Comm Research Final Exam

Research studies involving the simultaneous analysis of two or more independent variables are called ____

Factorial designs

Of following, which is an advantage of survey research? a) A large amount of data can be collected with relative ease from a variety of people b) researchers don't have to hire interviewers c) cause-and-effect can be established d) any type of respondent can be interviewed

a) A large amount of data can be collected with relative ease from a variety of people

What type of study does this notation describe: R X O(2) a) Posttest only b) pretest only c) pretest-posttest d) Solomon pretest only

a) Posttest only

Of following, which is not recommended while designing a questionnaire? a) Sensitive demographic data should be placed at the first page of the questionnaire b) sensitive items should be placed at the end of the questionnaire c) age and gender information are usually included in the first part of a questionnaire d) the questionnaire should proceed from the general to the specific

a) Sensitive demographic data should be placed at the first page of the questionnaire

Which of the following is measure of central tendency that is particularly sensitive to outliers? a) mean b) median c) mode d) range

a) mean

A corporation launches a new video game, and all subscribers are required to take a survey before they can begin playing. According to the survey, the mean annual income of subscribers is $27,000. The figure $27,000 would be which of the following? a) parameter b) standard error c) variance d) z-score

a) parameter

To control confounding variables in experimental research, researchers can use several techniques. Which ones is appropriate to control this problem? a) randomization b) using field experiment c) observing subjects all the time d) including another variable in the design

a) randomization

Suppose the Mean = 30.00 and Standard deviation = 2.00 for a normal distribution of scores. What percentage of the cases lies between scores of 28 and 32? a) 95% b) 68% c) 34% d) 47.5%

b) 68%

What percentage of the cases in a normal curve lies within one standard deviation unit of the mean? a) 95% b) 68% c) 34% d) 47.5%

b) 68%

All questions in a questionnaire should include: a) no more than three possible responses b) A "Don't Know/No Answer" response c) a logical alternative to check for validity d) no more than five possible responses

b) A "Don't Know/No Answer" response

Bridget has begun to study the representation of vegetarians in entertainment magazines by doing a simple content analysis. Her study measures which of the sampled articles identify a character as a vegetarian. At this preliminary phase, the articles are coded as either identifying a vegetarian or not identifying a vegetarian. What level of data is this? a) interval b) nominal c) ordinal d) ratio

b) nominal

Screener questions are used in questionnaires to... a) make sure that the sample is randomly selected b) qualify a respondent for a research study c) identify questions that may cause confusion d) find new marker variables for future research studies

b) qualify a respondent for a research study

If a researcher was coding character race, which of the following category schemes would be the best example of a mutually exclusive and exhaustive scheme? a) African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic. Other b) African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic. White - non-hispanic. Other c) African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic. Native American, Other d) None of the choices

c) African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic. Native American, Other

What type of study does this notation describe: R O(1) X O(2) a) Posttest only b) Pretest only c) Pretest-posttest d) Latin Square posttest only

c) Pretest-posttest

Which of the following is a disadvantage of an online experiment? a) Large sample size b) Experimenter bias c) Self-selection of sample d) Geographically diverse sample

c) Self-selection of sample

Which of the following research techniques usually uses the smallest sample size? a) multivariate studies b) panel surveys c) focus groups d) phone surveys

c) focus groups

Which of the following is a disadvantage of mail surveys? a) researchers must use monetary incentives b) researchers are able to know exactly who answers the questions c) low return rate casts doubt on the reliability of the findings d) wide geographic reach

c) low return rate casts doubt on the reliability of the findings

In reference to the quality of a sample, The "Law of Large Numbers" (a huge sample) guarantees... ? a) a greater chance that the data are reliable and valid b) a reduction in sampling error c) nothing d) reduces measurement error

c) nothing

Quantitative content analysis is a research technique that: a) uses selected examples to illustrate theoretical points b) qualitatively describes the content of communication c) quantitatively describes the content of communication d) focuses primarily on a single person to ensure depth of information

c) quantitatively describes the content of communication

Which of the following is not one of the advantages of the experiment? a) experiment help establish cause and effect b) in a laboratory situation, researchers can control over the environment c) results can be generalized to real-life situations

c) results can be generalized to real-life situations

Which of the following is a disadvantage of an online experiment? a) large sample size b) experimenter bias c) self-selection of sample d) geographically diverse sample

c) self-selection of sample

All of the following statements are accurate except: a) long questionnaires cause low completion rates b) shorter questionnaires do not cause respondent mortality c) the maximum time limit of one-on-one interview is 10 minutes d) questionnaire length is determined by trial-and-error

c) the maximum time limit of one-on-one interview is 10 minutes

A repeated measures design may hampered by the _________ effect, in which the effects of one experimental manipulation may affect the next manipulation

carry-over effect

The process of examining every member of population is called a _______

census

When researchers develop content categories, they need to make certain that all category systems have which of the following qualities? a) Exhaustive b) Mutually exclusive c) Reliable d) All of the above

d) All of the above

The biggest difference between a probability and a non-probability sample is: a) Non-probability samples have smaller measurement errors b) Probability samples have smaller measurement errors c) there is no sampling error in a probability sample d) It is impossible to calculate the amount of sampling error present in a non-probability sample

d) It is impossible to calculate the amount of sampling error present in a non-probability sample

Which of the following are measurement errors? a) faulty data collection equipment b) asking respondents the wrong questions or asking questions incorrectly c) data input errors d) all of the above

d) all of the above

Of following, which is an appropriate way to conduct a pretest? a) use college student samples b) in telephone surveys, call 40-50 people and do a run-through c) pretest with the type of respondent who will not participate in the actual study d) conducting a mini-study with a small sample

d) conducting a mini-study with a small sample

An extraneous variable is the same as a a) independent variable b) dependent variable c) criterion variable d) confounding variable

d) confounding variable

A quasi-experiment resembled a true experiment but a) no inferential statistics can be used with it b) there are no dependent variables c) there are no independent variables d) there is no randomization

d) there is no randomization

Jacy wants to examine how extensively the activities of celebrities are covered as news events. He begins by selecting a random sample of stories from the front pages of the January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009 editions of the 5 U.S. newspapers with the highest circulation. For this study, "the front pages of the January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009 editions of the 5 U.S. newspapers with the highest circulation" would be called: a) census b) simple random sample c) stratified random sample d) universe

d) universe

Which of the following terms is a measure of dispersion a) Abscissa b) Median c) ordinate d) variance

d) variance

A ___________________ is one that asks two or more questions simultaneously

double-barreled questions

t/f - Calvin conducted a content analysis of violence in video games that are popular with children and found that more than 3/4 of these games portrayed violence and aggression. From this, he can conclude that these games stimulate violent behavior in the children that play them regularly

false

t/f - In field experiments, researchers can control all the intervening variables

false

t/f - There are three major types of surveys: descriptive, analytical, and cultural

false

t/f - a census is a subset of the population

false

A characteristic of the population is called a ________

parameter

__________ is the influence of a subject's awareness has on being measured or observed.

reactivity

____________________ is used to eliminate unwanted respondents or to include only respondents who have specific characteristics or who answer questions in a specific manner

screener questions

t/f - A factorial design for a study must have at least two factors or independent variables

true

t/f - Content analytic schemes or category systems should be mutually exclusive and exhaustive

true

t/f - Intercoder reliability for categorical data can be calculated using Hoslsti's formula for percentage of agreement, Cohen's kappa or Scott's pi.

true

t/f - Non-probability samples are usually adequate for pilot studies

true

t/f - Sampling error occurs when measurements taken from a sample do not correspond to what exists in the population

true

t/f - Surveys are not constrained by geographic boundaries

true

t/f - The advantage of the repeated-measures design is that fewer subjects are necessary because each subject participates in all conditions

true

t/f - The standard error of the mean is used to estimate how accurately a sample reflects a population

true

t/f - the biggest disadvantage of a survey is that independent variables cannot be manipulated the way they are in laboratory experiments

true