describes the suspect to police.
A: qualitative research, B: quantitative research, see: quantitative research, D: qualitative research
State the scale of measurement for each of the following variables. A: duration (in seconds) of blushing following an embarrassing mishap. B: the type of drug use during a clinical trial (brand-name or generic). C: rating of risk-taking on a scale from -2 (not likely) to +2 (very likely). D: the ranking of a participants top five favorite music artist
A: ratio scale, B: nominal scale, C: interval scale, D: ordinal scale
In the 1940s, penicillin became widely available as an effective treatment for syphilis. Did the researchers in the Tuskegee syphilis study into the study and provide penicillin to the men with syphilis at this time?
Participants with syphilis in the Tuskegee syphilis study were denied access to penicillin in the study continued for another quarter century
A researcher shows that students self efficacy, or believe in their abilities, can predict future college academic performance. Which type of criterion-related validity does this illustrate?
Predictive validity
State the "3 C's" of an effective literature review
Be comprehensive, be critical, and be clever
State the four goals of science
Describe, explain, predict, control
Scientific journals use a peer review process to determine whether to except or reject a manuscript for publication. What is peer review?
A peer review is a procedure used by scientific journals in which a manuscript or work is sent to peers or experts in that area to review the work and determine its scientific value or worth regarding publication
Faced on the timeline and table 3.2, place the following events (A-E) in order of when they occurred A: the Tuskegee syphilis study begins with a sample of 399 men with syphilis and 201 and one without. B:the associated press publish as a newspaper report condemning the study, leading to public outrage. C: the national commission drafts its recommendations in the Belmont report D: researchers hinder men from getting treatment ordered by the military draft effort. E: President Bill Clinton formally apologize on behalf of the nation
A, D, B, C, E
The explanation below describes the reasoning you used to develop a theory. Identify the portion of the excerpt that open parentheses a) describes the use of inductive reasoning and (B) describes the use of deductive reasoning. You notice that among your college friends, those who are the most outgoing always seem to be dating. You conclude that being outgoing is necessary to get a date. Using this conclusion as your theory, you predict the more outgoing individuals are more likely to date
A: "you noticed in among your college friends, that those who are the most outgoing always seem to be dating. You conclude that being outgoing is necessary to get a date." Be: "using this conclusion as your theory, you predict that more outgoing individuals are more likely to date."
State which of the following is an example of basic research in which is an example of applied research. A: a researcher is driven by her curiosity and interest to explore the theoretical relationship between Socio economic status and political affiliation Be: a researcher is interested in exploring the extent to which voters of different socioeconomic status and political affiliation are likely to vote for a particular candidate
A: basic research, B: applied research
Which of the following terms best describes inductive or deductive reasoning? A: top down, B: bottom up
A: deductive reasoning, B: inductive reasoning
State whether each of the following is an example of fabrication or plagiarism. A: a researcher submits a manuscript to a research journal that includes two figures summarizing data that were not actually recorded. B: a student uses the ideas from a book review to write a paper on the role of psychology and child development. She does not side the book in her paper. C: a student notices a cool graphic that he decides to include in his research paper without giving credit to the original author of the graphic. D: a researcher notices that there are data missing, so she feels in the missing data with (made a) scores that help show that her hypothesis is correct
A: fabrication, B: plagiarism, C: plagiarism, D: fabrication
Why is it important for a research idea to be novel?
An idea has to be novel or new because a researcher must be able to show how an idea adds to or builds upon the scientific literature
Which research, basic or applied, is used to study practical problems in order to have the potential for immediate action?
Applied research
A friend asks you what science is. After you answer her question, she asks how you knew that, and you replied that it was written in a textbook. What method of knowing did you use to describe science to your friend? Define it
Authority; it is a method of knowing except it is fact because it was stated by an expert or respected source in a particular subject area
Studying the nature of love has proven challenging because it is difficult to operationally defined. In this example, which of the four goals of science or researchers having difficulty with?
Describe
You go out to eat at a restaurant with friends and have the most delicious meal. From this experience, you decide to go to that restaurant again because the food is delicious. What method of knowing did you use to make this decision? Define it
Empiricism; it is a method of knowing based on one's experiences or observations
State four types of validity for research design
Face validity, construct validity, criterion-related validity, and content validity
Referring to table 3.3, state 10 sections that should be included in an informed consent form
Introduction, invitation/identification, purpose, description of research study, risks and benefits, confidentiality, compensation, questions/contact information, disclaimer, and signature lines
In a qualitative report, the "results" section is omitted and replaced with what section?
It is replaced with an analysis section
At what stage in the publication process should potential authors talk about publication credit?
Potential authors should talk about publication credit as early as possible
A psychologist measures sleepwalking behavior using a new assessment she constructed with to subscales. Describe two ways the researcher could show that her new measure is reliable
She could show that the assessment is consistent at two points in time (test - retest reliability) and then each sub scale or group of items in the assessment measures the same construct (internal consistency)
What information is conveyed in the introduction of an APA style manuscript?
The introduction conveys the problem and explains why it is important to conduct new research to address the problem, integrates previous research that is relevant to the research being conducted to address the problem, and states the hypotheses being tested in the research design being used to address the problem
Explain why using a confirmational strategy alone to test a theory or hypothesis is poor practice
To test predictions using the confirmational strategy we use logic that is not always true. For this reason a confirmational strategy alone to test theories is not good practice
Stay the five ethical principles incorporated in the APA code of conduct. Three of these principles were published in which 1979 report?
1: respect for persons, 2: beneficence, 3: justice, 4: fidelity and responsibility, 5: integrity. The first three principles were published in the Belmont report
State the principle of the Belmont report the best describes each of the following: A: a psychologist requests permission from jurors to record their voices during deliberations prior to making the recordings. B: researchers studying the influence of play behavior in early development justify their only preschool aged children can be included in the study. C: a study investigating the effects of a treatment to relieve symptoms of depression is approved by an IRB after the board determines that the benefits in the study outweigh the risks involved
A: respect for persons, B: justice, C: beneficence
For each of the following examples, (1) name the variable will be measured, (2) State whether the variable is continuous or discrete, and (3) State whether the variable is quantitative or qualitative. A: a researcher records the month of birth for patients with schizophrenia. B: a professor records the number of students who were absent for a final exam. C: a researcher asks children to choose which type of cereal they prefer (one with a toy inside the box or one without). He records the choice of cereal for each child. D: a therapist measures the time (in seconds) that her mother ignores a crying child before giving the child attention
A: the month of birth (the variable) is discrete and qualitative. B: the number of absent students (the variable) is discrete and quantitative. C: the choice of preference of cereal (the variable) is discrete and qualitative. D: the time in seconds (the variable) is continuous and quantitative
A researcher studying academic dishonesty uses a cover story in an informed consent form that tells participants that they are being asked to participate in a study concerning school pride. A: is this type of deception allowed? B: what must researchers do at the end of the research study to disclose their deception?
A: yes. B: the researcher must debrief participants concerning the true purpose of the research study
The conflict between ethics and research stems from the focus on outcomes versus means. Explain what this means
Before there were ethics committee's, a few researchers valued what they learned from their study more than what they had to do to gain that knowledge. Hence, they favored the outcomes of their research over the means needed to achieve those results
Which type of source, primary or secondary, should you used to begin your literature review search? Why?
Begin your search with secondary sources because you can identify many potential primary sources in a single article making your search more efficient
Which of the following choices is not an operational definition for a funny joke? A: duration of time (in seconds) spent laughing during a one minute comedy skit. B: ratings on a scale from zero (not funny) to five (very funny). C: the extent to which a joke or comment causes laughter
C is not an operational definition
True or false: samples can be larger than the population from which they were selected. Explain your answer.
False, because samples are a set of selected individuals, items, or data taken from a larger population of interest. By definition then, samples will always be smaller than the population from which they were selected.
Name five databases used to perform a literature review. What article information is typically provided for available articles in these databases?
Five databases are PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PubMed, ERIC, and JSTOR. Each database typically provides an abstract and reference information for each available article
State the major sections in an APA style manuscript in order of how each section should appear in the manuscript
In APA style manuscript is organized into the following major sections: title page, abstract, main body (includes introduction, method, results, and discussion), references, footnotes, tables, figures, and appendices
A researcher reports that students spent significantly more time attending to a passage given in color than when it was presented in black and white, t(30) = 4.6, p < .05. In which section of an APA style manuscript do we report this outcome?
In the results section
What is the name of a committee that is charged with reviewing research research that uses animal subjects
Institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC)
A researcher test the hypothesis that holding eye contact longer during an interview will increase how positively he or she is rated. During an experimental session and participants completed a mock interview during which time three riders made judgments concerning the duration of eye contact held by each participant. What type of reliability should the researcher demonstrate?
Inter-rater reliability
Rank the skills of measurement in order from least informative to most informative
Nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio
A researcher reviews the literature in finds that college students tend to perform better in classes that are in their declared major. From this review the researcher hypothesizes that the more interested students are in the material tight, the more they will learn. What method of knowing to the researcher used to develop this hypothesis?
Rationalism
Define research ethics and explain how researchers must anticipate, react, and reflect to conduct ethical research
Research ethics identifies the actions that researchers must take to conduct responsible and moral research. Researchers anticipate what might happen, react to what is happening, and reflect on what did happen in research study
How does a researchers duration of care for animal subjects differ from that with human subjects?
Researchers are responsible for the welfare of animal subjects for the duration of the time that they are under the researchers care, whereas researchers are typically responsible for human participants only for the duration of the study
Among the many trials held for harmful experiments on concentration camp prisoners was the Doctor's Trial, which led to what code? What is significant about this code?
The Nuremberg code. This code is significant and that it was the first international code of research ethics
What is the advantage of reading through the title and abstract of an article before reading further?
The advantage is that you can filter through almost all the articles not relevant to your research topic by reading only the title and abstract
What is the goal of a literature review?
The goal of a literature review is to organize, integrate, and evaluate published works about a problem and to consider progress made toward clarifying that problem.
A social psychologist records the number of outbursts and a sample of different classrooms at a local school. In this example, what is the operational definition for classroom interruptions?
The number of outbursts
What is the concern regarding publication bias?
The problem is the editors of peer reviewed articles journals tend to preferentially accept articles that show positive results and reject those that show only negative results. Therefore, the size of an effect could be overstated for many behavioral phenomena reported in the peer reviewed literature
A researcher operationally defined helping behavior as the amount of time (in seconds) that participants volunteer for a local charity during one summer. To demonstrate construct validity, what must the researcher show?
The researcher must show that the operational definition is actually measuring helping behavior (the construct)
The scientific method includes a series of assumptions or rules that must be followed. Using the analogy of a game (given in this chapter), explain why this is important. State the six steps for using the scientific method
The rules of a game to find a game in that to play the game, players must follow the rules of the game. In a similar way, the scientific method has assumptions or rules that must be followed to be able to engage in the scientific method. Step one: identify a problem. Step two: develop a research plan. Step three: conduct a study. Step four: analyze and evaluate the data. Step five: communicate the results. Step six: generate more ideas.
Which method of knowing is used to determine whether this hypothesis is likely correct or incorrect?
The scientific method
Science can be any systematic method of acquiring knowledge apart from ignorance. What method makes science a unique approach to acquire knowledge? Define that method.
The scientific method is a set of systematic techniques used to acquire, modify and integrate knowledge concerning observable or measurable phenomena
How should the sections in a poster be organized, moving from left to right?
The sections in a poster should be organized such that, moving from left to right, it is presented the same as an an APA style manuscript
Identify the sample in the population in this statement: a Research Methods class has 25 students enrolled, but only 23 students attend class
The statistics class has a population of 25 students in rolled, but a sample of only 23 students attended
What sections constitute the first two pages of an APA style manuscript?
The title page in the abstract on separate pages
Is a theory or a hypothesis described as a statement that has been rigorously tested and supported by scientific observations?
Theory
State three elements of communication
Three elements of communication or the speaker or author, the audience, in the message
State three methods of communication among scientist
Three methods of communication among scientists are to publish a manuscript, present a poster, or give a talk
Explain for strategies that can maximize the sensitivity of a measure and minimize range effects
To maximize the sensitivity of a measure and minimize possible range effects, you can perform a thorough literature review, conduct a pilot study to determine if a measure has been sensitive in previous studies, include manipulation checks to check the manipulation in a study worked, and use multiple measures to increase the likelihood that at least one of the measures will be sensitive and detect changes in the presence of the manipulation
Explain three strategies that could minimize participant reactivity
To minimize participant reactivity, you can reassure anonymity, use deception when ethical, measure less obvious variables, and minimize demand characteristics. To reassure confidentiality, let participants know that their responses will not be shared with anyone. Using deception when ethical and using less obvious variables can stop participants from figuring out what hypothesis is being tested
State two criteria that make variables suitable for scientific investigation and explain how to meet each criterion
Two criteria are that a variable should be observable and replicable. To meet both criteria, you must explain how the variable was measured (observable) and under what conditions the variable was observed so that other researchers can re-create the same conditions to measure the same variable you did (replicable)
Are researchers ever permitted to exclude information from informed informed consent? Explain.
Yes researchers can exclude information from an informed consent form when the research would not reasonably cause distress or harm, and it is permitted by law or federal or institutional regulations
Is the following an example of pseudoscience? Explain. A researcher enters a home and uses a device that shows that some areas of the house have higher electromagnetic fields (EMFs) than others. He concludes that these EMF readings show scientific proof that ghosts or spirits are present in the rooms where the EMFs were highest.
Yes, because the researcher makes a series of observations while in a house, and then constructs an explanation for his observations as if his conclusions were scientific
