Research Methods Exam 2 (topics 25-57)
Solomon randomized four group
-It allows the researcher to test for the effect of a treatment. -It allows the researcher to test for the effect of pretest sensitization. -It is a form of true experimental design
Do researchers usually measure at two different points in time to estimate interobserver reliability? test-retest reliability?
-no same time -yes different times
What are three main types of bias to account for?
-underrepresentation of some members within the population -failure to ensure that population members have one and only one chance of being included -differences between those who volunteer and those who do not
Serviceable reliability coefficients may be how low if researchers are examining group avg?
.50
Most published tests have reliability coefficients that are how high?
.80 or higher
If a test has no validity whatsoever what value will its validity coefficient have?
0.00
What is the highest possible value for a split half reliability coefficient?
1
If a test is perfectly valid what value will its validity coefficient have?
1.00 (ranks on the test are identical to the ranks on the criterion)
What was the average range of sample sizes for qualitative studies?
10 to 26 participants with an average of 13.
Researchers need to use at least how many observers to determine interobserver reliability?
2
At what population size does the sample size stop changing considerably?
20,000
If the sample has 500 participants, how many digits should there be when using a random numbers table?
3 digits
If the population is 5,000, what is the recommended sample size?
357
A focus group usually consists of about how many participants?
6 to 12
stratified random sampling
A form of probability sampling; a random sampling technique in which the researcher identifies particular demographic categories of interest and then randomly selects individuals within each category.
cluster sampling
A probability sampling technique in which researchers draw groups of participants instead of selecting individuals
longitudinal research
A research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed.
Which type of judgmental validity is more valuable to research design?
Content
What is done in the cross-analysis?
Core ideas are grouped into categories based on similarities and higher level generalizations begin to emerge -begins to summarize across cases
axial coding
Data is reexamined and reorganized to identify relationships between categories and themes in coding
For which of these studies would it be most appropriate for a researcher to construct a snowball sample?
Dr Rizza is interested in studying access to health care by undocumented immigrants living in border towns in Texas and Arizona. He hopes to survey families to determine how they access both basic and emergency medical services near where they live.
Which of these researchers is most likely to employ a CQR approach?
Dr Strummer, a psychologist interested in studying the impact of childhood trauma on social adjustment and job performance later in life
Which of these research abstracts describes an ethnographic study?
Effective communication with patients and their family members forms the foundation of a therapeutic relationship. This is particularly important when the occupational therapist, other health professionals, and the patient are from different cultural backgrounds. This paper describes one aspect of the findings of a study of chronic diabetes among the Navajo people. It focuses on the dominant metaphorical images that were used by the informants to describe their illness experiences. The data suggest that diabetes can be considered a metaphor for larger social changes in the life-style and traditions (e.g., away from sheepherding as a means of basic subsistence to obtaining urban-centered employment) of Native Americans and their effects on the Navajo. Implications of our findings include the importance of metaphorical communication for perceptions of compliance, powerlessness, and patient and therapist satisfaction with the therapeutic relationship.
When the emphasis in field research is on cultural issues, what may the research be referred to as?
Ethnography
Which type of validity deals with the question of whether a researcher can generalize with confidence to a larger population in a natural setting?
External
T/F? purposive sampling and theoretical sampling can be used together
False??
what is the formal name of what is characterized as the attention effect in this topic?
Hawthorne Effect
Which of these statements about qualitative research techniques is false?
In non-participant observation, the researcher becomes a member of the group being studied; in participant observation, the research studies the group without becoming involved in the group.
What is the name of the effect that refers to the possibility that the control group might become aware of its "inferior" status and respond by trying to outperform the experimental group?
John Henry effect
Suppose a researcher suspects that there is only a very small difference in the math abilities of boys and girls in the 6th grade. Should the researcher use a small or large sample to measure this difference?
Large, to minimize the risk of drawing a nonrepresentative sample.
How might a qualitative researcher obtain participants for a sample?
Many qualitative researcher develop samples by placing themselves in a context and coming to know those involved, or using experts and key informants to reach a larger group (snowball sampling). Also they can recruit from a selected setting and create ways to allow those in the setting to opt in to the study.
Suppose a single random sample of workers in a factory is exposed to five different reward systems in succession with each system being used for one month. What is the name of the threat that reminds researchers that the research results for the last reward system may not generalize to the population of workers?
Multiple treatment interference
population variable
N
If a test is highly reliable but highly invalid is it useful?
No
Should a researcher expect a very short, multiple-choice test to be highly reliable?
No
Should a researcher expect any tests to be both perfectly reliable and valid?
No
Is sample size the primary consideration when judging the adequacy of a sample?
No, bias is first.
Does increasing sample size reduce bias?
No, small unbiased samples tend to yield more accurate results than large biased samples.
Are all demographic variables equally relevant in all studies? Why or why not?
No, their importance depends on the topic of study
Are qualitative researchers always interested in problems that extend beyond one location or institution?
No, they are often interested in gathering data that is in a context - information about things such as a particular organization, geographic location, or period of time that may contribute to the understanding of the responses of the people included in the study.
Is content validity relevant only to achievement tests?
No; although it is most commonly associated with achievement testing it is sometime applied when evaluating other types of measures (such as self concept)
Suppose a researcher administered a new program to all students in a school. At the end of the school year, the researcher administered a standardized test to the students at the end of school as well as to students in another school who were serving as a control group. Is the comparison of the average scores for the two groups of students useful for determining the effects of the program? what is the name of the pre-experimental design used?
No; this design is a static-group comparison design
What is the name of the type of observation in which the researcher observes as an outsider?
Nonparticipant Observation
Is it necessary to select a random sample when sampling is done using the Internet?
One of the biggest challenges to Internet surveys is sampling. Currently, there is not a systematic method for accomplishing a traditional probability sample of a general population using the Internet
Examining perceptions is known as what type of approach to acquiring knowledge?
Phenomenological approach
Why is it a challenge to draw a simple random sample using phone numbers now?
Some people have both a cell phone and a landline while others do not have a phone at all.
What is a clear advantage of using a focus group?
The method reveals the evolution of perceptions in a social context
Which of these study abstract excerpts describes a probability sampling technique?
The pineal gland produces the hormone melatonin, and its volume may influence melatonin levels. We describe an innovative method for estimating pineal volume in humans and present the association of pineal parenchyma volume with levels of the primary melatonin metabolite, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin. We selected a random sample of 122 older Icelandic men nested within the AGES-Reykjavik cohort and measured their total pineal volume, their parenchyma volume, and the extent of calcification and cysts.
Does a researcher usually draw the "same number" or the "same percentage" from each stratum?
The same percentage
If a researcher suspects that a trait is rare in a population, should he or she use a small or large sample to identify the incidence of the trait?
They need a larger sample because the trait will occur in so few individuals. Studies of this type might rely on datasets from very large samples that were collected by others in order to have an adequate sample size.
Much data collection in the past had to figure out how to create equal nonzero chances for people to be selected into a sample from a household. Why is that?
They were not guaranteed to reach an individual but were more likely to reach a household, which contained a variable number of adults and children
Is it possible for a test to have high face validity but low content validity?
True
T/F: "To improve content validity, it is usually desirable to cover only a narrow sample of content from the broad content area to be covered by an achievement test."
True
T/F: Professional test makers tend to be more successful in achieving high validity than in achieving high reliability
True
T/F? If the sample size is large, it will improve results even if there is bias.
True(??); a large sample size increases precision even when there is bias, meaning results only vary by a small amount
T/F? Once you know the population size, the sample size is an easy calculation.
True; when the population is larger than 20,000 the recommended sample size does not change much based on population size
Overall, is "validity" or "reliability" more important when evaluating a measure
Validity
How long have sampling methods for research been around?
Very little sampling was used in research prior to the last decade of the 19th century, and sampling methods developed at the turn of the century only became popular in the 1930s.
How many cases are typically in a case study research project?
When individuals or small groups constitute the case, then the number of cases is likely to be in the single digits and will rarely be more than 15.
At what point might a qualitative researcher conclude that the data collection process has become saturated?
When they start getting redundant answers
According to this topic is it safe to say that no test is perfectly valid?
Yes
Does increasing sample size increase precision?
Yes
Is fear a construct?
Yes
Is it possible for a test with high reliability to have a low validity?
Yes
It is important to compare the demographics of those who participated in a study with those who were asked but did not? Why?
Yes, because such information provide demographic differences between volunteers and non-volunteers (such as reading grades, gender, age, etc. from school records) which could be of value to others interested in the same issue.
In a semi-structured interview, is it ever acceptable for an interviewer to ask questions not included in the list of predetermined questions?
Yes, they are allowed to follow the flow of conversation and follow up with questions that may elicit more information
If a researcher has a very large sample, is it possible for the results to be wrong?
Yes, they can be precisely wrong because bias can consistently throw the results off in the same direction each time a sample is drawn.
Which of the following statements about case study research is false? a.) In case study research, the focus is on the "case" and not on the context in which the case occurs or lives. b.) In case study research, a "case" can be an individual patient or a group of patients (such as a family or a social group). c.) A primary criticism of case study research is that it relies on a small sample and therefore results are subject to being anecdotal rather than representative of a population. d.) Case study research is primarily an inductive approach to answering a research question. e.) In a case study design for which the "case" is an individual patient, it is likely that the researcher will analyze no more than about 15 "cases."
a - Because the goal of case study research is to gain a holistic understanding of the case, the focus of this research includes not only the unit of analysis but also the context or environment in which the case exists or lives.
Which of these factors in constructing a study sample is least likely to introduce bias to the sample? stratification a.) stratification b.) mortality c.) volunteerism d.) inability or failure to identify all members of the population of interest e.) inability or failure to assure that each member of the population of interest only participates in the study once
a - a technique by which a researcher creates sub-categories ("strata") of a population and recruits within those categories so that, at least on the stratified variables, the sample is representative of the population
Which of the following statements about sample size is false? a.) Increasing the size of a study sample decreases the bias of that sample b.) Increasing the size of a study sample increases the precision of that sample c.) Generally speaking, more heterogeneous populations require larger samples than populations which are more homogeneous d.) Quantitative studies generally require larger sample sizes than do qualitative studies. e.) The appropriate sample size generally increases as the size of the population increases, but only up to about a population size of 20,000 experimental unit
a - while increasing the size of your sample makes it more precise (reduces variance), it does not necessarily make it more unbiased (more representative)
The use of participants from diverse sources is a methodological strength of a qualitative study when the researcher has what?
a broader interest than just a single source (such as a single college campus)
How is the term construct defined?
a collection of related behaviors that are associated in a meaningful way
In an addiction to an experimental and a traditional control group what other group can be used to control for the Hawthorne effect?
a control group that receives no attention
what indicates that groups are not assigned at random?
a dashed line
What must researchers do in cluster sampling to obtain an unbiased sample of clusters?
a researcher must draw the clusters at random
In psychology what is the ABAB design?
a single group design in which treatments are alternated
To determine construct validity researchers began by hypothesizing what?
about components that make up the construct they wish to measure
A test designed to predict success in learning a new set of skills is what type of test?
achievement test
samples of convenience
aka accidental samples; a research methodology that involves using biased samples that are easy to collect and acquire
purposive sampling
aka judgmental sampling; a nonprobability sampling method in which elements are selected for a purpose, usually because of their unique position or knowledge -maximum variation -extreme/deviant case -homogeneous
True experimental designs are easy to spot because they are all characterized by what?
all characterized by random assignment to treatments
sample
allows researchers to study a subset of the population of interest and use analytical methods to allow them to make inferences about a population
A confound is source of confusion regarding what?
an extra variable that creates confusion regarding the explanation for a given difference
What can constitute a case?
an individual, group of varying sizes (family, village, or organization), or a specific time period/event.
Semi-structured interview
an interview protocol is formulated in advance but interviews may follow the flow of conversation in each individual interview rather than follow the guide exactly
In a peer review, what is a peer?
an outside expert --the peer who provides the review is an auditor
An algebra prognosis test is an example of what type of test?
aptitude test
With whom should a pilot test of the interview questions be conducted?
at least a few individuals who will not be participants in the study
In which type of coding is there an emphasis on identifying relationships?
axial coding
What is the second type of coding in the grounded theory approach?
axial coding
theoretical sampling
based on judgment of the researchers, however, instead of trying to represent various types of people, it selects additional participant based on information needed to corroborate, extend, or revise the emerging theory
What is a potential problem with systematic sampling and how can a researcher get around it?
because a researcher cannot be sure that no one has ordered a list of the population in a way that might affect the sample (ex: male next to female pattern when drawing every other one) an alphabetical list is preferred, and the first individual selected should be chosen at random
Why is construct validity identified as judgmental-empirical?
because construct requires judgment about the nature of relationships as well as empirical evidence regarding whether a measure provides scores consistent with the judgments
Suppose a researcher drew a random sample from a population of college students, but some of those selected refused to take part in the study. Are the students who participated in the study a "biased" or "unbiased" sample of of the population?
biased because those who do choose to participate are volunteers and may be fundamentally different from nonvolunteers-- for instance, by being more interested in technology and more concerned about being successful in their educational pursuits.
simultaneous approach
both qualitative and quantitative data are collected at the same time
In an experiment how can researchers ensure that there are no biases when they assign participants to groups?
by assigning participants at random to groups
How can researchers overcome all the threats to internal validity?
by using a true experimental design
Extreme/deviant case sampling
can help define the category boundaries and shed light on the conventional case within a group
A list of desirable characteristics of a product or performance is known as what?
checklist
To conduct a survey on campus, a researcher drew a random sample of 25 class sections and contacted the instructors, who then administered the questionnaires in class. What type of sampling is this?
cluster sampling
What is the first step in analyzing data using the CQR approach?
code into domains
embedded
collection of one type of data is dominant and the other is much smaller or exploratory -can be sequential
A quasi-experimental design is most likely to be needed for a
comparison of men and women with the same disease
If a split-half reliability coefficient equals 0.00, what does this indicate?
complete absence of reliability
If a researcher collects the criterion data at about the same time the test is being administered he or she is examining what type of empirical validity?
concurrent validity coefficient
A test is said to be reliable if it yields what?
consistent results
What is the technical term that refers to checking each new element of the data against all previous elements that have been coded in order to establish and refine categories?
constant comparison
Which two types of validity are classified as solely judgmental?
content and face
Two types of judgemental validity
content validity and face validity
What does stratification mean in a random sampling?
create layers in the random or systematic selection of the sample by first creating homogeneous groups from the population and then making a proportional but random selection from each group
What is the first step in stratified random sampling?
creating homogeneous groups from the population
What is the term for the standard by which a test is judged?
criterion
convergent
data are collected independently but then mixed and interpreted in one analysis
What is one type of data collection that CSR has in common with other qualitative research methods?
data collection is simultaneous and iterative which gives researchers the chance to adjust data collection tools, build theory gradually, and refine ideas during the study
Which step includes writing short summaries of participants' ideas?
develop core ideas within domains
core category
developed in the final stages of coding; the main overarching category under which the other categories and subcategories belong
If a trait is elusive, is it easy or difficult to measure what a high degree of validity?
difficult
nonprobability sampling
do not guarantee that each person or element in the population has an equal chance of being selected
In what type of experiment do neither the participants nor the individuals dispensing the drug know which is the active drug and which is the dispensing drug?
double blind
What is a major drawback to cluster sampling?
each cluster tends to be more homogeneous in a variety of ways than the population as a whole
strand
each component of a study
sampling error
error created by random sampling -samples of adequate size minimize error
systematic sampling
essentially equivalent to simple random sampling; every "nth" individual is selected with "n" being any number the researcher selects
The initial questions should be designed to do what?
establish rapport; they are quite general and do not deal with the direct topic of the research
The symbol X stands for?
experimental treatment
If a mixed methods design first collects qualitative data and then collects quantitative data, what is the name of this design type?
exploratory
Which type of validity is based on superficial inspection?
face validity
What are two names for the individual who leads a focus group?
facilitator and moderator
T/F? You can have only one case in case study research.
false
T/F? mixed methods research requires that all data be collected at the same time.
false
T/F? Unlike the grounded theory approach, CQR is deductive.
false; both are inductive
When a mixed methods design is selected at the beginning, what is the design called?
fixed
nomothic study
focuses on only a few variables and investigates their relationship carefully, often attempting to explain how much one or a small set of variables explain another variable or outcome, with the hope of producing data that can be generalized to a population
homogeneous sampling
form of purposive sampling that takes the opposite approach to maximum variation. it seeks to sample people who are similar to one another from a population that is larger and more diverse.
Grounded theory was developed to help qualitative research in what way?
helped to revive qualitative methods by formulating approaches that grounded theory within a more systematic, qualitative approach.
Suppose an experimental group is being taught letters of the alphabet as a treatment. At about the same time the students are watching an educational program on TV, from which they learn the names of the letters. What is the name of the threat that this problem illustrates?
history
What is the term when one tries to describe everything in a research scenario?
idiographic
census
if a researcher studies every member of a population
If the population of freshmen and the population of sophomores on a college campus are the same in their opinion on a particular issue on which researcher will be conducting a survey, should the researcher stratify the sample based on class year?
if the two groups do not differ in their opinion, stratification will not increase the precision
general
in CQR, domains that apply to all the participants
typical
in CQR, domains that apply to half or more of the participants
variant
in CQR, domains that apply to less than half but more than 2 of the participants
When might a researcher deliberately use a measure with low face validity?
in cases that attempt to investigate behaviors or attitudes participants may not want to admit to
What characteristic defines mixed methods research?
includes at least one qualitative and one quantitative component of original research in the study design
Data triangulation
includes two or more participants in the data collection but uses the same type of method (interviews)
Does confirming a hypothesis in a construct validity study offer "direct" or "indirect" evidence on the validity of a test?
indirect
Does the grounded theory approach use the "inductive approach" or the "deductive approach"?
inductive approach
If observers are more tired and less astute when making posttest observations than when making pretest observations, what threat is operating?
instrumentation
A test designed to measure how much students learn in a particular course in school is what type of test?
intelligence test
Which type of test is designed to predict achievement in general
intelligence test
Which type of validity deals with whether the treatment is directly responsible for any changes observed in the experimental setting?
internal
open coding
interview transcripts are examined for broad themes that pertain to one's topic of research in order to allow them to be categorized
variation sampling
involves selecting a sample in which the widest range of variation on the dimensions of interest is represented
What is the name of the potential problem caused by the pretest in the pretest-postest randomized control group design?
it can sensitize participants to the experimental treatment and in effect become part of the treatment
What is one main way that CSR differs from other qualitative methods?
it does not investigate the relationship between limited variables.
What is the major consideration that may result in bias in an Internet survey?
it significantly biases who can be reached; not everyone has access to the Internet
What is the distinguishing principle of case studies?
its focus on a single or small number of "cases" of a phenomena or event
If a researcher uses matching to form the two groups in a nonequivalent control group design would the resulting experiment be superior to a true experiment?
matching will increase the internal validity but it is not superior to a true experiment design
If infants naturally improve in visual acuity and thus perform better at the end of an experiment than at the beginning what threat is operating?
maturation
population
may be large such as social workers in the US or small such as social workers employed by a specific hospital
Why might a researcher use an unstructured interview?
may be used in exploratory research when flexibility is needed to allow interviewers to bring up information that matters most to them. -ex: a life story interview
What is the generic term for any type of measurement device?
measures
A measure is said to be valid to the extent that it does what?
measures what it is designed to measure and accurately perform the function it is purported to perform
simple random sample
method of probability sampling for selecting unbiased sample by giving every member of the population an equal chance of being included in the sample
explanatory
most appropriate to research that analyzes relationships or trends using a quantitative approach but also wants to address underlying mechanisms or reasons
sample size variable
n
branching
next question varies depending on prior answers
Are intelligence tests good measures of innate ability?
no
Do researchers usually want participants to show their best when measuring personality traits?
no
Is the primary purpose of stratifying to be able to compare subgroups?
no - the primary purpose of stratification is to ensure that different subgroups are represented in the correct proportions
Are pre-experimental designs valuable for identifying cause-and-effect relationships?
no because they have limited internal validity
Do qualitative samples rely on rules of probability for determining the appropriate size?
no, because they are not collecting data that will be analyzed using statistical methods and is more reliant on the judgment of the researcher
Is there a sequence or pattern to the numbers in a table of random numbers?
no, the numbers are unrelated to each other or to anything else
Does alpha estimate the consistency of scores over time?
no; at a single point in time
If a researcher gives a pretest on knowledge of child abuse to a group of social workers then gives them a series of seminars on child abuse, followed by a posttest, what is the name of the pre-experimental design? is it useful for determining cause-and-effect relationships?
no; this design is the one-group pretest-posttest design
snowball sampling
nonprobability sampling method that can be useful when attempting to locate participants who are difficult to find
In a diagram for an experimental design the symbol O stands for?
observation
Does the split-half method require one or two administrations of a test?
once
sequential approach
one data type is collected followed by another -typically described as explanatory or exploratory
Under what circumstance will statistical regression operate?
only if participants are selected on the basis of their extreme scores
The grounded theory approach starts with what type of coding?
open coding
Tapping only a sample of the behaviors underlying the construct a researcher wants to measure has what effect on validity?
partial validity
Which type of personality measure is seldom used in personality research?
popular projective techniques
What is the name of the true experimental design that has no pretest?
posttest-only randomized control group design
Which two types of validity are classified as solely empirical?
predictive and concurrent
What is judgmental validity based on?
professional knowledge
Loosely structured stimuli are used in which type of personality measure?
projected techniques
Briefly describe one way a researcher can draw a simple random sample.
putting names of all individuals in the population on slips of paper, mixing them up, and drawing as many as needed for the sample
Who uses purposive sampling more: qualitative or quantitative researchers?
qualitative
What are each of the types of research called in mixed methods design?
qualitative and quantitative
If a pretest causes a change in participants sensitivity to a treatment what threat is operating?
reactive effect of testing (pretest sensitization)
Suppose an experimental classroom has research observers present at all times. What is the name of the threat that reminds researchers that the results may not generalize to other classrooms without observers?
reactive effects of experimental arrangements
When there are two quantitative scores per participant, researchers can compute what statistic to describe reliability?
reliability coefficient
field research
research that uses observational methods
exploratory
researcher begins with a qualitative approach to a research question but wants to also be able to generalize findings
participant observation
researcher is a member of the group being researched which makes them an insider
What is meant by an odd-even split?
researcher scores all even numbers and then all odd numbers to give two scores per test
What is the name of triangulation that reduces the possibility that the results of qualitative research represent only the idiosyncratic views of an individual researcher?
researcher triangulation
idiographic approach
researchers attempt to describe an individual phenomenon holistically, accounting for as many factors as possible with an emphasis on detailed contextual analysis
weight
responses are adjusted to an equal worth -similar to curving a grade
Suppose a psychologist has his or her clients participate in an experiment simply because they are readily accessible (not drawn at random from the population of interest). What type of sample is being used?
sample of convenience (biased)
code into domains
segmenting the data into groups according to the topics they cover
What is the name of the threat posed by nonrandom assignment of participants to experimental and control groups?
selection
the threat that warns researchers to be careful in generalizing the results to a population when an experiment is conducted on a non random sample?
selection bias threat
What is the name of the process through which an interviewer can consider personal biases?
self-disclosure
Which type of interview is most widely used for data collection in qualitative research?
semi-structured
What type of sample is drawn from a table of random numbers?
simple random sample
pilot studies
small sample size studies designed to obtain preliminary information on how new treatments and measures work
If a population is very homogeneous, what size sample should a researcher use?
small, since there is limited variability a sample size of 100 is likely to yield the same as 1,000.
Suppose a researcher has identified an individual who has engaged in an illegal activity to be a participant in a research project, and then the researcher identifies others who have engaged in the same activity through the first individual's contacts. The researcher is using what type of sampling?
snowball sampling
In what discipline are CQR studies most likely to be found?
sociology, counseling, psychology, and education research
What is the range of choice in a likert-type scale?
strongly agree to strongly disagree
If a researcher draws every other individual from a list of the population, he or she is using what type of sampling?
systematic sampling
precision
technical term for discussing the magnitude of sampling errors -goes up when sampling errors are reduced
Which two methods for estimating reliability require two testing sessions?
test-restest (test is administered twice) and parallel forms (two alternative forms of a test are administered)
To obtain alpha, mathematical procedures are used to obtain the equivalent of what?
the avg of all possible split half reliability coefficients
demographics
the background characteristics that represent an indicator by which populations are described -gender, age, income
A demand characteristic is a cue that lets participants know what?
the expected outcome of the experiment
emergent
the need for both types of data is discovered after work is in process
Does the auditor review the work of the research team only at the conclusion of the study?
the outside expert who usually reviews the work of the research team after each major step in a study, not just at the conclusion.
What is a major advantage of the equivalent time-samples design
the participants serve as both the control participants and the experimental participants; this lets researchers know that the experimental participants and control participants are identical at the beginning of the experiment
What is a potential drawback to the solomon randomized four-group design?
the researcher must begin with a reasonably large pool of participants so that when they are divided into four groups, each of the groups will have a sufficient number to yield reliable results
What is a disadvantage of the equivalent time-samples design?
the strong possibility of multiple treatment interference
Who are the members of member checking?
the study participants
the term placebo refers to what?
the tendency of individuals to improve simply because they know they are being treated
What are grounded theory researchers looking for in the final stages of research?
they are looking to develop the core category and describe the process of how the categories work together in order to arrive at the conditions or behaviors contained in the core category.
What is the name of the threat that indicates that taking a pretest may affect performance on a posttest?
threats to internal validity
How can researchers increase the reliability of scoring essays, products, and performances?
through a checklist or rating scale
What 3 dimensions are key to planning a mixed methods design?
timing,
What is the purpose of an experiment?
to explore cause-and-effect relationships
What is the main reason for administering personality measures anonymously?
to reduce the tendency for the participants to be socially desirable
What question does predictive validity answer?
to what extent does the employment test predict the outcome
volunteerism
two forms: -researchers issue a call for volunteers -researchers begin by identifying a random sample from an entire population
If a researcher mails questionnaires to all clients of a social worker and 50% of them are completed and returned, is the sample biased or unbiased?
unbiased??? - all participants were given a chance to participate
Method triangulation
uses multiple methods (interviews and observation) to collect data from participants
normal distribution
values revolve around a central, most common value
If a researcher compares the demographics of a sample with its population and finds that a subgroup is underrepresented, what is one way to address it?
when completing a statistical analysis, the sample results can be weighted to match more proportionately to the population
saturation
when researchers find that respondents are giving answers that fit in the same theory and no new data is emerging
How is empirical defined in this topic?
when researchers make planned comparisons to see if a measure yields scores that relate to the chosen criterion
mortality
when some of the participants dropout mid-course
interobserver agreement
when there are disagreements they can be resolved by having the researchers discuss their differences until they reach a consensus
In a qualitative study, why should you collect demographic data?
will allow them to accurately account for participants of the study at the point when they are ready to write about it
What does an interview protocol consist of?
written directions for conducting the interview, such as the script to begin the interview, question prompts, or any other notes that may help the interviewers maintain consistency where needed, as well as a standard set of predetermined questions to be asked of all participants
Is content validity a relevant concern when creating a likert-type scale for measuring attitudes?
yes
Is it ever desirable for a team of researchers to consist of individuals with diverse backgrounds?
yes
Suppose a researcher purchases a commercial reading test that is highly valid for students who receive reading instruction that emphasizes phonics. Is it possible that the test is of limited validity for students who are taught with a method that does not emphasize phonics?
yes
Is it possible to stratify on more than one variable?
yes - a larger number of variables is better as long as the variables are relevant and independent of each other
Does the purpose of the study matter for sample size?
yes, because if it were a pilot study it would only require a small sample size (10 to 100)
