Research Methods Test 2

The construct validity of observations can be threatened by all of the following EXCEPT: observer bias. observer effects. reactivity. socially desirable responding.

socially desirable responding.

observational measure

sometimes called a behavioral measure, operationalizes a variable by recording observable behaviors or physical traces of behaviors

How many subcategories of quantitative variables exist?

Three

A sample is always ____________ a population.

smaller than

Establishing construct validity would probably be most important for which of the following?

A measure of spirituality

Todd is studying the effect of popularity on academic success for his research methods project. He decides to measure popularity by asking each elementary school student to tell him how many friends he or she has. He assumes that more friends means the student is more popular. Which of the following best describes this variable?

A ratio scale of measurement

Which of the following is true when asking people questions about themselves?

The confidence people have in their memories is not strongly related to the accuracy of their memory.

The difference between a cluster sample and a stratified random sample is:

cluster samples use randomly selected clusters; stratified random samples use predetermined strata.

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

collected a sample.

Another word for discriminant validity is ______________ validity.

divergent

Dr. Gore is conducting a survey examining people's opinions toward funding for collegiate athletics on his campus. He notices that several participants agree with all 12 questions. This could be an example of all of the following EXCEPT: a response set. acquiescence. yea-saying. fence sitting.

fence sitting

Masked, or blind, study designs are designed to deal with:

observer bias.

A sample is to _________________ as a population is to _________________.

part; entire

Another term for probability sampling is:

random sampling.

Which of the following is NOT possible? A measure is neither reliable nor valid. A measure is both valid and reliable. A measure is reliable but not valid. A measure is valid but not reliable.

A measure is valid but not reliable.

Why are convergent and discriminant validity often evaluated together?

Both involve collecting information from a lot of psychological measures of theoretical interest.

A correlation-based statistic called _____________ is commonly used to determine internal reliability

Cronbach's alpha

In his measure of "need for cognition" (the degree to which people like thinking and problem-solving), Dr. Jonason asks his participants to rate their agreement with the following statement: "I have never not enjoyed thinking." What is the problem with this question?

It has a double negative.

In developing a measure of "need for cognition" (the degree to which people like thinking and problem-solving), Dr. Jonason asks his participants to rate their agreement with the following statement: "I frequently solve and enjoy solving crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles." What is the problem with this question?

It is a double-barreled question.

Which of the following is true of probability sampling?

It is the best way to obtain a representative sample

For his research methods class, Felipe plans to watch how students treat other children in their classrooms who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He will evaluate how positively or negatively the children are treated by their classmates. This is an example of what type of measurement?

Observational measurement

A study by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) involved telling teachers that some of their students were "bloomers" and would achieve rapid academic success within the next year. In fact, these students were no different than any of the other students in the class. At the end of the year, the "bloomers" showed more gains in IQ than the other students. It appeared that the teacher had unintentionally treated the "bloomers" in special ways. This is an example of which of the following?

Observer effects

Which of the following increases accurate responding?

Reverse-worded questions

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

Snowball sample

Dr. Chandler is a personality psychologist who is interested in studying the characteristics of people who report being abducted by UFOs. She finds several people in an online support group for UFO abductees to participate and asks them if they can provide the names and contact information of other people who have also been abducted. Upon contacting these new participants, she asks them to refer her to even more people they may know who have been abducted. This is an example of what kind of sampling?

Snowball sampling

Convenience sampling relies on which of the following?

Studying people who are easy to find

Which of the following is true of operational definitions?

The specification of operational definitions is one of the creative aspects of the research process.

Why are techniques like cluster sampling and multistage sampling just as externally valid as simple random sampling?

They all contain elements of random selection.

Which of the following is NOT a way to deal with reactivity?

Using multiple observers

Dr. Paul is concerned about a fence-sitting response set when he conducts his survey. Which of the following might you recommend to decrease fence sitting?

Using scales with an even number of response options

Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is a categorical way to operationalize caffeine consumption?

Whether the participant drank a soda in the 24 hours prior to the study