Research exam 2

Researcher M found that when temperatures rise, so does the crime rate. Researcher M has satisfied which criterion for causality? a. Association b. Nonspuriousness c. Causal mechanism d. Context e. None of the above

a. Association.

Which of the following are requirements for identifying a causal effect: a. Association, time order, and nonspuriousness b. Time order, nonspuriousness, and mechanism c. Nonspuriousness, mechanism, and context d. Association, mechanism, and context e. Context, time order, and association

a. Association, time order, and nonspuriousness.

If a control group realizes they are being denied some advantage, which two processes may create invalid experimental findings: a. Compensatory rivalry and demoralization b. Regression and maturation c. Contamination and the placebo effect d. The Hawthorne effect and the history effect e. Endogenous change and regression

a. Compensatory rivalry and demoralization.

True experiments are designed to maximize: a. Internal validity b. External validity c. Sample generalizability d. Cross-population generalizability e. Measurement validity

a. Internal validity.

Which of the following is NOT a problem for phone surveys? a. Low response rates b. Growing rates of nonresponse c. The number of callbacks required has increased greatly d. Visual aids cannot be used e. Respondent may be interrupted

a. Low response rates.

In a phone survey or an in-person survey, the list of questions is referred to as: a. questionnaire b. interview survey c. interview schedule d. interpretive questions e. key informant interview

a. Questionnaire.

A researcher randomly assigns people into two groups: one that will receive the experimental treatment and one that will not. The group that receives the treatment is called the a. Spurious group b. Association group c. Comparison group d. Control group e. Experimental group

e. Experimental group.

The process through which the independent variable creates changes in a dependent variable is known as a/an: a. Association b. Context c. Consideration d. Covariation e. Mechanism

e. Mechanism.

The potential for interaction of testing and treatment creates the least concern in which of the following designs: a. True experimental designs b. Nonequivalent control group designs c. Before-and-after designs d. Quasi experimental designs e. Posttest only control group design

e. Posttests only control group design.

To establish time order, which of the following must come first? a. Covariation b. Association c. The dependent variable d. The pretest e. The independent variable

e. The independent variable.

Which of the following survey methods requires that the survey be posted on a server? a. Mailed survey b. Group surveys c. Phone surveys d. In-person surveys e. Web surveys

e. Web surveys.

Which of the following is NOT a problem for maximizing response rates in in-person interview? a. Respondent may be interrupted or distracted and fail to complete interview b. Difficulty in finding all the members of a sample. c. Contact rates vary by location and household size. d. Refusal rates vary with individual characteristics like education. e. General disillusionment in a society can undermine the general credibility of research efforts.

a. Respondents may be interrupted or distracted and fail to complete interview.

A context effect refers to how questions on a survey influence how subsequent questions are interpreted. a. True b. False

a. True.

A control group receives no treatment in an experiment. a. True b. False

a. True.

Electronic surveys can be either sent via e-mail or posted on a website. a. True b. False

a. True.

Fence-sitters are people who are neutral but will choose an answer if not given a neutral response choice. a. True b. False

a. True.

High income people tend to participate less in surveys about income and economic behavior a. True b. False

a. True.

In survey questions, when response choices fall on a continuum, the number of positive and negative response categories should be equal. a. True b. False

a. True.

In-person interviews are the strongest survey design and are preferable when sufficient resources and a trained staff is available. a. True b. False

a. True.

Internal validity in experiments is weakened by noncomparability of groups and treatment misidentification. a. True b. False

a. True.

Selection bias is a threat to internal validity. a. True b. False

a. True.

The Solomon Four Group design helps control for any bias in experiments through pretesting. a. True b. False

a. True.

The central concern in a mailed survey is maximizing the response rate. a. True b. False

a. True.

The most important drawback to electronic surveys is the large fraction of households that are not yet connected to the Internet. a. True b. False

a. True.

The survey instrument used in an in-person interview is known as a questionnaire. a. True b. False

a. True.

Research that collects data at more than one point in time is called: a. Longitudinal b. Cross-Sectional c. Idiographic d. Nomothetic e. Inductive

a. longitudinal

Cross-sectional research collects data at one point in time. a. True b. False

a. true

The unit of analysis is the level of social life from which data are collected. a. True b. False

a. true

Time order cannot be established in cross-sectional research designs. a. True b. False

a. true

What guideline does the following question violate in terms of guidelines for writing questions: Do you think the United States should release more oil reserves in order to reduce gas prices or let gas prices continue to climb until no one can afford to drive? a. Avoid double negatives b. Avoid double-barreled questions c. Minimize risk of biased words d. Avoid making disagreement or agreement disagreeable e. Minimize fence sitting and floating

b. Avoid double-barreled questions.

True experiments can have only two comparison groups: an experimental and a control group. a. True b. False

b. False

In an open-ended question responses are mutually exclusive. a. True b. False

b. False.

Mailed surveys, phone surveys, and electronic surveys are usually self-administered. a. True b. False

b. False.

Questionnaires should minimize the amount of "white space" between questions so that surveys don't seem long to respondents. a. True b. False

b. False.

While participating in a lengthy experiment involving job training for welfare recipients, the economy enters into a major recession. Posttest measurements found that job training was unsuccessful in helping participants locate jobs. However, the experiment's designers claim that the findings were inconclusive because of internal invalidity. Which of the following sources of internal invalidity would they be most likely to name as the problem? a. Contamination b. HisSecular drift c. Selection bias d. The Hawthorne effect e. Compensatory rivalry

b. His secular drift.

Filter questions are used primarily to: a. Select individuals for participation in surveys. b. Limit certain survey questions to competent subgroups of respondents. c. Investigate how respondents interpret questions. d. Assess social and physical context of administration. e. Allow undecided respondents to select a neutral response

b. Limit certain survey questions to competent subgroups of respondents.

Which of the following is a good idea for making the questionnaire attractive to respondents: a. Leave lots of space white on the pages b. List responses in a single line c. Incorporate instructions into the questions themselves d. If the questionnaire has several pages, do not staple them together e. Use skip patterns wherever possible

b. List responses in a single line.

Anonymity exists when: a. Researchers limit information about respondents to trained staff b. No identifying information is ever collected to link respondent to responses c. The sample of respondents in a survey is selected purely by random d. The researcher only uses numbers to connect respondent identity to responses e. The respondent explicitly waives his or her right to confidentiality

b. No identifying information is ever collected to link respondent to responses.

The popularity of survey research is due to: a. Control over extraneous influences in the mode b. Versatility, efficiency, and the generalizability of results c. The anonymity guaranteed research subject by the investigator d. Relatively high degree of population turnover e. Its ability to establish causation convincingly

b. Versatility, efficiency, and the generalizability of results.

A spurious relationship is a true relationship. a. True b. False

b. false

Longitudinal research designs are generally superior to cross-sectional research designs because they more readily establish: a. Association b. Time order c. Nonspuriousness d. Causal mechanism e. Context

b. time order

What is the minimum acceptable response rate for a mailed survey? a. 50% b. 67% c. 70% d. 90% e. 95%

c. 70%.

Several factors affect the response rate in interview studies. Contact rates for in-person interviews tend to be lowest among: a. The elderly b. Households with small children c. Central cities d. Suburbs e. Rural counties

c. Central cities.

A good way to determine if a questionnaire contains a context effect is to: a. Present questions in matrix format b. Properly train interviewers to maintain consistency c. Comparing reverse question order in a split ballot design d. Have multiple interviewers conduct surveys with a small sample of original respondents e. Have interviewer record contextual variables while completing a survey

c. Comparing reverse question order in a split ballot design.

A causal mechanism involves the identification of: a. Extraneous variables b. Spurious variables c. Intervening variables d. Contextual variables e. Multiple independent variables

c. Intervening variables.

Which of the following is the threat to internal validity represented by changes that simply occur with the passage of time? a. Testing b. The History Effect c. Maturation d. Regression e. All of the above are types of endogenous change

c. Maturation.

As a child's shoe sizes increases, so does his or her academic knowledge. This statement is a violation of which criterion for causality? a. Association b. Time order c. Nonspuriousness d. Mechanism e. Context

c. Nonspuriousness

Because quasi-experimental designs do not use randomization to assign subjects to treatment and comparison groups, it is more difficult to establish: a. Association b. Time order c. Nonspuriousness d. Causal mechanism e. Context

c. Nonspuriousness

A true experiment allows the establishment of nonspuriousness through: a. Using two comparison groups b. Controlling when treatment occurs c. Random assignment into two or more comparison groups d. Documenting the conditions under which change occurs e. Controlling conditions under which experiment occurs

c. Random assignment into two or more comparison groups.

In nonexperimental research designs, which technique is usually used to establish nonspuriousness a. Counterfactuals b. Association c. Statistical control d. Randomization e. Random selection ?

c. Statistical control.

Quasi-experimental designs are like true experiments, EXCEPT a. They never have a control group. b. They use multiple control groups. c. They do not randomly assign subjects to groups. d. They take measurements at more than one point in time. e. They do not use pretests.

c. They do not randomly assign subjects into groups.

To say that variables have an association is to say that: a. The relationship between them is genuine b. They occur at the same point in time c. They empirically vary together d. The relationship between them is false e. One is caused by the other

c. They empirically vary together.

A true experiment must have all of the following EXCEPT: a. An experimental group b. At least one comparison group c. Variation of the independent variable before assessment of change in the dependent variable d. A measurement of the dependent variable before treatment e. A measurement of the dependent variable after treatment

d. A measurement of the dependent variable before treatment.

Advantages of survey research include which of the following? a. Versatility b. Efficiency c. Generalizability d. All of the above e. A and B only

d. All of the above.

Which of the following are threats to internal validity? a. Endogenous change b. External Events c. Contamination d. All of the above e. None of the above

d. All of the above.

What guideline does the following question violate in terms of guidelines for writing questions: Do you agree or disagree that television increases people's tolerance for violence and drug use? a. Avoid double negatives b. Avoid double-barreled questions c. Minimize risk of biased words d. Avoid making disagreement or agreement disagreeable e. Minimize fence sitting and floating

d. Avoid making disagreement or agreement disagreeable.

The best way to improve response rates on a mailed survey is: a. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope. b. Write an attractive questionnaire. c. Use different formatting to distinguish instructions. d. Send follow-up letters and replacement questionnaires. e. Include your contact information in a personalized cover letter.

d. Send follow-up letters and replacement questionnaires.

In an experiment, the posttest measures a. The control group b. The experimental group c. The independent variable d. The dependent variable e. The treatment

d. the dependent variable.

The threat of testing as a source of internal validity in experiments occurs when there is: a. Subject maturation b. A regression effect c. A posttest but not a pretest d. A comparison group but not a pretest e. A pretest but not a comparison group

e. A pretest but not a comparison group.