Research Methods Final Exam

What is the first step in analyzing qualitative data?

Writing field notes

Which of the following is the best definition of research?

A structured process for solving problems or answering questions

Which of the following is a descriptive research design?

Case study

A panel of three experts create a survey to measure physical activity participation. They sent the survey to another group of experts who made small revisions. Everyone agreed that the final product measured physical activity participation. Which of the following terms best describes this process?

Content validity

A researcher is interest on the effect on performing a motor task prior to completing a memory task. The number of hours of sleep participants had the night before testing may influence the results. What kind of variable is the number of hours of sleep?

Covariate

Research conducted to document the characteristics of a group is termed _______.

Descriptive

Which if the following is reference management software?

EndNote

A chi-square is a parametric statistical test because it requires interval or ratio data for analysis.

False

A recent research study found a strong positive association between body mass index and the amount of time spent in sedentary behavior. This indicates a cause-effect relationship.

False

According to the Hawthorne effect, participants perform more poorly when they are being observed due to nervousness.

False

Basic and applied research constitute two independent categories.

False

Because research paper are often peer reviewed prior to publication, you can be confident that they contain no errors or misstatements.

False

Correlational research manipulates at least one independent variable to determine the effect on at least one dependent variable.

False

Descriptive statistics do not provide valuable information about research participants or outcomes.

False

Experimental research designs are more important, reliable, and valid compared to descriptive research designs.

False

Good research writing employs detailed, technical jargon.

False

In good research writing, each paragraph must be distinct, with no reference to the previous paragraph.

False

It is not considered plagiarism is the act is unintentional.

False

Like quantitative research, good qualitative research relies on random selection of participants.

False

Qualitative research beings with the formation of concrete hypotheses that the collection of data either confirms or denies.

False

Researchers intervene or manipulate at least one independent variable in descriptive research designs.

False

Surveys, questionnaires, and interviews are all qualitative research techniques.

False

The informed consent form should be written using precise, technical terminology for best accuracy.

False

The methods section of a research paper begins with a clear statement of the purpose of the study.

False

The professor supervising a student's research is always the first author on any resulting research papers.

False

The variable that is measure is called the independent variable.

False

There are no statistical tests available to researchers to compare multiple dependent variables between 3 or more groups of participants.

False

Which of the following is not part of informed consent?

Guarantee of insurance overage from HIPPA

Which of the following statements is true?

If risks to particpate cannot be well managed, a study is not likely to be approved by the IRB

The process of deriving a general conclusion from a specific example is know as ______ reasoning.

Inductive

Which of the following is true of he scientific method?

It is a structured, orderly process for conducting a research study

Which of the following are characteristic of internal validity?

It reflects the degree to which changes in the dependent variable(s) are caused by the independent variable(s)

Which of the following is not true of good research writing?

It usually requires very long, complex sentences

In the test of a research paper, which of the following are appropriately used to identify researchers who have published studies?

Last names only

A researcher conducts a study that records gender, age, socioeconomic status, and body mass index and directly measure physical activity. A goal is to predict future physical activity behavior. Which is the most appropriate statistical test?

Multiple regression

A researcher is interested in the effect of two different physical education programs on several outcomes such as physical activity engagement, motor skill competence, and body mass index. Which is the most appropriate statistical test to determine if group differences exist?

Multivariate ANOVA

Which of the following is not a common editorial style?

National Library of Science

Which of the following statements is true regarding internal and external validity?

No study design can optimize both internal and external validity

Which is the most appropriate statistical test to determine the relationship between two variables?

Repeated measures ANOVA

A researcher is interested in determine the relationship between height, weight, body mass index, and age are related to physical activity participation, dietary habits, and motor skill competence. Which of the following is the most appropriate statistical test?

Simple correlation

A researcher is interested in the effect of providing a different intervention to three groups of infants. The outcome measure of interests is the motor domain sub scale score of a standardized assessment. Which is the most appropriate statistical test to determine if group differences exist?

Simple/univariate ANOVA

Which of the following statements regarding authorship on a research paper is true?

Since there are no rules for authorship, this should be discussed

Which of the following is an experimental research design?

Single subject

Which of the following is regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)?

The ways in which protected health information can be stored and utilized

Which of the following are not governed by the editorial style of a journal?

The words chosen by the authors in writing the paper

When a numerous studies confirm a cause-effect relationship it becomes a ______.

Theory

Which of the following is true of journal impact factors?

They are lower for more highly specialized journals

A baseline phase is very important in single subject design research.

True

A researcher hypothesizes that there is a strong positive correlation between body mass index and time spent in sedentary behavior. Thus, a one-tailed statistical test is appropriate.

True

An example of deductive reasoning includes starting with a scientific theory in mind and designing and executing a research study that will either support or refute the theory.

True

Experimental studies are often based on the initial results of correlational research and aim to test specific hypotheses.

True

It is important to determine the statistical analyses that will be used prior to data collection.

True

Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient is usually represented simply as r.

True

Plagiarism is the act of presenting a piece of writing, a drawing, or an idea that originated with someone else as if it had originated with you.

True

Proofreading a written assignment should always be considered an important part of completing the assignment.

True

Sports Medicine is an example of a journal that publishes only literature reviews.

True

Standard scores are helpful to allow comparison of performance between two or more different assessments.

True

Statistical tests of correlation are used to determine relationships and to predict future outcomes.

True

Subscription-based online search engines include ScienceDirect, Ovid, and the Web of Science.

True

The findings of a qualitative study are influenced by the background and personal experiences of the researcher.

True

The process of deductive reasoning involves deriving a conclusion from two or more premises.

True

When there is good internal validity the researchers have carefully planned to control extraneous factors.

True

With ex post facto designs, the independent variable is not controlled by the researchers.

True

Which of the following is not advocated by the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals?

Use of established guidelines for the purchasing of lab animals

It is important to carefully consider the words chosen to write survey questions because the way in which questions are phrased can have a great impact on how questions are answered.

True

It is not unusual for participants, settings, and research questions to be added during the course of a qualitative study.

True

Mixed methods research involves both quantitative methods.

True

Qualitative research typically requires spending long periods in the setting under study.

True

The stronger the correlation between variables, the better the ability of a researchers to predict future outcomes.

True

When developing a Likert scale, each number should represent an approximately equal unit of measure in an attempt to provide an accurate measurement.

True

A research journal publishes orinigal research papers and/or review papers.

True

A researcher conducts a study that involves providing an enriched environment that promotes movement to a child with special needs. A detailed description throughout the entire process will be documented. Which type of research design or technique is typically used in this situation?

Case study

A National Health Survey measured 10,000 elementary school students in grades 1-5 on multiple variables including standardized test scores, body mass index, and socioeconomic status. This example is best described as which type of research design?

Cross-sectional descriptive epidemiology

Which type of validity represents the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized?

External

Which of the following is not true regarding plagiarism?

It applies to well-known, commonly discussed concepts

Which of the following is not a characteristic of qualitative research?

Once established, the research design remains constant

Which of the following qualitative research traditions is considered a form of critical inquiry?

Orientiational inquiry

Which form of qualitative data coding is used to verify themes that have been identified?

Selective coding

The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 includes the assessment of six object control skills. If performance of each skill is highly correlated to performance on all of skills combined, then which of the following type of reliability has been established?

Spilt-half

Which of the following statements is true regarding experimental research designs?

The posttest-only design is the same as the static group comparison, only with random assignment of participants to groups

Which of the following is true of experimental research designs?

A cause-effect relationship is established

Let's assume there are no previous research studies that examine how physical activity influences social interactions. Which type of research may be best to start in order to provide an initial snapshot in time of these behaviors in a group of children?

Basic descriptive

An educated guess as to the outcome of a study is known as the research _______.

Hypothesis

In a study of a cause and effect, the cause variable is called the _______ variable.

Independent

Which type of variable is investigated as being a cause in a cause-effect relationship?

Independent

Which of the following is typically used to gain much more specific information from only a few research participants and consists of open-ended questions?

Interviews

Three researchers are coding physical behaviors of preschool children. Each researcher established over 90% agreement with each other of the other two researchers. Which of the following type of reliability has been established?

Stability

Which if the following terms is specific to studies in which a finding from basic research is first investigated in humans?

Translational research

A cross-sectional research design aims to stimulate development change over time, without taking months or years to complete the research study.

True

Which of the following is not a function of a reviewer of papers of a journal?

Correcting any grammatical errors

Which type of research design may be most appropriate as an initial step to determine the relationships among height, weight, body mass index, and physical activity?

Correlational

Which of the following types of research is conducted expressly to confirm or refute cause-effect relationships?

Experimental research

A Z score can only be calculated for interval data.

False

A cause-effect relationship can be established from one epidemiological research study.

False

A component of internal consistency is established by participants completing the same test once per month.

False

A literature review is one form of an original research paper.

False

Correlational research form of experimental research.

False

In good research writing, writing longer sentences is typically preferred over shorter one.

False

Independent variables are the quantities being directly measured in a given study.

False

A researcher creates a "Fun Index" which is a scale from 1-10. Parents rate the perceived level of fun displayed by their child during data collection sessions. This is the first time this scale has been used. Which of the following terms best describes the validity of this scale?

Logical validity

Which of the following types of validity is considered the "weakest" in terms of ensuring accurate measurement?

Logical validity

Test-retest reliability is typically established by which of the following statistical tools?

Pearson correlation

Which type of research design includes a baseline, intervention, and withdrawal phase that typically includes repeated assessments throughout each phase?

Reversal

Which of the following is not a source of data in qualitative research?

Tables of numbers

Which of the following is not necessary for establishing a cause-effect relationship?

The cause and effect are both independent variables

Which of the following is not a purpose for a student to write a literature review?

To present a statistical analysis of data

Which of the following is not a potential purpose for a published literature review?

To present the findings of an original research study

A student scores similar on an IQ test once per week for three consecutive weeks. This suggest the IQ test is reliable.

True

Composing an outline prior to writing is a wise practice in research writing.

True

Construct validity is the process of measuring the accuracy of a test, instrument, r assessment to measure a variable that cannot be directly observed or measured.

True

External validity determines the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to the population the participants represent.

True