Final Test for Research Methods

Which of the following is an association claim? a) "owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction" b) "A majority of Americans like dogs" c) "dog traveled 500 miles to find its owners" d) "Being visited by dogs in the hospital causes decreases in recovery time"

a) "Owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction"

Which popular press headline does NOT suggest that a multiple regression has been used? a) "dog ownership decreases stress." b) "after taking into account job experience, people who are happier with their jobs report greater productivity." c) "After correcting for several factors that affect memory, including intelligence, researchers found that people who read more frequently remember 12% more about a crime scene than those who don't read frequently." d) "The link between traumatic experience and the development of anxiety symptoms existed even when controlling for the effect of parental anxiety."

a) "dog ownership decreases stress."

Which of the following makes Dr. Kan's study an experiment? a) Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another b) Dr. Kang used a distractor task c) the study was conducted at a university d) the study was conducted by a professor

a) Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another

Vanessa claims that she sleeps better when she falls asleep to music. She has a comparison group, because she has noticed that she does not listen to music every night, only when she remembers to plug in her iPod. She typically remembers to plug in her iPod on nights when she is able to finish studying earlier. What problem do you see in Vanessa's reasoning about sleeping better to music? a) Vanessa may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner b) Vanessa's belief that she sleeps better with music is not falsifiable c) Vanessa is biased because she sleeps in the same bed every night d) There is no problem with Vanessa's reasoning

a) Vanessa may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner

Tod 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 mean the student is more popular. Which of the following best describes this variable? a) a ratio scale of measurement b) a qualitative variable c) an other-report measure d) a categorical variable

a) a ratio scale of measurement

What is the difference between ratio scale of measurement and an interval scale of measurement? a) a ratio scale of measurement has a zero value that actually means "nothing" or "the absence of something." but an interval scale does not b) an interval scale of measurement is a type of measurement used for categorical measurements, but a ratio scale is used for quantitative measurements c) An interval scale has equal intervals, but a ratio scale does not d) A ratio scale of measurement cannot be used to compare people's scores but interval scales can (e.g. Phillip is twice as fast)

a) a ratio scale of measurement has a zero value that actually means "nothing" or "the absence of something." but an interval scale does not

Deci and Ryan's general statement of how the three needs are related to growth and fulfillment is an example of which of the following? a) a theory b) a hypothesis c) data d) research

a) a theory

Which of the following studies would probably NOT require an in-person IRB meeting to obtain approval? a) an anonymous survey asking whether students want the campus mascot to be changed b) an anonymous study looking at gang behavior in recent paroles c) a confidential study examining sleep patterns in newborns d) a confidential survey examining sexual behavior in mentally handicapped individuals

a) an anonymous survey asking whether students want the campus mascot to be changed

Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to his supervisor, who is also an expert in pathological gambling. His supervisor says that his measure appears to test all the components of pathological, including feeling restless when attempting to stop gambling, jeopardizing jobs in order to keep gambling, and using gambling to escape from problems and a bad mood. Given this information, Dr. Sheffield's measure has evidence of which of the following? a) content validity b) predictive c) criterion validity d) discriminant validity

a) content validity

A population is to ____ as a sample is to _____. a) entire; part b) internal;external c) census; people d) researchers; participants

a) entire; part

An independent variable is one that: a) is manipulated b) is measured c) is kept constant d) has one level

a) is manipulated

How many dependent (outcome) variables are mentioned in this study/headline? a) one b) two c) four d) five

a) one

A more general term for practice effects and carryover effects is: a) order effect b) within-person effects c) between -person effects d) design effects

a) order effect

Occam's razor states that the simplest solution is the best, all things being equal. This speaks to a theory's: a) parsimony b) falsifiability c) theorizing d) empiricism

a) parsimony

Which of the following above is an example of an open-ended question? a) question a b) question b c) question c d) question d

a) question a

For her research methods class, Serena plans to interview several teachers about their attitude toward teaching children who have attention-deficit/ADHD. This is an example of what type of measurement? a) self-report measurement b) observational measurement c) physiological measurement d) archival measurement

a) self-report measurement

Which of the following is a constant in this study/headline? a) the sex of the participants b) the effort on math problems c) the sex of the role model d) both a and b

a) the sex of the participants

Manish's concern is addressing which of the following? a) the study's statistical validity b) the study's internal validity c) the study's external validity d) the study's construct validity

a) the study's statistical validity

When evaluating the external validity of an association claim, which of the following is the most important issue to consider? a) the way the sample was selected from the population b) the size of the sample c) the number of subgroups d) the size of the original population

a) the way the sample was selected from the population

If Dr. Sheffield's measure does not actually measure pathological gambling, his measure is said to lack which of the following? a) validity b) reliability c) conceptualization d) operationalization

a) validity

Susan's prediction that students who have all three needs met will experience greater satisfaction with their psychology class is an example of which of the following? a) a theory b) a hypothesis c) data d) research

b) a hypothesis

Which of the following is an example of applied research? a) a social psychologist who is interested in the components of self-concept b) an educational psychologist who looks for a way to increase math skills on 8-year-old c) a personality psychologist who studies the difference between introverts and extroverts d) a cognitive psychologist who looks at the difference in problem-solving abilities of men and women

b) an educational psychologist who looks for a way to increase math skills on 8 year-olds

A psychiatrist is testing a drug that treats depression. He has given the drug to all his patients and all of them have experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms. Although this is interesting, his experience is limited because he does not have a _________. a) reliable way to measure depressive symptoms b) comparison group that did not receive the drug c) hypothesis psychotherapy to supplement the drug

b) comparison group that did not receive the drug

Which of the following is a correlation that could be examined in both longitudinal designs and simple bivariate design? a) autocorrelation b) cross-sectional correlation c) cross-lag correlation d) sequential correlation

b) cross-sectional correlation

Which of the following things CANNOT be done to reduce the effect of individual differences? a) using a matched group design b) decrease power c) collecting measurements from more people d) using a within-group design

b) decrease power

Dr. Valencia is concerned about the validity of the measure of narcissism recommended by her colleague. She sends a copy of the measure to the faculty members in her psychology department to look at and they all tell her it looks like it will measure narcissism. She now has evidence of which of the following? a) content validity b) face validity c) discriminant validity d) concurrent validity

b) face validity

When you are interrogating the external validity of a sample, which is the most important question to ask? a) how many people are in the sample b) how was the sample collected c) how were the participants measured d) how many people are in the population

b) how was the sample collected

A dependent variable is one that: a) is manipulated b) is measured c) is kept constant d) has one level

b) is measured

In developing a measure of "need for cognition", 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? a) it is a forced-choice question b) it is a double-barreled question c) it has a double negative d) it is a leading question

b) it is a double-barreled question

To test his measure, Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to a group of people in Gamblers Anonymous and another group of people in Alcoholics Anonymous. He finds that people in the GA group have higher scores on his new measure than people in the AA group. This procedure is known as a: a) test-retest paradigm b) known-groups paradigm c) prediction paradigm d) group evaluation paradigm

b) known-groups paradigm

If a researcher is attempting to explain how two variables are associated, she is curious about which of the following? a) moderation b) mediation c) third variables d) controlling variables

b) mediation

Another word for data is/an a) theory b) observation c) prediction d) outcome

b) observation

A study by Rosenthal and Jacobson involved telling teachers that some of their students were "bloomers" and would achieve rapid academics within the rest 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 way. This is an example of which of the following. a) observer bias b) observer effect c) a masked study design d) self-report operationalization

b) observer effect

Which of the following events did NOT occur in the Tuskegee study? a) researchers told participants they were receiving treatment even though they were not b) participants in the study were given/infected with the disease c) participants were not told they had been infected with the disease d) Researchers prevented participants from seeking treatment

b) participants in the study were given/infected with the disease

Dr. Ellison finds a relation between the amount of sleep and problem-solving. Specifically, having a higher amount of sleep the night before an exam is associated with higher scores on two measures of problem-solving. This is an example of which type of association? a) negative association b) positive association c) zero association d) there is not enough information to answer this question

b) positive association

Which of the following is the most direct way to control for question order effects? a) give the survey questions to different groups of people b) Prepare different versions of the survey, varying the order of the question c) combine the two questions into a single question d) both b and c control for question order effect

b) prepare different versions of the survey, varying the order of the questions

Which of the questions above is an example of a question that uses a Likert scale? a) question a b) question b c) question c d) question d

b) question b

Online surveys commonly suffer from which of the following? a) poor reliability b) self-selection c)probability sampling d) over sampling

b) self-selection

Dr. Jackson is a personality psychologist who is interested in studying the characteristics of people who report being abducted by UFOs. She finds several people in a support group to research 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? a) purposive sampling b) snowball sampling c) conveience sampling d) self-selection sampling

b) snowball sampling

A threat to internal validity occurs only if a potential design confound varies ______________ with the independent variable. a) haphazardly b) systematically c) spontaneously d) especially

b) systematically

Which of the following tells you that an association claim is being made? a) the graph used to interpret the results b) the fact that the two variables are measured c) the statistic used to interpret the results d) the validities that can be established

b) the fact that the two variables are measured

Which of the following is the dependent variable in Dr. Kang's study? a) the length of the distractor task b) the number of words remembered c) the emotional or neutral word list d) the number of words on the list

b) the number of words remembered

Which of the following is true of operational definitions? a) there is only one operational definition that is possible for each conceptual definition b) the specification of operational definitions is one of the creative aspects of the research process c) Conceptual definitions are created after operational definitions are determined d) operational definitions and conceptual definitions are the same thing

b) the specification of operational definitions is one of the creative aspects of the research process

D. Valencia is concerned whether her measure will really measure narcissism or if it will measure some other related concept. She is concerned about the scale's ______. a) operational definition b) validity c) reliabilty d) convenience

b) validity

Regression is especially problematic in which of the following situations? a) when the experimental and comparison groups are equal at posttest b) when one group has an extremely high score at pretest c) when the experimental and comparison groups are equal at pretest d) when one group has an extremely low score at posttest

b) when one group has an extremely high score at pretest

Establishing construct validity would probably be most important and most challenging for which of the following a) a measure of blood pressure b) a measure of the number of seizures c) a measure of religiosity d) a measure of obesity

c) a measure of religiosity

In this study, the authors recorded how many math questions (out of t10 questions) participants tried to solve. This is an example of which of the following? a) a constant b) a variable's level c) a measured variable d) a manipulated variable

c) a measured variable

Your friend Gaby loves reading articles about psychology studies in her monthly women's magazine. Which of the following would you tell her? a) stop reading those articles because they are never accurate b) peer-reviewed journals are much easier to read than magazines c) Be careful about reading those articles because they may not present accurate findings d) reading those magazines is just as good as reading the peer-reviewed journals

c) be careful about reading those articles because they may not present accurate findings

Which of the following allow us to make better predictions using associations claims? a) strong positive associations b) strong negative associations c) both a and b d) neither a nor b

c) both a and b

Which of the following cannot be found in a one-group, pretest/posttest design? a) random sample b) valid measure c) comparison group d) manipulation

c) comparison group

Dr. Alfonse, a developmental psychologist, conducts a study to determine whether children prefer books withdrawn illustrations or with photographs. A group of 45 first graders are shown two copies of a book at the same time. Although the story is the same, one book is illustrated with drawings and the other is illustrated with photos. Students are then asked to indicate which book they prefer. This is an example of which of the following design? a) longitudinal design b) repeated-measures design c) concurrent-measures design d) posttest-only design

c) concurrent-measures design

Dr. Sheffield has now decided that he wants to test his measure on some University students. He has a group of 100 university students complete his measure. He also has them complete two other measures. He finds that his new measure is positively associated with each of these other measures. This procedure has provided evidence for the _____ of De. Sheffield's measure? a) content validity b) predictive validity c) convergent validity d) discriminant validty

c) convergent validity

When concluding longitudinal research, which type of correlation is potentially most useful for establishing temporal precedence? a) autocorrelation b) cross-sectional correlation c) cross-lag correlation d) sequential correlation

c) cross-lag correlation

Generally, what is the main priority for experimental studies? a) construct validity b) external validity c) internal validity d) statistical validity

c) internal validity

In his measure of "need for cognition", Dr. Jonason asks his participants to rate their agreement with the following statement: "I have never not enjoyed thinking." What is wrong with this question? a) it is a forced-choice question b) it is a double-barreled question c) it has a double negative d) it is a leading question

c) it has a double negative

Spontaneous remission in clinical studies is an example of which of the following situations? a) regression b) attrition c) maturation d) placebo effect

c) maturation

Dr. Oishi is an educational psychologist interested in students' attitudes toward math and the effect of those attitudes on performance on a standardized test. He chooses his local school district to study. There are 15 middle schools, and he randomly chose five. Then, of the 1,500 students in each of those five schools, he randomly recruits 250 students. This is an example of which of the following sampling techniques? a) snowball sample b) systematic sample c) multistage sample d) cluster sample

c) multistage sample

To create a hypothesis is to create a/an a) theory b) observation c) prediction d) outcome

c) prediction

Which of the questions above is an example of a forced-question? a) question a b) question b c) question c d) question d

c) question c

Before using the measure in her study, Dr. Valencia gives the measure to a group of students on Tuesday. She gives the measure to them again on Thursday. She then compares the scores between two days. This is a test of which of the following? a) interrater reliability b) internal reliability c) test-retest reliability d) construct reliability

c) test-retest reliability

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using open-ended questions? a) the answers provided are often spontaneous b) the answers are unscientific c) the answers must be coded d) the answers are not taken seriously by participants

c) the answers must be coded

Dr. Kang sends his study to a journal to be published. One of the peer reviewers questions the way Dr. Kang manipulated emotion, arguing that being exposed to emotional words does not make one emotional. The reviewer is questioning which of the following? a) The statistical validity of the study b) the internal validity of the study c) the construct validity of the study d the external validity of the study

c) the construct validity of the study

Which of the following is the independent variable in Dr. Kang's study? a) the length of the distractor task b) the number of words remembered c) the emotional or neutral word list d) the number of words on the list

c) the emotional or neutral word list

What is the primary difference between pretest/posttest designs and within-groups design? a) the number of participants used b) the number of times the dependent variable is measured c) the number of levels of the independent variable participants are exposed to d) there is no difference between the two design

c) the number of levels of the independent variable participants are exposed to

Quinn's concern is addressing which of the following? a) the study's statistical validity b) the study's internal validity c) the study's external validity d) the study's construct validity

c) the study's external validity

Susan's hypothesis was not completely supported by her data. What does this mean? a) Susan must have collected the data incorrectly b) Susan must have analyzed the data incorrectly c) The theory may need to be amended d) the theory is completely wrong

c) the theory may need to be amended

Which of the following is NOT a reason that a researcher might choose a pretest/posttest design? a) to ensure that random assignment made the treatment/comparison groups equal b) to determine how groups change over the course of the experiment c) to allow for the study of spontaneous behaviors d) to make a strong causal claim

c) to allow for the study of spontaneous behaviors

Which of the following would make it more likely that you would value the opinion of a person who claims to be an authority on a topic? a) they cherry-picked the evidence they presented b) they based their opinions on their own limited experience c) They based their opinions on their intuition d) They have conducted extensive scientific research on the topic

d) They have conducted extensive scientific research on the topic

Which of the following NOT is possible? a) a measure is neither reliable nor valid b) a measure is both valid and reliable c) a measure is reliable but not valid d) a measure is valid but not reliable

d) a measure is valid but not reliable

Why do studies that use probability samples have excellent external validity? a) they have good internal validity too b) they study every member of the population of interest c) they are more complicated to do d) all members of the population are equally likely to be represented in the sample

d) all members of the population are equally likely to be represented in the sample

After Susan collects and analyzes her data, which of the following is the next logical step? a) writing a paper calling Deci and Ryan frauds because only some of her data their theory b) ignoring the data that did not fit the theory c) recalculating her data to fit the theory d) altering or amending the theory to fit her data

d) altering or amending the theory to fit her data

Before using the measure in her study, Dr. Valencia analyzes the data she gets from her students. She looks at the relationship between each of the individual questions. She sees that participants who agree with question one also agree with question three and disagree with question two. This is a test of which of the following? a) interrater reliability b) internal reliability c) test-retest reliabilty d) construct reliabilty

d) construct reliabilty

Order effects can be controlled by using which of the following techniques? a) random assignment b) design confound c) increasing demand characteristics d) counterbalancing

d) counterbalancing

Which of the following is a threat to internal validity found in within-groups design but not in independent -groups design? a) selection effects b) design confounds c) demand characteristics d) practice effects

d) practice effects

Angela reads about a study in which cell phone use is associated with migraine headaches. She says, "Well, that study is not valid because I use a cell phone more than anyone I know and I never get migraines." Based on her comment, Angela may be forgetting which of the following? a) Science is based on empiricism b) the study has been replicated c) the study did not properly define cell phone use d) science is probabilistic

d) science is probabilistic

If Dr. Hadden wants to conduct a study that will allow him to make claims that apply to all college students in the United States, which of the following validities is he prioritizing? a) the statistical validity of the study b) the internal validity of the study c) the construct validity of the study d) the external validity of the study

d) the external validity of the study

Which of the following is a manipulated (independent) variable in this study/headline> a) the sex of the participants b) the major of the participants c) the math test d) the sex of the role model

d) the sex of the role model

Clarissa"s concern is addressing which of the following? a) the study's statistical validity b) the study's internal validity c) the study's external validity d) the study's construct validity

d) the study's construct validity

Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of with-in groups design? a) there is a potential for order effects b) there is a potential for demand characteristics c) depending on the independent variable, these designs are not always possible d) these designs rely on fewer participants

d) these designs rely on fewer participants

Which of the following would make it more likely that you would value the opinion of a person who claims to be an authority on a topic? a) they cherry-picked the evidence they presented b) they based their opinions on their own limited experience c) they based their opinions on their intuition d) they have conducted extensive scientific research on the topic

d) they have conducted extensive scientific research on the topic

Which of the following is NOT a reason that a study might yield a null result? a) a lack of between-group variance b) too much within-group variance c) a "true" null result d) use of a within-subjects design

d) use of a within-subjects design