Research Methods Midterm

The 50th ________ is also called the median. A. deviation B. percentile C. range D. code

B. percentile

Although ________ are necessary, they can also block off certain avenues of inquiry. A. assumptions B. criticisms C. evaluations D. debates

A. Assumptions

________ was a deeply religious scientific researcher who was punished because he challenged the church's belief that the sun revolved around the earth. A. Giordano Bruno B. Galileo Galilei C. Charles Darwin D. Nicolaus Copernicus

B. Galileo Galilei

Who is doing research based on an inspection of a body of evidence? A. Jim, who is reading a collection of academic journals to learn more about Freudian theory. B. Ronald, who is reviewing charts, graphs, and tables in order to find out which car is most likely to survive a crash. C. Rachel, who is talking to a group of yoga teachers to find out what is involved in earning a certification. D. Juana, who is observing birds to find out about their communication habits.

B. Ronald, who is reviewing charts, graphs, and tables in order to find out which car is most likely to survive a crash

Sandra participated in an experiment where she was told psychologists were measuring how people reacted to watching 12 straight hours of horror movies. When the study was over, the researchers had a meeting with Sandra where they explained they were actually observing how strangers react when placed in scary situations together. What is this meeting called? A. A posttest B. A review C. A debriefing D. A repeated design

C. A debriefing

Researchers ________ in order to test a hypothesis. A. deduce B. guess C. measure D. analyze

C. measure

How many variables are in univariate statistics? A. 1.111 B. 100 C. 1,000 D. 1

D. 1

Although using the same wording can be problematic when interviewing people from different backgrounds,wording questions differently for different kinds of people can A. make study subjects feel embarrassed. B. make researchers look unprepared. C. make the interview too long. D. make comparisons difficult.

D. make comparisons difficult

In most cases, unethical behavior in research is caused by lack of awareness and pressure to A. get additional donations from alumni. B. come to a specific conclusion. C. focus on teaching. D. take shortcuts.

D. take shortcuts

The ________ scale allows study participants to express their feelings about something by marking a place on a continuum. A. semantic differential B. Likert C. social distance D. Guttman

A. sematic differential

A random sample allows researchers to estimate the sampling A. element. B. error. C. parameter. D. distribution.

B. error

What is the first step of a literature review? A. Narrow the topic B. Locate articles C. Evaluate resources D. Extract major findings

C. Evaluate resources

Survey data are based on A. self-reports. B. correlations. C. observations. D. history.

A. self-reports

What is the difference between a continuous variable and a discrete variable? A. A continuous variable makes categories easier to define, and a discrete variable makes categories more complicated. B. A continuous variable has an infinite number of values, and a discrete variable has a fixed set of values. C. A continuous variable adds to the amount of time a study takes, and a discrete variable cuts the schedule down considerably. D. A continuous variable makes a study less complicated, and a discrete variable complicates a study.

B. A continuous variable has an infinite number of values, and a discrete variable has a fixed set of values.

Which of the following applies to both a set of collected numbers and a branch of applied mathematics? A. Codes B. Modes C. Statistics D. Scattergrams

C. Statistics

Krysta is interested in learning more about how gangs communicate with one another. She ventures to different parts of town and photographs different graffiti and the messages conveyed. What type of research is she doing? A. Obtrusive B. Directional C. Nonreactive D. Survey

C. nonreactive

What is the difference between a standard-format question and a quasi-filter question? A. A standard-format question is balanced, and a quasi-filter question is biased. B. A standard-format question is extremely long, and a quasi-filter question is short. C. A standard-format question is for experts, and a quasi-filter question is for laypeople. D. A standard-format question does not offer a "don't know" choice, and a quasi-filter question does offer a "don't know" choice.

D. A standard-format question does not offer a "don't know" choice, and a quasi-filter question does offer a "don't know" choice.

When researchers conduct a content analysis, they use ________ to categorize and classify their observations in the text. A. sampling frames B. ecological coding C. latent coding D. coding systems

D. coding systems

Fatima is a paranormal researcher who investigates haunted houses on the weekends. When she takes a research methods course in college, she quickly learns that her professor would not consider a study about the existence of ghosts to be a good research topic. Why did she come to this conclusion? A. Ghosts cannot be considered an aggregate. B. Ghosts cannot be surveyed. C. Ghosts cannot give informed consent. D. Ghosts cannot be observed.

D. ghosts cannot be observed

When respondents distort their answers to conform to accepted norms, it's called ________ bias. A. sponsor B. halo effect C. confirmation D. social desirability

D. social desirability

What is the difference between making a research argument and making an ideological argument? A. A research argument is based on empirical evidence, and an ideological argument is based on a specific position. B. A research argument is based on instincts, and an ideological argument is based on thoughts. C. A research argument is made with equipment in a lab, and an ideological argument is made with religious texts. D. A research argument can only be made by people with doctorates, and an ideological argument can only be made by people with bachelor's degrees.

A. A research argument is based on empirical evidence and an ideological argument is based on specific position

Why is spuriousness a serious problem in research that tests a causal hypothesis with two variables? A. An unacknowledged variable, not the independent variable in a hypothesis, is the true cause of an observed empirical association. B. The independent variable is confused with the dependent variable. C. Two variables in a hypothesis have a cause-effect relationship, but no data shows it. D. The time sequence of the variables in a hypothesis cannot be determined.

A. An unacknowledged variable, not the independent variable in a hypothesis, is the true cause of an observed empirical association.

Leila is doing a study about the drinking habits of college freshmen and sophomores. To recruit participants for the study, she quickly grabs the first 100 people she finds in the campus center without knowing if they are actually underclassmen. What type of sampling did Leila use? A. Convenience sampling B. Quota sampling C. Purposive sampling D. Snowball sampling

A. Convenience sampling

Mohammad is doing a study about vegetarianism among college students. If he writes questions like "Have you adopted a vegan lifestyle like Beyoncé,Jared Leto, and Ariana Grande?," which mistake is he making? A. He isn't avoiding prestige bias. B. He isn't avoiding writing double-barreled questions. C. He isn't avoiding making false premises. D. He isn't avoiding asking leading questions.

A. He isn't avoiding prestige bias

Carson is writing a questionnaire to study the opinions that 21-year-old men have about marriage and relationships. If he asks the question, " Should a couple having marital difficulties see a counselor and get a divorce," he would be making which mistake? A. He's not avoiding double-barreled questions. B. He's not avoiding emotional questions. C. He's not avoiding leading questions. D. He's not avoiding loaded questions.

A. He's not avoiding double-barreled questions.

Marcia wants to do a research study on why her first marriage failed. Her professor does not allow her to do this study and tells her it's not a good topic. Which feature of a good study does Marcia's proposed topic violate? A. Her topic does not involve aggregates. B. Her topic does not have inductive reasoning. C. Her topic does not have a literature review. D. Her topic does not look at patterns.

A. Her study does not involve aggregates

Temperance is studying how women's liberation evolved over 150 years in the United States for her women's studies course. What type of research is she doing? A. Historical comparative research B. Quantitative research C. Explanatory research D. Survey research

A. Historical comparative research

What is the difference between latent and manifest coding? A. Latent coding identifies themes embedded in text while manifest coding counts specific words or objects that appear. B. Latent coding is used for visual types of content, while manifest coding is used for written content. C. Latent coding does not take a long time to complete, while manifest coding is very time-consuming. D. Latent coding requires a developed hypothesis, while manifest coding is more open.

A. Latent coding identifies themes embedded in text while manifest coding counts specific words or objects that appear.

Aaron is doing a study for a food manufacturer that involves monitoring the eating habits of participants, but does not tell the participants that he is specifically measuring how much junk food they eat. Why would this be considered ethical? A. Participants would alter their behavior if they knew exactly what Aaron was researching. B. Participants are not being monitored through covert methods. C. Participants were not coerced into participating into the study. D. Participants would want to be paid if they knew a large company was funding the research.

A. Participants would alter their behavior if they knew exactly what Aaron was researching.

Kelly wants to study whether or not having diabetes can lead to clinical depression. In order to find her participants, she visits depression support groups and speaks to doctors who specialize in diabetic patients. What kind of sampling is Kelly doing? A. Purposive sampling B. Quota sampling C. Random sampling D. Snowball sampling

A. Purposive sampling

Of the three criteria in a causal explanation, which one is the most difficult to demonstrate? A. Rule out alternative causes B. Association C. All three are equally difficult D. Time order

A. Rule out alternative causes

Jeremy reads a research study that concludes "a man's attentiveness to a woman in the beginning of a relationship is likely to affect the happiness in their marriage." This answer leaves him frustrated. Which of the following common frustrations about research is most likely the reason Jeremy feels this way? A. The research's findings is in the form of a chance-like statement B. The research's findings will most likely not be true in 20 years C. The research's findings are based on intuitive thinking D. The research's findings are not 100 percent absolute

A. The research's findings is in the form of a chance-like statement

Benito is conducting a study that compares the themes of popular music of different genres in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In order to do this, he is studying the lyrics of all the songs that made it into the Top 100 charts during those years. What type of research is Benito doing? A. Content analysis B. Existing statistic analysis C. Physical evidence analysis D. Secondary data analysis

A. content analysis

Toni is an English major who wants to study Jane Austen for her research project. She does not yet have a specific hypothesis when she begins reading all of the author's works. She just knows that as she continues her research, she will identify six or seven key themes that reappear multiple times in each work. What approach is Toni taking with her project? A. Latent coding B. Reliable coding C. Random coding D. Manifest coding

A. latent coding

Batu is creating a questionnaire that will be given to people participating in a soda taste test. In order to ensure that the data are structured, he organizes information about the participants and places codes for variables on the questionnaire before the taste test takes place. What is Batu doing? A. Precoding B. Descriptive analysis C. Data mining D. Skewed distribution

A. precoding

Lilith is conducting a study on the amount of screen time that male and female actors get in different types of television programming, such as sitcoms, crime dramas, and mysteries. In order to do this, she is watching all of these types of shows currently on television and documenting the total amount of time male and female actors appear in each. What is she trying to determine? A. Prominence B. Unit C. Intensity D. Direction

A. prominence

In order to prevent bias against people who don't have listed phone numbers, researchers use ________ to get samples. A. random-digit dialing B. hidden populations C. within-housing sampling D. sampling ratios

A. random-digit dialing

Jayden is doing a content analysis of the works of Edgar Allen Poe. He has chosen a collection of poems and short stories to examine, and will measure the frequency and space of certain themes. Jayden is using a latent approach, and he has yet to determine what themes he'll be focusing on. Which step of the content analysis process is Jayden in? A. Step 5 B. Step 4 C. Step 1 D. Step 8

A. step 5

Eileen is working on a research study for her psychology class. She has developed her hypothesis (happily married women live longer than single women), decided to conduct in-person interviews, and began writing her open-ended survey questions. What step of the survey research process did she complete? A. Step 1 B. Step 4 C. Step 2 D. Step 3

A. step one

Francisco is collecting data on the hourly wages of people who work at a small store in his town, excluding those in management positions. He speaks to each of the workers and collects the following hourly wage information: $10.00, $12.50, $18.25, $20.00, $22.75, $26.50 After doing calculations of these hourly wages, Francisco comes up with $18.33. What did he calculate? A. The mean B. The mode C. The median D. The multivariate

A. the mean

January is collecting data on the ages of people who take a certain bus line at a specific stop at 8 a.m. She writes down the following ages to represent each person at the bus stop: 22, 45, 29, 41, 40, 45, 30, 45, 27. Out of these ages, what does 45 represent? A. The mode B. The mean C. The median D. The multiple

A. the mode

Isabella is researching the common colors that are used on different album covers by artists in different genres. In order to do this, she is reviewing 5,000 albums and recording the colors that were used on each. The album covers are A. units of analysis. B. unobtrusive data. C. concrete systems. D. secondary measures.

A. units of analysis

Kendall is a psychology major taking a course that requires her participation in the professor's research project. Why would the professor's conduct be considered unethical? A.Students are considered a special population, so the conduct is coercive. B. Students may have to use their real names during the course of the study, so the conduct would violate their privacy. C. Students may want to conduct their own research on the same topic later, so it may cause harm to their career. D. Students may be precluded from working with other professors, so the conduct may cause harm to their education.

A.Students are considered a special population, so the conduct is coercive.

What's the difference between a scholarly journal and a semi-scholarly journal? A. A scholarly journal has full-time staff, and a semi-scholarly journal only uses freelancers. B. A scholarly journal is more difficult to read, and a semi-scholarly journal is somewhat easy to read. C. A scholarly journal is published annually, and a semi-scholarly journal is published quarterly. D. A scholarly journal can only be found in the library, and a semi-scholarly journal can only be found in bookstores.

B. A scholarly journal is more difficult to read, and a semi-scholarly journal is somewhat easy to read.

Amy's research concluded that 65 percent of mothers under the age of 30 preferred to buy disposable diapers than cloth diapers. What type of research did she most likely conduct? A. An experiment B. A survey C. A content analysis D. An ethnographic field study

B. A survey

What are the units of analysis the following study? Colvin examined whether the unemployment rate was related to welfare rates in U.S. counties, and how the two affected imprisonment. He gathered data from a random sample of 184 urban, industrial counties in the United States, including unemployment rate, government liberalism, percent of population below the poverty line, welfare payments per recipient, crime rate, and number of country residents in jail or prison per 100,000 county population. A. Unemployment rate B. County C. Poverty line D. Imprisonment

B. County

Isaac is in the process of planning his dissertation about depression among veterans who have been home from deployment for less than one year. After careful planning, he discusses his topic with the panel of professors who will act as his advisors. When the professors agree that the conceptual definition and measurement of his study work well together, he gets approval to move forward. What kind of validity does this process describe? A. Link B. Face C. Criterion D. Content

B. Face

Although Phillip Zimbardo took measures to ensure that his prison study was safe for participants, he decided to abort the experiment after only six days. Why was that an ethical choice for him to make? A. He was concerned that the people who were assigned to the prisoner roles would suffer harm to their reputation. B. He was concerned that as people became so immersed in their prisoner and prison guard roles, there was a possibility of someone being harmed physically. C. He was concerned that the militarized prison guards would suffer social harm if they could not revert back to their normal personalities. D. He was concerned that those who were in the prisoner roles would adopt a criminal mindset and eventually be harmed legally.

B. He was concerned that as people became so immersed in their prisoner and prison guard roles, there was a possibility of someone being harmed physically.

What's the difference between the appearance of normal distribution and skewed distribution? A. Normal distribution is tall at the right end and smaller at the left, while skewed distribution smaller at the right end and tall at the left. B. Normal distribution is tall in the center and falls off to the right and left sides, while skewed distribution has an extreme imbalance at either end. C. Normal distribution is level on all sides, while skewed distribution is curved in the middle and the right side. D. Normal distribution is tall on both sides and flat in the middle, while skewed distribution is entirely flat.

B. Normal distribution is tall in the center and falls off to the right and left sides, while skewed distribution has an extreme imbalance at either end.

Andy just completed his literature review on exercise habits among millennials. Taking the resources he has, what should he do next? A. Conduct a keyword search B. Synthesize the research C. Evaluate the resources D. Narrow the research topic

B. Synthesize the research

What is the difference between systematic and stratified sampling? A. Systematic sampling is time-consuming, and stratified sampling can be done quickly. B. Systematic sampling uses an interval to select elements, and stratified sampling uses preset categories. C. Systematic sampling leads to inaccuracies, and stratified sampling leads to highly accurate samples of the population. D. Systematic sampling leads to narrow samples, and stratified sampling leads to broad samples.

B. Systematic sampling uses an interval to select elements, and stratified sampling uses preset categories.

The Nuremburg war crimes tribunal found many researchers guilty of crimes against humanity because their methods violated which principle? A. Privacy rules B. The Hippocratic Oath C. Value-free research D. Informed consent

B. The Hippocratic Oath

In the 2000s, two highly-publicized studies on the effects of prayer on medical outcomes were published. Why was the study in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine criticized for author misconduct, but the study published in The Lancet was not? A. The Lancet study featured patients with more serious medical conditions, while the Journal of Reproductive Medicine featured patients with common ailments. B. The Lancet study authors were transparent about their methodology, while the Journal of Reproductive Medicine study authors refused to answer questions. C. The Journal of Reproductive Medicine study was funded by a religious public interest group, while The Lancet study was funded by a university. D. The Journal of Reproductive Medicine study did not represent multiple religions, while The Lancet study was representative of religious diversity.

B. The Lancet study authors were transparent about their methodology, while the Journal of Reproductive Medicine study authors refused to answer questions.

In 1998, The Lancet published a study by Andrew Wakefield that claimed the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine was linked to autism. The journal later retracted the study because Wakefield falsified data.Which of the following did this study lack? A. Reliability B. Validity C. Direction D. Reasoning

B. Validity

Camille is studying students who come from different religious backgrounds. In order to keep track of each survey respondent's background, she writes it down based on the following convention: 1 for Christian 2 for Jewish 3 for Muslim 4 for Buddhist 5 for Hindu 6 for other What do these notations represent? A. A standard deviation B. A codebook C. A frequency distribution D. A percentile

B. a codebook

Andrea is studying how men and women behave differently when flirting with each other in bars and nightclubs. In order to do this, she created a simulation of a bar in a classroom and another simulation of a nightclub in the gymnasium at her school. Participants were told to flirt and mingle with each other as if they were really enjoying a night out at these establishments. By designing the study in this way, there is a risk of which threat to external validity? A. Artificial treatment B. Artificial setting C.Reactivity D. Participants are not representative

B. artificial setting

Reza's computer kept crashing and he couldn't figure out why. He had a hunch there was a virus on his hard drive, so he ran a program to detect and remove it. After he did that, his computer did not crash anymore. What is this an example of? A. Side-by-side comparison B. Before-and-after comparison C. Double-blind comparison D. Placebo comparison

B. before-and-after comparison

_______ is considered nonreactive because the person who creates a communication is not aware that researchers are studying it. A. Secondary data analysis B. Content analysis C. Physical evidence analysis D. Existing statistics analysis

B. content analysis

If social research did not have rules of _____________, two people would be able to look at the same information but arrive at very different conclusions. A. application B. evidence C. criticism D. data

B. evidence

Shakira is working on a study about world religions. When she begins, she realizes that she needs to do a lot more research on religions in order to get a full list of the different kinds because she's not familiar with many of them. Shakira is doing this so that her study is A. scaled. B. exhaustive. C. valid. D. exclusive.

B. exhaustive

________ provide the strongest means for testing causal relationships. A. Hypotheses B. Experiments C. Surveys D. Observations

B. experiments

If a group of researchers wanted to do a content analysis about how many times "The Twilight Zone" has aired on television since its original run, they would be studying the shows' A. space. B. frequency. C. intensity. D. direction.

B. frequency

Ming is studying violence in movies in the last 20 years. In order to collect data, Ming watches hundreds of movies in different genres that span throughout that time period and records each act of one person being punched or slapped by another. What type of coding is she using? A. Latent B. Manifest C. Directional D. Systematic

B. manifest

Anastasia works for a local newspaper. During each election, she is required to call residents to find out what people believe about the candidates, as well as hot button political issues. This would be best described as a(n) A. probe. B. opinion poll. C. observational research. D. operational study.

B. opinion poll

In order to determine the effectiveness of a survey questionnaire, researchers conduct a(n) A. neutrality check. B. pilot test. C. interview schedule. D. operational review.

B. pilot test

When researchers who work for pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials on new drugs, some participants may be given a sugar pill instead of the actual medication. This is an example of a A. factorial design. B. placebo. C. deceptive practice. D. artificial treatment.

B. placebo

Joe conducted research for a company that resulted in findings that the organization did not like. The company goes on to hire another researcher specifically to discredit Joe's study. This is an example of how ________ can influence the way research is conducted. A. bias B. politics C. legal harm D. fraud

B. politics

Jim conducted a study about how women and men view the candidates in the presidential election. He labeled the women he interviewed as 1 and the men he interviewed as 2. When he enters the information into his research computer software, and then asks it to find numbers other than 1 and 2 that represent gender, he is doing A. standard deviation. B. possible code checking. C. measures of central tendency. D. frequency distribution.

B. possible code checking

Craig is obtaining the ages of people who shop at a local supermarket chain on a busy weekend. He collects ages from Friday evening at 5 p.m. until the store closes on Sunday night. When he looks over his data the next day, he finds that the youngest person who paid for groceries was 13 and the oldest was 100. The ________ of these ages is 87 years. A. percentile B. range C. mode D. standard deviation

B. range

Marcos is participating in a study at his school that is designed to measure how generous people are. During the experiment, participants are given fake money and told they can allocate as much as they want to different charities or people, or they can keep the money for themselves. Although Marcos did not want to give any of his money away, he didn't want to look stingy in front of the researcher and the other participants. This is an example of which threat to external validity? A. Artificial treatment B. Reactivity C. Lack of representation D. Artificial setting

B. reactivity

Hayato is a literature graduate student who is doing a comparison of texts from different countries. In order to do this, Hayato is counting words from novels that were written by authors from around the world to determine which countries' authors produced the longest books. What is Hayato trying to find out? A. Intensity B. Space C. Direction D. Frequency

B. space

Gabriel is working on a study about the job satisfaction of government employees. This week, he located respondents by going through the state's employee directory and began conducting interviews. He is on which step in the survey research process? A. Step 2 B. Step 4 C. Step 5 D. Step 3

B. step 4

What's the difference between a linear relationship and a curvilinear relationship? A. A linear relationship indicates no causal relationship, and a curvilinear relationship indicates a negative causal pattern. B. A linear relationship indicates no causation, and a curvilinear relationship indicates low causation. C. A linear relationship indicates a possible causal relationship, and a curvilinear relationship indicates a complex causal pattern. D. A linear relationship indicates complex causation, and a curvilinear relationship indicates no causation.

C. A linear relationship indicates a possible causal relationship, and a curvilinear relationship indicates a complex causal pattern.

What's the difference between the appearance of a positive relationship and a negative relationship? A. A positive relationship begins in the lower right and ends at the upper right, and a negative relationship begins in the lower right and ends at the upper left. B. A positive relationship begins in the middle and points to the left, and a negative relationship begins in the middle and points to the right. C. A positive relationship begins at the lower left and points to the upper right, and a negative relationship begins at the upper left and points to the lower right. D. A positive relationship begins at the upper left and goes to the upper right, and a negative relationship begins at the lower left and goes to the lower right.

C. A positive relationship begins at the lower left and points to the upper right, and a negative relationship begins at the upper left and points to the lower right.

Anthropologist Dian Fossey observed mountain gorilla groups in Africa for 18 years. What type of research was she conducting? A. Historical comparative research B. Experimentation C. Ethnographic field research D. Content analysis

C. Ethnographic field research

When there is a good fit between conceptual and operational definitions, which of the following exists? A. Measurement error B. Measurement indicators C. Measurement validity D. Measurement discretion

C. Measurement validity

Which of the following is the first step in the research process? A. Focusing the question B. Collecting the data C. Selecting a topic D. Designing the study

C. Selecting a topic

Marissa is participating in a research study about domestic violence. When she is asked how often her ex-husband beat her when they were married, she can't remember. What would cause Marissa's memory loss? A. She's talking about something that will contradict a previous statement. B. She's talking about something that wasn't significant. C. She's talking about a sensitive topic. D. She's taking about events that occurred simultaneously.

C. She's talking about a sensitive topic.

A man in Robin's state was convicted for intentionally spreading HIV to several women. Robin works for the state's health department, so she's tasked to find out how many infections were caused by this man. In order to do this, she starts by contacting the group of Patient Zero's partners. Then she goes on to contact the partners of that group and continues until she has a network of people who were exposed, directly or indirectly, by Patient Zero. What kind of sampling is Robin doing? A. Purposive sampling B. Random sampling C. Snowball sampling D. Quota sampling

C. Snowball sampling

What is a key difference between the unethical request of suppressing research findings and the other unethical requests that sponsors may make? A. Suppressing research findings has more frequently been linked to lowering research quality. B. Suppressing research findings has more frequently been linked to knowing the results ahead of time. C. Suppressing research findings has more frequently been linked to political influences. D. Suppressing research findings has more frequently been linked to using illegitimate means of research.

C. Suppressing research findings has more frequently been linked to political influences.

Kendall is doing a survey about the sex lives of women in their early twenties. One of the questions she writes is "Are you a ***** or a tease?" What question writing principle does this violate? A. Avoid double negatives. B. Be clear. C. Use neutral language. D. Keep it simple.

C. Use neutral language

Sam is doing a questionnaire about people's psychological states during different events in their lives, such as marriage, divorce, college graduation, and moving away from home for the first time. When he constructs his questions, he uses terms such as eustress, affect, and dysphoria. Which question writing principle is Sam violating? A. Be concise. B. Be precise with correct technical terms C. Use terms appropriate for interviewees D. Use neutral language.

C. Use terms appropriate for interviewees

When researchers are able to temporarily "lock up" their personal beliefs during a study, they are practicing ________ research. A. sponsored B. empirical C. value-free D. objective

C. Value-free

Random ________ allow researchers to compare groups of participants in an unbiased manner. A. reviews B. variables C. assignments D. experiments

C. assignments

When you calculate a sampling________, you divide the total number of elements in the frame by the sample size, and round to the nearest whole number. A. distribution B. parameter C. interval D. error

C. interval

The question "Did you buy your wife flowers for Valentine's Day like a good husband would?" is an example of which kind of question? A. Vague B. Emotional C. Leading D. Slang

C. leading

________measures are always indirect indicators, which means that researchers are left making inferences about what they really mean. A. Creative B. Social indicator C. Physical evidence D. Statistical

C. physical evidence

Statistical software is designed to recognize information that is organized as data __________, which contain information on all measured variables for a specific unit. A. distributions B. scores C. records D. scattergrams

C. records

In ________, researchers divide the population into subpopulations. A. haphazard sampling B. purposive sampling C. stratified sampling D. elemental sampling

C. stratified sampling

Igor wants to do a study on political leanings and gun ownership. He specifically wants to find out the percentage of Democrats in western states who own at least one gun. What is this an example of? A. A sampling error B. A clustered sample C. A stratified distribution D. A population parameter

D. A population parameter

Constanza is taking a questionnaire online in order to determine what her personality type is. The questionnaire includes a series of statements, like "When I have a bad day, I want to hide under my bed," and "I prefer to go out and socialize after a hard day of work." The questionnaire requires users to rate each statement from 1 to 10, with 1 meaning "absolutely disagree" and 10 meaning "absolutely agree." This questionnaire uses which of the following? A. An index B. A deduction C. A continuous variable D. A scale

D. A scale

What's the difference between an open-ended and a closed-ended response format? A. An open-ended response format makes data coding simple, and a closed-ended response format makes data coding complicated. B. An open-ended response format may confuse respondents, and a closed-ended response format allows creativity . C. An open-ended response format is specific, and a closed-ended response format is general. D. An open-ended response format allows for any answer, and a closed-ended response format requires a fixed response.

D. An open-ended response format allows for any answer, and a closed-ended response format requires a fixed response.

Which part of the United States cabinet regulates the protection of research participants? A. Department of Education B. Department of Homeland Security C. Department of Justice D. Department of Health and Human Services

D. Department of Health and Human Services

Garrick is studying friendliness of people in the retail industry and customer satisfaction. During the experiment, he trained 10 employees at a local pharmacy to frown at customers as they ring them up at the cash register. After three weeks, Garrick instructed the workers to smile at all customers at the cash register. In both cases, he interviewed customers as they were leaving the store to find out how satisfied they were with their experience. This is an example of which kind of design? A. Pre-experimental B. Static group comparison C. One-shot case study D. Interrupted time series

D. Interrupted time series

Why do researchers give "don't know" as an option when writing questionnaires? A. It's better to give a participant as many options as possible. B. It's better to make the interview last longer to get more data. C. It's better to put a red herring into the interview. D. It's better to allow people to indicate that they don't know.

D. It's better to allow people to indic ate that they don't know.

Betty and Miranda are researchers and professors who met at an event hosted by the American Psychological Association. As they were chatting at the event, Miranda told Betty about a study that she recently had published in a journal that dealt with creativity in young children. As they continued talking, they both realized that Betty had participated in the peer review of her article. Why did Miranda not already know that Betty was one of the reviewers? A. Most scholarly journals have high turnover. B. Most scholarly journals do not have a masthead. C. Most scholarly journals have reviewers look at multiple articles at a time. D. Most scholarly journals conduct a blind review.

D. Most scholarly journals conduct a blind review

Which of the following is done as a quality assurance measure? A. Quantitative review B. Abstract review C. Literature review D. Peer review

D. Peer review

What's the difference between quota sampling and convenience sampling? A. Quota sampling is cheap, and convenience sampling is extremely expensive. B. Quota sampling is for studies with large populations, and convenience sampling is for studies with small populations. C. Quota sampling is for quantitative studies, and convenience sampling is for qualitative studies. D. Quota sampling produces representative samples, and convenience sampling produces highly unrepresentative samples.

D. Quota sampling produces representative samples, and convenience sampling produces highly unrepresentative samples.

Sandy bought a new watch that she winds regularly. Although the watch consistently ticks to show it's working, every time Sandy checks the time against the Time Service from the National Institute of Standards, the time on her watch is always wrong. What is her watch lacking? A. Generalizability B. Validity C. Data D. Reliability

D. Reliability

When quoting a statistic, it's better to write 29.5 million than 29,555,791in order to avoid which error? A. The ecological fallacy B. The anecdotal fallacy C. The existing statistic fallacy D. The fallacy of misplaced concreteness

D. The fallacy of misplaced concreteness

When researchers create explicit rules that allow them to transfer information into statistical software, it's called data A. analyzing. B. recording. C. mining. D. coding.

D. coding

Asali is conducting a study about concentration. When the experiment is in progress, a construction crew begins doing work on the building across the street. As a result, some of the study participants got headaches and were unable to concentrate on the computer task they were given, which caused them to receive low scores. This is an example of which threat to internal validity? A. Expectancy B. Selection bias C. History D. Maturation

D. maturation

If Jenna is a researcher who can't see the forest for the trees, that means she's unable to see A. opinions. B. evaluations. C. aggregates. D. patterns.

D. patterns

Binda is researching what kind of fast food is delivered in different neighborhoods in her city. In order to do this, she's going through the garbage of every house in the city. Binda's methodology may unintentionally commit which of the following violations associated with nonreactive research? A. Obtrusiveness B. Invalid sample size C. Informed consent D. Privacy

D. privacy

Josephina is collecting data on the ages of patrons who enter a specific bar at 11 p.m. In order to do this, she stands next to the bouncer and records each person's age as his or her identification is checked. She records the following ages: 21, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 33. What does the age 26 represent? A. The mode B. The mean C. The multiple D. The median

D. the median

What is the difference between a dependent variable and an independent variable? A. A dependent variable is left as it is, and an independent variable is modified. B. A dependent variable is used in studies that are paid for by a sponsor, and an independent variable is used in studies with no funding. C. A dependent variable is chosen by a group of researchers, and an independent variable is chosen by a researcher working alone. D. A dependent variable is based on how many participants agreed to be part of a study, and an independent variable is based on how many clusters are involved in a study.

A. A dependent variable is left as it is, and an independent variable is modified.

Pharmaceutical company XYZ wants to find out if a new drug for heart disease will cause depression. In order to do this, researchers gave one group of participants the actual drug and another group a sugar pill for one month, and observed their reactions. What is this an example of? A. An experiment B. A historical comparative analysis C. A survey D. A content analysis

A. An experiment

Paul is conducting a taste test that involves several sugary drinks and rich, sweet desserts. When he prescreens potential participants of the study, he does not allow those who have diabetes to take part in the study. Why would he do this? A. To prevent the risk of physical harm to high-risk people. B. To prevent subjects from being disqualified for a pharmaceutical study. C. To prevent participants from buying expensive foods. D. To prevent criticism from his company's board of directors.

A. To prevent the risk of physical harm to high-risk people.

What is the difference between conceptualization and operationalization? A. Conceptualization is the process of putting a mental image into words, and operationalization is the process of putting aspecific measurement into place. B. Conceptualization is the process of determining a hypothesis, and operationalization is the process of planning a study design. C. Conceptualization is the process of choosing a research topic, and operationalization is the process of executing a research study. D. Conceptualization is the process of discovering a unit for the first time, and operationalization is the process of observing a unit.

A. Conceptualization is the process of putting a mental image into words, and operationalization is the process of putting aspecific measurement into place.

Marsha and David are a couple who both signed up to participate in a research experiment conducted by their college's psychology department. They are scheduled to do the experiment on different days. David goes first, and when he sees Marsha that night, he tells her what kind of questions the researcher asked. This is an example of which kind of threat to internal validity? A. Contamination B. Expectancy C. History D. Mortality

A. Contamination

Which research scale is used to evaluate data that have already been collected? A. Guttman B. Semantic differential C. Likert D. Social distance

A. Guttman

Although Shirley is a strong advocate of value-free research, she admits that there are times when her personal views become part of her process. If she is conducting her research in an ethical way, when would it be acceptable for her morals to guide her work? A. When she decides on which publications to submit her study to. B. When she creates parameters for the study. C. When she decides on what her study's data means. D. When she chooses participants for her study.

A. When she decides on which publications to submit her study to.

When Stanley Milgram did his obedience experiment, he convinced participants that they were delivering electric shock to someone who was answering test questions incorrectly. The truth was, the person they thought they were hurting was actually A. a confederate. B. another professor. C. another researcher. D. avariable.

A. a confederate

Clarissa is looking for a sample of college students in her state who are receiving financial aid for her study. In order to find participants, she gets the registration records of every college in the state. What is she using to find study subjects? A. A sampling frame B. A sampling element C. A definition D. A parameter

A. a sampling frame

Lee was inspired to do a study because his 16-year-old sister killed herself. He understands that a good research topic must be something that you can ________, so he knows he can't just focus on his own sister's death and instead must look at an aggregate of teenagers who committed suicide. A. generalize B. infer C. deduce D. synthesize

A. generalize

Design ________ allows researchers to express paragraphs worth of information in five or six symbols arranged into lines. A. notation B. validity C. design D. dictation

A. notation

Khandi is a market researcher doing taste tests of a new soda at the local supermarkets. After participants finish drinking a cup of soda, she asks them questions about how they like it. When she does this, the answer choices she gives them are "excellent," "very good," "good," "fair," and "poor." This is an example of what kind of measure? A. Ordinal B. Sequential C. Nominal D. Interval

A. ordinal

Susan is conducting research for a pharmaceutical company. She needs to conduct a survey as part of the project, but because of her tight deadline, she does not have time to craft her own questions. If she borrows a questionnaire from the company's previous researcher and does not give proper credit, which research rule is she violating? A. Plagiarism B. Voluntary participation C. Informed consent D. Fraud

A. plagiarism

Mitchell runs a publication that is geared toward firefighters in Massachusetts. It includes current news about the industry, including laws that are relevant to firefighters in the state, as well as memorials honoring those who have died in the line of duty. What kind of publication is Mitchell running? A. An opinion publication B. A practitioner publication C. A scholarly publication D. A mass market publication

B. A practitioner publication

Coralee is conducting a study about the factors that contribute to workplace violence in order to help the government put preventive measures in place. Which type of research is Coralee conducting? A. Social B. Applied C. Exploratory D. Evaluation

B. Applied

What is the difference between exploratory research and explanatory research? A. Exploratory research focuses on the long-term effects of a problem, and explanatory research focuses on the short-term effects of a problem. B. Exploratory research focuses on "the what" of a topic, and explanatory research focuses on "the why" of a topic C. Exploratory research is done after other studies have been completed on a topic, and explanatory research is done before anyone else looks at a research topic. D. Exploratory research focuses on quantitative methods, and explanatory research focuses on qualitative methods.

B. Exploratory research focuses on "the what" of a topic, and explanatory research focuses on "the why" of a topic

Gloria wants to figure out if adding coconut oil to her smoothies will make them taste better. In order to find out, she makes one pitcher of smoothies with coconut oil and one pitcher of smoothies without coconut oil and tastes them both. What is this an example of? A. Placebo comparison B. Side-by-side comparison C. Factorial comparison D. Experimental comparison

B. side-by-side comparison

The following question is an example of what kind of scale? Would you be comfortable if an atheist: married your child, was your best friend, worked with you in the same department, lived on your block, lived in your city? A. Likert B. Social distance C. Semantic differential D. Guttman

B. social distance

The Tuskeegee syphilis study was criticized because it violated the research principle of A. objectivity. B. voluntary participation. C. privacy. D. anonymity.

B. voluntary participation

Yasir is conducting a 10-week study about the effectiveness of a dietary supplement. During the course of the 10 weeks, some of the participants began to get sick with the flu and by the time the experiment was over, he had lost half of his group. This is an example of which threat to internal validity? A. Expectancy B. Maturation C. Mortality D. Contamination

C. Mortality

What is the Dependent Variable in the following hypothesis? The larger the percentage of women elected to nation's parliament or legislative body, the smaller male-female wage gap in the country. A. Country B. Size of wage gap C. Percent of women elected to national legislative body D. Gender

C. Percent of women elected to national legislative body

What type of research is an exploratory researcher most likely to use? A. Descriptive research B. Quantitative research C. Qualitative research D. Evaluation research

C. Qualitative research

Draya is doing a study of social science majors. In order to find participants, she goes to classrooms in the social science building and finds 100 female and 100 male students who are majoring in psychology, sociology, or anthropology. What types of sampling is she using? A. Snowball sampling B. Purposive sampling C. Quota sampling D. Random sampling

C. Quota sampling

Which sampling method produces the most accurate representation of the larger population? A. Quota sampling B. Snowball sampling C. Random sampling D. Accidental sampling

C. Random sampling

Rico is a market researcher who often needs to interview women in specific neighborhoods in his city. When he calls a location that has more than one woman, he randomly selects one of the residents. What sampling strategy is Rico using? A. Snowball sampling B. Cluster sampling C. Within-housing sampling D. Stratified sampling

C. within-housing sampling

Soledad wants to do a study about the patrons of prostitutes for her sociology course. Her professor warns her that she may have a difficult time locating enough participants. Why might that be the case? A. Soledad wants to study a target population. B. Soledad wants to study a clustered population. C. Soledad wants to study a stratified population. D. Soledad wants to study a hidden population.

D. Soledad wants to study a hidden population

Carlito is researching the customs of fathers in Chile. In order to do this, he goes to Chile and interviews 300 fathers about their experiences. Based on the common definitions of research, which of the following is Carlito doing? A. Carlito is in the process of inspecting a body of evidence about his research question. B. Carlito is in the process of gathering reports and findings about his research question. C. Carlito is in the process of applying accepted techniques and principles to his research question. D. Carlito is in the process of constructing arguments about his research question.

D. Carlito is in the process of constructing arguments about his research question

What is the difference between the inductive approach and the deductive approach? A. The inductive approach is linear, and the deductive approach is nonlinear. B. The inductive approach explains a phenomenon, and the deductive approach describes a phenomenon. C. The inductive approach looks at the present, and the deductive approach examines the past. D. The inductive approach moves from a specific idea to a general idea, and the deductive approach moves from a general idea to a specific idea.

D. The inductive approach moves from a specific idea to a general idea, and the deductive approach moves from a general idea to a specific idea.

Amanda participated in a study that asked questions about her opinions of banks. After the study, she received solicitations from several credit card companies. If the researchers sold her name to credit card companies, which principle did they violate? A. They did not prevent psychological harm to the participants. B. They did not abstain from influencing the opinions of the participants. C. They did not avoid coercion when working with the participants. D. They did not receive informed consent from the participants.

D. They did not receive informed consent from the participants.

Ramon checks his blood pressure every day with a home monitor that he bought on the Internet. Every time he checks his blood pressure, the monitor indicates that it's too high. However, when Ramon gets his blood pressure checked by his doctor, he finds out that it's in the normal range. His doctor explains that although home blood pressure monitors can be _____________, they're not always valid. A. directional B. measurable C. authentic D. dependable

D. dependable