research methods 1-3
Which of the following is typical of quantitative research? 1. It involves measuring variables for each individual. 2. It usually involves numerical scores. 3. It uses statistical analysis to summarize and interpret results. 4. All of the above.
4. All of the above.
Which of the following is a distinction between science and pseudoscience? 1. Pseudoscience tends to dismiss or refuse to accept negative results. 2. Pseudoscience tends to rely on testimonials and selected results. 3. Pseudoscience tends to treat criticism as a personal attack. 4. All of the other options are differences between science and pseudoscience.
4. All of the other options are differences between science and pseudoscience.
If people score low on one measure and score low on another measure, there is __
A positive relationship between the two measures
What is the most relevant question you should ask when reading a results section?
Are appropriate statistics used?
What is typically included in the method section of a research article?
It provides the details of the methodology used in the study.
Which relationship described below illustrates a negative relationship?
The more exercise children get from age 2 to 7, the lower their chance of having cancer by age 65.
What is the goal of an operational definition?
To provide a definition and a method for measuring a hypothetical construct
Which method of knowing is used when you find the address and phone number of a restaurant by googling the name of the restaurant?
authority
republicans and democrats have many different answers for the same questions. this is a limitation on the method of __
authority
Counting the number of times a third-grade student leaves his seat without permission during a 30-minute observation period is an example of using what modality of measurement?
behavioral
While watching your kids play in the backyard, you get some ideas about what factors may be causing them to compete or collaborate. This is an example of getting research ideas from ____.
casual observation
is demonstrated when scores obtained from a new measure are directly related to scores obtained from an established measure of the same variable.
concurrent validity
What term is used for a variable that cannot be observed or measured directly but is useful for describing and explaining behavior?
construct
A hypothesis is a __________ statement and a prediction is a __________ statement.
general, specific
The first step in the research process is
identifying a topic area and searching the literature to find a research question.
What kind of reasoning uses a few specific observations to produce a general hypothesis?
inductive reasoning
A __ is a review and statistical analysis of past research in a specific area that is intended to determine the consistency and robustness of the research results, and provides a great overview of an area by combining the results from a number of studies.
meta-analysis
Which method of acquiring knowledge is being used by students who are learning from teachers and textbooks?
method of authority
Which method of knowing is being used by a student who believes that his performance on tests is influenced by wearing a lucky hat?
method of tenacity
Participants taking on the negativistic subject role
try to act in a manner such that their data are in contrast to the hypothesis
A potential drawback of secondary sources is that they ____.
typically do not contain detailed information about any specific study
A typical database contains about __ publications, or records, that are all cross-referenced by subject words and author names.
1 million
What is typically included in the introduction section of a research article?
It describes the overall purpose and rationale of the research.
what is a brief summary of a psychology article?
abstract
The __ of a measurement is the degree to which the measurement conforms to the established standard
accuracy
Research studies that are intended to answer practical problems would be classified as ____.
applied
a school board may initiate a(n) __study to determine whether there is a significant increase in student performance if class size is reduced from 30 students to 25 students.
applied
Research that is directed toward solving practical problems is often classified as
applied research
A researcher is intrigued by an explanation of children's problem-solving strategies found in a journal article and develops a research study to determine whether the article's ideas are correct. How would this study be classified?
basic
A researcher is intrigued by an explanation of children's problem-solving strategies found in a journal article and develops a research study to determine whether the article's ideas are correct. This study can be classified as ____ research.
basic
studies that are intended to solve theoretical issues are classified as
basic research
While shopping, you observe the behavior of adolescents at the mall and get some ideas about what may be causing the behavior. This is an example of getting research ideas from
casual observation
you believe all pugs are nice, so your neighbors pug must be nice. you are using __
deduction
Research results indicate that the more servings of red meat eat from age 15 to 25, the higher their cholesterol scores will be at age 60. This is an example of a ____ relationship between variables.
positive
Typically, a __ source is a research report, published in a scientific journal or periodical, in which the authors describe their own research study, including why the research was done, how the study was conducted, what results were found, and how those results were interpreted.
primary
The purpose of an operational definition is to __
provide a definition and a method for measuring a hypothetical construct
Theories such as aromatherapy, astrology, and intelligent design are examples of __that are unsupported by empirical evidence.
pseudoscience
__ tends to rely on subjective evidence such as testimonials and anecdotal reports of success.
pseudoscience
The database that contains brief summaries of psychology articles and information on where to find the original publication is ___
psychINFO
Measurement that includes a large error component will have very low
reliability
Pseudoscience is based on __
subjective evidence
Which of the following is not a good example of a research hypothesis? 1. There is no relationship between fatigue and reaction time. 2. Increased sugar consumption leads to an increased level of activity. 3. Smaller class size is related to better academic performance. 4. A person's level of self-esteem is related to how long he or she will persist at a difficult task.
1. There is no relationship between fatigue and reaction time.
__ is common among popular psychology gurus who write self-help books and appear on TV talk shows presenting novel systems to solve your romantic relationship problems, end your episodes of depression, or help bring a normal life to your autistic child.
Pseudoscience
a doctor who startles you with an ice-cold stethoscope is probably not going to get accurate observations of your heartbeat. this could be considered a(n)
artifact
Counting the number of times a third-grade student leaves his or her seat without permission during a 30-minute observation period is an example of using what modality of measurement?
behavioral
if you had developed a new test to measure intelligence, you could demonstrate that your test really measures intelligence by showing that the scores from your test differentiate individuals in the same way as scores from a standardized IQ test. this could be done using ___
concurrent validity
What kind of reasoning uses a general statement to make conclusions about specific examples?
deductive
assuming that all green apples are sour, you can conclude that your one green apple will be sour by using __ reasoning
deductive
Which section of a research article is most likely to provide suggestions for additional research?
discussion
Which type of subject role is most desirable for a research study?
faithful
__ is a statement that describes or explains a relationship between or among variables.
hypothesis
you meet some pugs and they are nice, so you then assume all pugs are nice. you used __
induction
measurements from ___ scales can be used to compute means and variances, and they allow hypothesis testing with t tests or analysis of variance.
interval or ratio
examples of __scales are socioeconomic class (upper, middle, and lower) and T-shirt sizes (small, medium, and large).
ordinal
is demonstrated when scores obtained from a measure accurately predict behavior according to a theory.
predictive validity
What additional information is obtained by measuring on an interval scale compared to an ordinal scale?
the size of the differences
The advantage of full-text databases is that they contain ____.
word for word copies of each publication
Which of the following is the best description of the scientific method? 1. A circular process that leads to a final answer 2. A linear process that moves directly to a final answer 3. A circular process that leads to a tentative answer 4. A linear process that leads to a tentative answer
3. A circular process that leads to a tentative answer
For which of the following questions would the scientific method be an appropriate method for seeking an answer. 1. How many angels can stand on the head of a pin? 2. Is abortion moral or immoral? 3. What conditions promote student learning in an elementary classroom? 4. How would life be different if the computer had never been invented?
3. What conditions promote student learning in an elementary classroom?
Which of the following would be a danger of relying upon a primary source? 1. The author of the primary source may describe or interpret research results incorrectly. 2. Primary sources typically do not contain the details of methodology that are required for critical evaluation. 3. The author may describe results incorrectly and the source does not contain details of methodology. 4. There is no danger because you can rely on primary sources for accurate information.
4. There is no danger because you can rely on primary sources for accurate information.
What questions should you ask when reading an introduction to a research article?
Is the literature review up-to-date? Is the hypothesis related to the literature reviewed? Does the prediction logically follow the hypothesis?
What is meant by saying that "science is objective"?
Scientific answers are obtained without influence by the researcher's biases or beliefs.
Why is an artifact like experimenter bias a threat to the validity of measurement?
The measurements may be distorted by the artifact.
Why is the range effect known as a "ceiling effect" a problem for researchers?
The scores are already so high that there is no chance of measuring improvement.
Whenever you "google it" or consult books, people, television, or the Internet to find answers, you use the method of __
authority
requires that the scores obtained from a measurement procedure behave exactly the same as the variable itself. __validity is based on many research studies that use the same measurement procedure and grows gradually as each new study contributes more evidence.
construct validity
is demonstrated by a strong relationship between the scores obtained from two (or more) different methods of measuring the same construct.
convergent validity
___ refer to any of the potential cues or features of a study that (1) suggest to the participants what the purpose and hypothesis is and (2) influence the participants to respond or behave in a certain way.
demand characteristics
is demonstrated by showing little or no relationship between the measurements of two different constructs.
divergent validity
A restaurant chef tried replacing rice with pasta in one of her recipes to see what would happen. Which method of acquiring knowledge is she using?
empiricism
Suppose you are presented with two plates of snack food, and you are asked to sample each and then state your preference. One plate contains regular potato chips and the second contains crispy, brown noodles that taste delicious. Based simply on your experience (taste), you have a strong preference for the noodles. Now suppose that you are told that the "noodles" are actually fried worms. Would you still prefer them to the chips? The problem here is that your sensory experience of good taste (the method of ____) is in conflict with your long-held beliefs that people do not eat worms (method of ___.
empiricism, tenacity
an unscientific form of validity demonstrated when a measurement procedure superficially appears to measure what it claims to measure.
face validity
The method of __ is a variant of the method of authority in which people have unquestioning trust in the authority figure and, therefore, accept information from the authority without doubt or challenge.
faith
A __ setting is a place that the participant or subject perceives as a natural environment.
field
Some databases are __ which means that each record is a complete, word-for-word copy of the original publication. Other databases provide only a brief summary of each publication.
full text
suppose that you taste a green apple and discover that it is sour. A second green apple is also sour and so is the third. Soon, you reach the general conclusion that all green apples are sour. you are using __ reasoning
inductive
two psychologists may watch a group of preschool children and observe social behaviors. Each individual records (measures) what he or she observes, and the degree of agreement between the two observers is called
inter-rater reliability
The two most common examples of __ scales are the Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales. Other examples are altitude (above and below sea level), golf scores (above and below par), and other relative measures, such as above and below average rainfall.
interval
examples of ___ scales are the measures of time in seconds, weight in pounds, and temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
interval and ratio
__scales provide information about differences between individuals, including the direction of the difference (greater than or less than) and the magnitude of the difference. Also, scores from ___scales are compatible with basic arithmetic, which permits more sophisticated analysis and interpretation
interval or ratio
The problem with the method of __ is that it has no mechanism for separating accurate from inaccurate knowledge.
intuition
Which method of acquiring knowledge is being used when people make decisions based on instinct or hunches?
intuition
when asking questions that involves making moral or ethical decisions, we would use the method of __
intuition
when we pick up subtle cues from our friends that they are having a bad day, we are using the method of
intuition
A___ is any setting that is obviously devoted to the discipline of science. It can be any room or any space that the subject or participant perceives as artificial.
laboratory
__scales only allow you to determine whether two scores are the same or different.
nominal
classifying people by race, political affiliation, or occupation would be using a __ scale of measurement
nominal
if you were measuring academic majors for a group of college students, the categories would be art, chemistry, English, history, psychology, and so on. we would use a __ scale of measurement
nominal
The phrase "science is objective" means that scientific answers are ____.
not influenced by researcher bias
consider a baseball umpire judging balls and strikes or a college professor grading student essays. The same pitch could be called a ball once and a strike later in the game, or the same essay could receive an A one semester and a B at a different time. this would be considered __ error
observer
An elementary school teacher separates students into high, medium, and low reading skill groups. What scale of measurement is being used to create the groups?
ordinal
With measurements from an __ scale, we can determine whether two individuals are different, and we can determine the direction of difference.
ordinal
__ scales also allow you to determine whether two scores are the same or different and provide additional information about the direction of the difference. For example, with __ measurements you can determine whether one option is preferred over another.
ordinal
A researcher conducts a study in which 50 college students are assigned to different treatments and tested. In the study, the students are called ____.
participants
Using a PET scan to measure brain activity while participants solve mathematics problems is an example of using what modality of measurement?
physiological
A research study reports that participants who scored high on a new test measuring self-esteem made eye contact during an interview, whereas participants who scored low on the test avoided eye contact. Assuming that more eye contact is associated with higher self-esteem, what kind of validity is being demonstrated?
predictive
You develop a new measure of anxiety and you find that people who score high on your measure show more anxious behavior than people who score low on your measure. You have demonstrated _
predictive validity
when using (science/ pseudoscience) if research demonstrates that a particular therapy is not effective, the proponents of the therapy often claim that the failure was caused by a lack of conviction or skill on the part of the therapist
pseudoscience
A __ researcher studying depression in adolescents would simply talk with adolescents, asking questions and listening to answers, and then prepare a written narrative describing the behaviors and attitudes that had been observed.
qualitative
__research involves careful observation of participants (often including interaction with participants), usually accompanied by extensive note taking. The observations and notes are then summarized in a narrative report that attempts to describe and interpret the phenomenon being studied.
qualitative
a __ researcher would probably develop a test to measure depression for each participant and then compute an average score to describe the amount of depression for different subgroups of adolescents.
quantitative
__refers to the fact that this type of research examines variables that typically vary in quantity (size, magnitude, duration, or amount). Part of the research process involves using different methods for measuring variables to determine how much, how big, or how strong they are
quantitative research
After measuring a set of individuals, a researcher finds that Bob's score is three times greater than Jane's score. What scale of measurement is being used?
ratio
__ scales are quite common and include physical measures, such as height and weight, as well as variables, such as reaction time or number of errors on a test.
ratio
Last year Tim and his friend Jack were both too short to ride the roller coaster. Jack went to the park this year and was tall enough to ride. Tim knows that he is taller than Jack, so he knows that he will be able to ride the roller coaster as well. Which method of knowing is Tim using?
rational
__occurs when participants modify their natural behavior in response to the fact that they are participating in a research study or the knowledge that they are being measured.
reactivity
if we use an IQ test to measure a person's intelligence today, then use the same test for the same person under similar conditions next week, we should obtain nearly identical IQ scores. the IQ test would then be considered __
reliable
A researcher conducts a study in which 50 college students are assigned to different treatments and tested. In the study, the students are called
research participants
Your PsycINFO search has yielded several hundred articles. The most efficient next step is to _
scan through the titles to see which ones seem most suited to your interests
A distinction between science and pseudoscience is that ____.
science is based on hypotheses that are testable and refutable
A __system for teaching communication skills to autistic children is based on established theories of learning and uses principles that have solid empirical support.
scientific
a carefully developed system for asking and answering questions so that the answers we discover are as accurate as possible.
scientific method
the authors of the swearing study observed (themselves or others) swearing in response to pain. Based on their observations, they began to wonder whether swearing has any effect on the experience of pain. they were using observation for the
scientific method
A __ source is a description or summary of another person's work. it is written by someone who did not participate in the research or observations being discussed.
secondary
Using an anonymous questionnaire to determine how many times students send or receive text messages during class is an example of using what modality of measurement?
self report
When using PsycINFO for a literature search, it is most common to enter a(n) ____ into the database.
subject word
the problem with the method of __ is that information that is believed could be wrong or inaccurate in the first place
tenacity
things like "opposites attract" , repeating slogans like "im loving it", sayings such as "breaking a mirror will give 7 years of bad luck" are examples of the method of __
tenacity
What is demonstrated by showing that the test scores measured today for a group of individuals are nearly identical to the scores obtained with the same measurement procedure last week?
test-retest reliability
Using a sports star to sell clothing in a television commercial relies upon which nonscientific method of acquiring knowledge?
the method of authority
A young child believing everything that her kindergarten teacher says to be true is an example of ____.
the method of faith
__ are a set of statements about the mechanisms underlying a particular behavior. They help organize and unify different observations of the behavior and its relationship with other variables.
theories
How do quantitative research and qualitative research differ?
they generate different types of data
Which is usually the initial factor for determining whether a specific article is relevant to your research question?
title
the weather, the economy, and your state of health can change from day to day. Also, two people can be different in terms of personality, intelligence, age, gender, self-esteem, height, weight, and so on. these are examples of
variables
