Research Methods - Chapter 1-6 Exam

A strong, positive relationship = what is the r?

+.50

What should a researcher use to prevent observer bias?

A codebook

What is a scatterplot?

A graph with points plotted to show a possible relationship between two sets of data

What scientific source would be ideal for finding a summary of research on the effect size of a topic?

A meta-analysis

A diagonal line on a scatterplot indicates what?

A strong relationship

Why is the consideration of using prisoners as participants potentially problematic?

According to the Belmont Report, prisoners are entitled to special protection. (Due to lack of autonomy)

Why does a researcher want to see the dots on a scatterplot of interrater reliability close to the line of agreement?

Because it indicates that the raters are making similar measurements

Researcher wants to know what people really do, not what they think they do. What method should they use?

Behavioral observations

"I'm sure other people might engage in faulty thinking, but I never would." This is an example of what?

Bias Blind Spot

From an ethical standpoint, in what way is researching prisoners with tuberculosis similar to researching children with ADHD?

Both groups of participants have less autonomy than other types of participants

Asking many similar questions when trying to measure a concept is done to:

Cancel out measurement error

"Texting interferes with a drivers ability to pay attention." This is an example of what type of claim?

Causal

Science journalists have argued that cigarette smoking leads to a variety of health problems. What type of claim are they making?

Causal

What is the term for the calculated range of 10.2%-14.6%?

Confidence interval

"Tests like the GRD don't really measure how well people actually do in grad school." What is this questioning?

Criterion validity

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

Cronbach's Alpha

Researcher inventing results that support their hypothesis instead of even conducting an experiment is an example of what?

Data fabrication

A study suggesting a link between the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism led to reduced vaccination rates and increased rates of measles. This example demonstrates the serious implications of

Data falsification / fabrication

r = .73 and r = .74 are examples of what?

Good internal reliability

What can researchers do when worried about reactivity due to a research assistant observing children?

Hide a video camera in the daycare and record the children without them knowing

What do peer-reviewers make comments on?

How well the research was conducted

What is the principle of respect for persons' biggest concern?

Informed consent

In considering whether research is ethical, which of the following are balanced against each other?

Risk to participants vs. value of knowledge gained

What is the principle of beneficence's biggest concern?

Risk v. Harm

Which type of measure operationalizes a variable by recording the answers of a participant using a questionnaire?

Self-report measure

Which two parts of an article can be read to get a summary?

The abstract and the first paragraph of the discussion

A researchers decision to assign participants randomly to "Group A" or "Group B" increases what?

The internal validity of the study

What was the primary ethical concern in the Milgram study?

The potential risk to participants outweighed the value of knowledge we can gain (principle of beneficence)

What needs to be included in a debriefing session?

The reasons behind the deception

Correlation coefficient (r) and a scatterplot both provide what?

The strength and direction of the relationship between two measurements

What is one reason that causal claims cannot be made from correlational studies?

The temporal precedence (order) of the variables is unknown

What is a quantitative way to rationalize problem-solving ability?

The time spent solving a math problem

What does a scientist who is considering using deception need to consider most heavily when making their decision?

Whether they can conduct the study just as well without deception

What is the principle of justice's biggest concern?

Who benefits v. Who doesn't (& who is participating)

What is a peer-reviewed journal article?

An article written by experts and reviewed by other professionals in the same field of study

What must a researcher do when using deception in an experiment?

Debrief participants afterwards

IRB (Institutional Review Board) tells you study requires written consent. What can be excluded from your informed consent document?

Description of study's hypothesis

One criterion for determining that X causes Y is what?

Determining that X came before Y (temporal precedence)

When obtaining informed consent from a participant, what must the researcher do?

Explicitly inform participants of any potential risks involved in participating in the study

Creating a study that allows the researcher to make claims that apply to all college students is prioritizing what validity?

External validity

Asking an expert to evaluate a measure is used to establish what?

Face validity

Sending questions for a study to colleagues to see if they think they seem like they are about a certain topic, and they say they do. What is this an example of?

Face validity

What is a primary reason psychologists might fabricate or falsify their data?

Feeling pressure to publish findings

Using scales with an even amount of response options is used in an attempt to decrease:

Fence sitting

What should researchers be most concerned about when creating a questionnaire about socially sensitive topics?

Fence sitting

"Which of the following is most true of you? a. I'm a very serious student b. I only try as hard as I have to" This is an example of what type of question?

Forced choice

What does the impact factor of a journal tell you?

How often, on average, papers in that journal have been cited

What does it mean that "reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity."

If a measure is valid, it's also reliable

What is debriefing in a study?

Informing participants about the presence and purpose of deception in a study

Questioning whether the researcher randomly assigned participants when evaluating a causal claim is assessing what?

Internal validity

"People who support cutting taxes are not well informed about how the government works." What is the problem with this question?

Leading question

What is a likely statement to be made by a research psychologist when describing the results of a study?

My data are consistent with my hypothesis

interval scale of measurement

Numerical distances between intervals Absence of a zero point Likert scale scores 1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neutral 4 = Agree 5 = Strongly agree

ratio scale of measurement

Numerical distances between intervals, except there is the addition of a true-zero point. Ex. height, weight, time on task, income, age

Watching how students without ADHD treat those with it is an example of what type of measurement?

Observational Measurement

What is a unique threat to construct validity found only in behavioral observation?

Observer bias

Telling teachers random children were "bloomers" and would have academic success, even though they are normal children. Those children ended up showing more gains in IQ. It appeared that the teacher unintentionally treated the "bloomers" in special ways. This is an example of what?

Observer effects

"What was your favorite part of this class?" This is an example of what type of question?

Open-ended

ordinal scale of measurement

Order/ranking imposed on categories Numbers must preserve order 1 = Tallest 2 = Second tallest 3 = Third tallest

Scientists often say that more data are needed to draw conclusions about the accuracy of new theories and are reluctant to accept new claims without empirical support. What scientific norm does this illustrate?

Organized Skepticism

Why wouldn't behavioral observation be a good research method for studying a high-frequency behavior? (Ex. # of words spoken per day, # of steps taken per week)

Participants would not be able to accurately keep track of so much data

Researcher is interested in videotaping children interacting in the park. Why would most psychologists have no problem with the ethics of the study?

People in a public park do not expect their behavior to be private

Why might question order affect how people respond to a survey or poll?

People may try to appear consistent

Measuring the hormones in the bloodstream is an example of what type of measurement?

Physiological Measurement

Dr. Ellison finds a relation between 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 what type of association?

Positive Association

Balance between cost and benefit to participants in a study = which principle of the Belmont Report?

Principle of beneficence

The belief that the participants in a research study should be representative of the type of people who would also benefit from the findings of the research stems from which principle of the Belmont Report?

Principle of justice

Obtaining informed consent = which principle of the Belmont Report?

Principle of respect for persons

Scientists asks for informed consent. Doing this is adhering to which principle of the Belmont Report?

Principle of respect for persons

A researcher first asking about happiness in marriage, then asking about happiness in life should be concerned about the results being effected by:

Question order

What is one reason research studies are superior to personal experience?

Research studies include at least one comparison group

What type of question increases accurate responding?

Reverse-worded questions

In a scatterplot, the direction of the relationship can be seen by the:

Slope of the line

"Have you ever sent a 'sext'?" is most likely to result in what type of answer?

Socially desirable

"Faking good" is also known as:

Socially desirable responding

What makes certain constructs harder to operationalize?

Some constructs are difficult to observe

Questioning whether a relationship is causal due to being unsure about the order in which the variables occurred. What rule of causation is being questioned?

The criterion of temporal precedence

In addition to being ethical violations, why are data falsification and data fabrication problematic?

They impede scientific progress

What would a researcher need to ask when addressing the Belmont principle of beneficence?

What can I do to decrease the potential harm experienced by my participants?

When studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability, what is a categorical way to operationalize caffeine consumption?

Whether the participants drank coffee in the 24 hours prior to the study

Observer bias relates mainly to ________ whereas observer effects stem from ________.

researchers, participants