Inquizative 8 EXAM 2
Identify the false statements about self-reporting.
- How confident people are in their accuracy is positively correlated with how accurate they are. - Most people are accurate in describing why they act in the ways they do.
Identify the true statements about the accuracy of self-reporting memories.
- Memories of negative events, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), can be accurate: Adult reports of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are generally accurate and supported by official court or hospital documents. - The vividness of flashbulb memories tends to last over time, even many years later.: Flashbulb memories tend to remain vivid over time.
Identify the descriptors as applicable to this survey question. "What mental health problems are you currently experiencing?"
-leading: This question insinuates that the respondent is experiencing mental health issues. - open ended: Respondents can write whatever they choose in response to this question.
Teuila recently learned of plans to cut down a beautiful old tree on her campus to make way for a new bike path. Teuila is opposed to cutting down the tree, so she decides to survey some students at her university to see if others are also opposed. Match each question that Teuila is considering for her survey to the wording problem it has. Should the school preserve the tree *and* cancel plans for the new bike path?
double barreled + Split the question into two separate questions.
You want respondents to select the professor whose teaching method they enjoy the most.
forced choice
Choose one of the following that best describes you:___ I have a natural talent for influencing people.___ I am not good at influencing people.
forced-choice
Which is truer of you?___ I have little interest in video games.___ I would miss video games if I couldn't play anymore.
forced-choice
Teuila recently learned of plans to cut down a beautiful old tree on her campus to make way for a new bike path. Teuila is opposed to cutting down the tree, so she decides to survey some students at her university to see if others are also opposed. Match each question that Teuila is considering for her survey to the wording problem it has. Are you in favor of brutally cutting down this majestic tree to make way for a stupid bike path?
leading + Use more neutral language.
How much do you agree with the statement below?"I watch television on my phone."1Strongly disagree2345Strongly agree
likert
Teuila recently learned of plans to cut down a beautiful old tree on her campus to make way for a new bike path. Teuila is opposed to cutting down the tree, so she decides to survey some students at her university to see if others are also opposed. Match each question that Teuila is considering for her survey to the wording problem it has. Do you oppose not cutting down this tree?
negatively worded + Word the question positively.
What do you remember about your first date?
open ended
You want respondents to explain their thoughts on their professor's teaching methods.
open ended
What video games have you played?
open-ended
When was the last time you went out to dinner?
open-ended
Luís is creating a survey on current political attitudes. He begins his survey by asking, "What political party do you belong to?" He then asks questions on several important topics, such as "What is your stance on immigration?" and "How concerned are you about environmental issues?" What construct validity issue might Luís's survey have?
question order
Teuila recently learned of plans to cut down a beautiful old tree on her campus to make way for a new bike path. Teuila is opposed to cutting down the tree, so she decides to survey some students at her university to see if others are also opposed. Match each question that Teuila is considering for her survey to the wording problem it has. 1. Do you think that trees should be preserved on campus, or not?2. Should the school reconsider the route for the new bike trail, or should they reconsider the plan?
question order + Prepare different versions of the survey with different question sequences.
If respondents become fatigued, or are unengaged in the survey, they may answer questions in a general pattern without really considering their honest responses. This is known as using a ______ ________
respondence set -- This is problematic for construct validity because people are not responding with how they truly feel.
Sequoyah is surveying parents about the health of their children. He is worried that participants will want to look like excellent parents and will claim that their children exercise and eat healthy all the time. Identify each strategy as helpful for addressing Sequoyah's concern.
- Add items to identify those who answer in socially desirable ways. - Remind the participants that their responses are anonymous.
Sequoyah is surveying parents about the health of their children. He is worried that participants will want to look like excellent parents and will claim that their children exercise and eat healthy all the time. Identify each strategy as not helpful for addressing Sequoyah's concern.
- Eliminate the neutral option. - Add reverse-worded items.
Identify the true statements about self-reporting.
- Even strikingly vivid flashbulb memories can be inaccurate. - When people are unsure of their reason for behaving in a certain way, they often create justifications for their behavior rather than saying they don't know.
Identify the true statements about survey and poll questions.
- Questions that come earlier in a survey may affect how later questions are answered.
I sometimes try to get even rather than forgive and forget.TrueFalse
forced choice
This question appears on a survey: "Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree): My smartphone is new and I am satisfied with its performance." In what way could this question be changed to improve its construct validity?
- Respond to the following questions on a scale 1-5 1. my smartphone is new 2. satisfied with my smartphone - The best way to address a double-barreled question is to split it up into two separate items—in this case, one item about the age of the smartphone and one about satisfaction with the smartphone.
Identify the false statements about open-ended questions.
- They are more efficient than forced-choice questions. - They completely lack construct validity.
Identify the true statements about open-ended questions.
- They can be time-consuming for researchers because the responses need to be coded. - They provide spontaneous information that cannot be obtained from questions using limited choices.
How often are you late to or absent from work? Never Not very often Sometimes Very often
- double barreled - This question is actually asking about two separate things, since being late and being absent are not the same.
In your opinion how critical is the problem with background checks for firearms in this country? ___ There is a major problem with people not getting background checks. ___ While there are some problems with background checks, the system is good enough.
- leading - This question may lead the respondent to think there is a problem with background checks, and it does not provide answer options for those who do not think there are any problems.
Identify the descriptors as applicable to this survey question. Illegal immigrants should never be let into the United States. 1 Strongly disagree 2 3 4 5 Strongly agree
- negatively worded - Likert scale
There is never a reason to be late for work. 1 Disagree 2 3 4 5 Agree
- negatively worded - Negative words like never should be avoided with negative anchors like "disagree," as this can create confusion for the reader.
You want to know the degree to which respondents enjoy their professor's teaching methods.
- semantic - In this case, you would use a semantic differential format, such as 1 ("do not enjoy at all") and 5 ("enjoy a lot"). Semantic differential formats use response scales anchored with adjectives (not levels of agreement).differential
Identify the false statements about the accuracy of self-reporting memories.
- Flashbulb memories of where people were, and what they were doing, during a significant event tend to be accurate over time.: Flashbulb memories tend to decline in accuracy over time. - The level of certainty people feel about their memories is directly related to the accuracy of the memories.: People may feel certain and confident about certain memories, but this not does necessarily indicate the memories' accuracy.
Identify the false statements about self-reports.
- Self-reports are always less reliable and less valid than observational data. - Self-reports always accurately capture why people think, behave, or feel the way they do. - Self-reports are always superior to observational data because they aren't susceptible to biases.
Identify the true statements about self-reports.
- Self-reports are valuable sources of information when researchers are interested in a person's internal experience. - The construct validity of self-reports often relies on the wording and order of the questions.
Page(s) 162-1656.1. Construct Validity of Surveys and Polls The campus safety committee has asked Professor Ibrahim to study bicycling on his campus. He trains two observers to rate the safety behaviors of cyclists at various locations around campus, and they find that cyclists in general do not engage in safe biking behavior. After completing the observational study, Professor Ibrahim sends a survey about safe biking behavior to the entire campus. He finds a large difference between what the observers found and people's responses to the survey about how safely they ride. Which of the following statements are possible reasons for the discrepancy between the self-report and observational data?
- The bicyclists may not have been aware that they engaged in unsafe practices. - The bicyclists may have been responding in a socially desirable way to the survey.
If respondents continually select "yes," they are participating in
Acquiescence, --- or yea-saying, is when people agree to or choose "yes" for all items, regardless of the item.
Winston is conducting a survey about opinions on some highly debated issues. He wants to be sure that respondents report some degree of an opinion rather than playing it safe and remaining neutral. What is the best strategy Winston can use to improve his survey?
Eliminating the neutral option -- will force participants to choose one side of the issues, rather than choosing an option like "neither agree nor disagree."
If respondents select all middle options, they are participating in
Fence sitting -- occurs when people consistently select the neutral option (e.g., "neither agree nor disagree") instead of selecting a side. It can be difficult to understand whether respondents truly have a neutral stance on the issue, or whether they are just unwilling to take a stance.
How much do you agree with the statement below?"I did well on the previous task."1Strongly disagree2345Strongly agree
Liker
Respondents can provide as much or as little information as they would like in
Open-ended questions ----- allow respondents to give any type of answer, rather than constraining them to select from a list of options. This format provides researchers with spontaneous, rich information.
Identify the descriptors as not applicable to this survey question. Illegal immigrants should never be let into the United States. 1 Strongly disagree 2 3 4 5 Strongly agree
- semantic differential - double-barreled
Which of the following activities are examples of a survey or poll? -- Whenever researchers are directly asking someone questions, it is considered a poll or survey.
- the CDC asking questions over the telephone - filling out a customer feedback form online - interviewing someone who has been clinically committed
In what scenario is fence sitting a problem for construct validity?
- when people respond to a controversial question by selecting the response in the middle - When people play it safe and respond with the neutral option (fence sitting) instead of truthfully reporting their opinions, this creates an issue with construct validity because the survey is not accurately measuring what it is supposed to measure.
What type of validity is most important to consider when creating a poll or survey?
Construct validity -- Being certain that a poll or survey is measuring a construct well is essential to obtaining reliable results.
while ______ questions ask respondents to choose between two or more options.
Forced-choice -------- questions require respondents to choose the best option from a set of predetermined choices. These questions are sometimes used to ask about difficult and personal experiences with simple yes/no responses, and they are often used for political polls, for example, asking respondents to select one from a list of candidates.
When the wording of a survey or poll question influences respondents' answers, its construct validity is weakened. For instance, a question with wording that encourages a particular response is called a ______ question
Leading ---- questions are problematic because they encourage a certain type of answer in respondents.
On a scale of 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"), rate the following statement: Video games are a great pastime.
Likert scale
Respondents are asked to choose a number corresponding to how much they agree or disagree in
Likert scale ---- questions assess level of agreement using the format of 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree.
A negatively worded question using phrases such as "should never not" can be cognitively difficult and confusing to respondents. And researchers cannot be sure which part of the question people are responding to in a _____ question _____ a question that poses two questions.
Negatively worded ------- questions can be problematic because respondents might have difficulty understanding them or figuring out how to respond. +++ Double-barreled --- questions ask two questions, so respondents could be answering only one part of the question.
How would you rate yourself on the following scale?1Verysubmissive2345Verydominant
Semantic differential -- questions include a numeric scale with opposite adjectives on either end.
With sensitive topics, sometimes respondents answer in a way that aligns with what they believe everyone else thinks, in a way that makes them look good, or in a way they think the researcher would like them to answer. This is called
Socially desirable responding, or faking good, --- is when people respond in a way that they think is the popular or socially desirable opinion, even if it does not describe their true opinion or behavior.
La'ei is conducting an online survey that asks participants many different questions about personality and takes nearly an hour to complete. After collecting some pilot data, La'ei notices toward the end of the survey that participants are choosing "strongly agree" for every question. What is the best strategy La'ei can use to improve her survey?
Using reverse-worded items - may prompt survey respondents to slow down and think about their answers. It can also help the researcher identify participants that are acquiescing instead of carefully reading the items.
How would you rate yourself on the following scale? 1Very shy 2 3 4 5Very outgoing
semantic differential
On a scale of 1 ("not at all") to 5 ("very much"), rate how much you like and play your favorite video game.
semantic differential
Identify the false statements about survey and poll questions.
- How a question is worded has little to do with how it is answered. - Even if respondents try to be completely honest, it is impossible for them to respond to a survey accurately enough to provide meaningful data. - The main drawback of open-ended questions is that people often write things that are illegible.
Identify the descriptors as not applicable to this survey question. "What mental health problems are you currently experiencing?"
- likert scale: Respondents can reply however they choose to this question, rather than having to rate themselves along a number line. - forced choice: Respondents can reply however they choose to this question. negatively worded: The question does not include negative wording, such as "never" or "impossible," that could make the interpretation of the question difficult.
Nisbett and Wilson (1977) conducted a study about whether people can explain their own behavior. Participants were shown six identical pairs of stockings and were asked to select the one that they preferred. Nearly all participants selected the last pair of stockings. Then, researchers asked the participants to explain why they made the choice they did. According to this research, what is true of people when they are asked why they made a certain choice?
- they will tell you why they think they made the choice, but they may not accurately identify the true reason - When asked why they made a certain choice, most people willingly provide an explanation, but sometimes they unintentionally give inaccurate responses. The participants in the Nisbett and Wilson (1977) study said that they chose the last pair of stockings because of its quality, even though all the pairs were identical.
You want respondents to indicate how much they agree with their professor's teaching methods.
likert