Research Methods I FINAL

Which of the following is a difference between a debriefing session following a study with deception compared to a debriefing session following a study without deception? Select one: a. A deception study debriefing must attempt to restore a sense of honesty and trustworthiness. b. A deception study debriefing must have a member of the institutional review board (IRB) present. c. A deception study debriefing must last at least 30 minutes. d. A deception study debriefing must be done with each participant individually.

a. A deception study debriefing must attempt to restore a sense of honesty and trustworthiness.

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? Select one: 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

Naomi is studying the effect of popularity on academic success for her research methods project. To do this, she has elementary school students rate how popular each member of their class is. She then uses this information to rank the students on popularity (e.g., John is the most popular, Vanessa is the second-most popular). Which of the following best describes this variable? Select one: a. An ordinal scale of measurement b. A self-report measurement c. A categorical measurement d. An interval scale of measurement

a. An ordinal scale of measurement

Forced-choice question formats are especially good at dealing with which of the following issues? Select one: a. Fence sitting b. Faking good c. Response sets d. People self-reporting more than they can know

a. Fence sitting

In interrogating the construct validity of a measure, which question should a researcher ask? Select one: a. Is there enough evidence that this measure is valid? b. Do I know that this measure is valid? c. Does this measure have the right kind of validity? d. Has an expert said that this measure is valid?

a. Is there enough evidence that this measure is valid?

Which of the following is NOT a suitable reason for using debriefing in a study? Select one: a. It prevents researchers from being sued. b. It allows researchers to make research an educational experience. c. It gives participants insight into the nature of psychological science. d. It informs participants about the presence and purpose of deception in a study.

a. It prevents researchers from being sued.

If a question has response options such as strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree, this is known as a(n): Select one: a. Likert scale. b. agreement scale. c. semantic differential format. d. open-ended format.

a. Likert scale.

Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is a quantitative way to operationalize problem-solving ability? Select one: a. The time spent solving a math problem b. The type of puzzle solved (Sudoku puzzle or a crossword puzzle) c. Whether participants used insight or trial-and-error techniques to solve the problem d. The report of a teacher about whether a student is a good or bad problem solver

a. The time spent solving a math problem

Why are double-barreled questions problematic? Select one: a. They may have poor construct validity. b. They may be too easy to answer. c. They are leading questions. d. They are too conceptual.

a. They may have poor construct validity.

Which of the following is NOT an example of coercion? Select one: a. A researcher hinting to participants that their employer will be told if they do not participate b. A researcher offering three points of extra credit to college students to participate in a study c. A researcher offering homeless participants $1,000 to participate in a study d. A researcher telling participants that he will be fired if he is unable to recruit at least 50 participants

b. A researcher offering three points of extra credit to college students to participate in a study

Why are convergent and discriminant validity often evaluated together? Select one: a. Both terms mean the same thing. b. Both involve collecting information from a lot of psychological measures of theoretical interest. c. Both require the use of scatterplots. d. Both have to be determined by a panel of experts.

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

Dr. Gahan decides to create a questionnaire asking about people_s attitudes toward immigration (a socially sensitive topic). He should be most concerned about which of the following? Select one: a. People self-reporting more than they can know b. Fence sitting c. Faking bad d. Negatively worded answers

b. Fence sitting

What does it mean that reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity? Select one: a. If a measure is reliable, it is also valid. b. If a measure is valid, it is also reliable. c. Reliability and validity are unrelated concepts. d. Reliability and validity are the same concept.

b. If a measure is valid, it is also reliable.

Why is it unethical to provide an incentive that is too large to refuse (for example, offering undergraduate students free tuition for a semester for participating in a study)? Select one: a. It is unfair to other researchers who cannot afford to pay participants. b. It unduly influences people into participating. c. It is unfair to people who choose not to participate in the study. d. It is not unethical to do this.

b. It unduly influences people into participating.

Which of the following is another term for response sets? Select one: a. Observer bias b. Nondifferentiation c. Socially desirable responding d. Uniqueness

b. Nondifferentiation

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? Select one: a. Self-report measurement b. Observational measurement c. Physiological measurement d. Archival measurement

b. Observational measurement

Which of the following is the most direct way to control for question order effects? Select one: a. Give the survey questions to different groups of people. b. Prepare different versions of the survey, varying the order of the questions. c. Combine multiple questions into single questions. d. Order effects cannot be controlled for.

b. Prepare different versions of the survey, varying the order of the questions.

Which of the following is true of operational definitions? Select one: 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.

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? Select one: a. Using reverse-worded questions b. Using scales with an even number of response options c. Providing a _no opinion_ option d. Using a Likert scale

b. Using scales with an even number of response options

Asking many similar questions when trying to measure a concept is done to: Select one: a. ensure validity. b. cancel out measurement error. c. make sure participants are not lying. d. allow participants to skip questions.

b. cancel out measurement error.

Ethical decision making done by researchers can change in response to all of the following EXCEPT: Select one: a. bad experiences of other researchers. b. the possibility of additional grant funding. c. changing social norms. d. scientific discoveries.

b. the possibility of additional grant funding.

Establishing construct validity would probably be most important for which of the following? Select one: a. A measure of heart rate b. A measure of the number of times a person eats alone during a month c. A measure of spirituality d. A measure of income

c. A measure of spirituality

From an ethical standpoint, in what way is researching prisoners with tuberculosis similar to researching children with ADHD? Select one: a. Neither group of participants can provide informed consent. b. Researchers must ensure anonymity when dealing with both types of participants. c. Both groups of participants have less autonomy than other types of participants. d. Researchers do not have to have written informed consent with these groups of participants.

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

What is the term for a researcher_s definition of the variable in question at a theoretical level? Select one: a. Measurement validity b. Construct validity c. Conceptual definition d. Operational definition

c. Conceptual definition

Which of the following is true of behavioral observation? Select one: a. It requires recording technology, such as video cameras. b. It requires a research assistant to be with the participant at all times. c. It may tell a different story than data collected by self-report questions. d. It is a more reliable and valid method than self-report methodology.

c. It may tell a different story than data collected by self-report questions.

Which of the following is NOT an example of physiological measurement? Select one: a. Measurements of hormones in the bloodstream b. Blood pressure measurements c. Number of panic attacks a patient reports d. A brain scan made using an fMRI

c. Number of panic attacks a patient reports

Why might question order affect how people respond to a survey or poll? Select one: a. People cannot understand multiple questions. b. People are lazy. c. People may try to appear consistent. d. People are easily confused.

c. People may try to appear consistent.

When conducting animal research, which guideline states that alternatives to animal research should be considered? Select one: a. Refinement b. Reduction c. Replacement d. Recycling

c. Replacement

Which of the following increases accurate responding? Select one: a. Nay-saying response sets b. Fence sitting c. Reverse-worded questions d. Acquiescence

c. Reverse-worded questions

Which of the following is NOT a reason that psychologists might fabricate or falsify their data? Select one: a. They feel pressure to publish findings. b. They are convinced of the correctness of their own hypotheses. c. Research success has implications for promotion within their department. d. A journal might require it.

d. A journal might require it.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using open-ended questions? Select one: 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.

When determining whether a study should be conducted, we have to balance which two issues? Select one: a. The costs of conducting the study vs. the benefits gained by the researcher b. The type of people negatively affected vs. the type of people positively affected c. The potential risks to participants vs. the value of knowledge we can gain d. The number of people negatively affected vs. the number of people positively affected

c. The potential risks to participants vs. the value of knowledge we can gain

Ethical decision making should be: Select one: a. as easy as a yes-no decision. b. based only on what is good for society. c. a thoughtful balance. d. determined by experts, like lawyers.

c. a thoughtful balance.

Another word for discriminant validity is __________ validity. Select one: a. convergent b. asymmetrical c. divergent d. multiple

c. divergent

If a measurement looks like it is a plausible operationalization of a conceptual variable, then it has: Select one: a. interrater reliability. b. subjectivity. c. face validity. d. credibility.

c. face validity.

Masked, or blind, study designs are designed to deal with: Select one: a. yea-saying biases. b. bystander effect. c. observer bias. d. faking good.

c. observer bias.

Faking good is also known as: Select one: a. fence sitting. b. acquiescence. c. socially desirable responding. d. nondifferentiation.

c. socially desirable responding.

According to its conceptual definition, a variable should be related to a particular behavior. If a researcher is able to demonstrate that his measure of the variable is related to the behavior, then he has established which of the following? Select one: a. Discriminant validity b. Content validity c. Convergent validity d. Criterion validity

d. Criterion validity

Which of the following is true of question wording? Select one: a. It has no effect on the results of a survey/poll. b. No research has scientifically demonstrated that question wording affects the answers participants give. c. Differences in how questions are worded always lead to different results. d. Researchers may alter the wording of a question to determine if it does have an effect on the results.

d. Researchers may alter the wording of a question to determine if it does have an effect on the results.

Your professor says that researchers do not make ethical decisions alone. What does this mean? Select one: a. Researchers must conduct research with other researchers. b. Researchers must discuss their ethical choices with their participants. c. Researchers must consult with lawyers before they conduct a study. d. Researchers must consider the opinions of others, including institutional review board (IRB) members and peers.

d. Researchers must consider the opinions of others, including institutional review board (IRB) members and peers.

In considering whether research is ethical, which of the following are balanced against each other? Select one: a. Inconvenience to participants versus benefit to the researcher b. Time investment of the study versus complexity of the study c. Importance of the research versus financial cost to conduct the study d. Risk to participants versus value of the knowledge gained

d. Risk to participants versus value of the knowledge gained

Which of the following is NOT a way to deal with reactivity? Select one: a. Blending in with the surroundings b. Waiting to begin observations c. Measuring the behavior unobtrusively d. Using multiple observers

d. Using multiple observers

Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is a categorical way to operationalize caffeine consumption? Select one: a. The number of cups of coffee consumed in a day b. The number of milligrams of caffeine consumed during the study c. The frequency of buying energy drinks d. Whether the participant drank a soda in the 24 hours prior to the study

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

The construct validity of observations can be threatened by all of the following EXCEPT: Select one: a. observer bias. b. observer effects. c. reactivity. d. socially desirable responding.

d. socially desirable responding.

Which of the following has been used as a defense of animal research by animal researchers? Select one: a. Animal research has resulted in many benefits to both animals and humans. b. Animal research requires less research funding than human research. c. Animal research is less likely to result in physical harm to the subject compared to human research. d. Animal research has not had the same types of scandals that human research has had (e.g., the Tuskegee Study).

a. Animal research has resulted in many benefits to both animals and humans.

A researcher wants to know what people really do, not what they think they do. Which method would you advise him to use? Select one: a. Behavioral observations b. Self-report questions c. Both behavioral observations and self-report questions are equally good for finding out what people really do. d. Neither behavioral observations nor self-report questions is desirable for finding out what people really do.

a. Behavioral observations

In which of the following ways are content and face validity similar? Select one: a. Both involve subjective judgments. b. Both involve asking participants for their opinions about the measurement. c. Both are preferred by psychologists as ideal measures of validity. d. Both are very difficult to establish.

a. Both involve subjective judgments.

A question that leads people to answer in a particular way is known as a(n): Select one: a. leading question. b. double-barreled question. c. negatively worded question. d. ordered question.

a. leading question.

Which of the following is NOT possible? Select one: 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.

Establishing construct validity is most important for which of the following? Select one: a. A concrete construct b. A behavior that is directly observable c. Physical measurements (e.g., length) d. An abstract concept

d. An abstract concept