Research methods exam 1 review
A researcher predicts that there will be no significant relationship between attitude scores and grade point average. This is an example of what?
A research hypothesis
A thesis was submitted with the title "A study comparing the achievement of sixth-grade students in Moscow, Idaho, instructed in health education through closed-circuit television and regular classroom procedure for a period of 16 weeks." This title A. fails to identify the broad area of research B. is likely to be indexed improperly C. is too long D. does not tell what the study has done
C. is too long
Why is the null hypothesis important?
Eliminates potential bias
What is a type 2 error?
False negative, fail to reject the null even though it's false
What is a type 1 error?
False positive, reject the null when it's actually true
A researcher wishes to determine the effects of an outdoor adventure summer camp on the self-concept of inner-city boys. Boys are randomly assigned to the summer camp and to a control situation. The experimental treatment is for three months. A secondary purpose is to see if age (ages 6, 9, and 12) affects the relationship of the camp effects and self-concept. What is the independent variable? Dependent variable?
Independent: summer camp, control situation, age, gender Dependent: self concept
What is the IRB?
Institutional Review Board
When a researcher rejects H0 when H0 is false, she has made what type of error?
No error. The null is false, so it is to be rejected.
What is informed consent?
Permission granted with the knowledge of the possible risk and outcome of a procedure
What is empirical research?
Research based on information that can be verified by using our direct experience
What is basic research
Research done to increase knowledge
Well-designed sampling methods are most important for obtaining what type of results?
Valid results
The probability that a specific result will occur strictly as a result of chance is called what?
alpha
References to journal articles should include
author, date, article title, journal name, volume, inclusive pages, doi
Randomly assigned subjects to treatments or exposures are known as
between subjects
What is the only type of research that can manipulate and establish a cause and effect?
experimental
Findings are said to be statistically significant when there is a ______ probability that differences among treatment groups were caused by chance.
low
The introduction to a research report should
move from a general description of the theoretical problem to the specific area to be studied
p > .05 means
no significance
Recognizing that grade point average may not completely reflect success in school is an example of a
null hypothesis or limitation
Why is it desirable to carry out a pilot study prior to the actual research study?
permits a thorough check of the planned data collection and analysis procedures
What is a research hypothesis?
prediction of the outcome of a study
In which part of the methods section should you expect to find information about when the participants were tested
procedures
The part of the methods section of the research paper that describes the activities of each treatment group is titled
procedures
Researchers set small alpha levels because they want to avoid what type of errors?
rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true
What is applied research
research done to solve a specific problem
Which sources would make a good beginning point in literature search
secondary sources and literature reviews
What is a null hypothesis?
states that two variables are not related
What is internal validity
the degree to which data in a study reflect a true cause-effect relationship.
What is external validity?
the degree to which the investigator can extend or generalize a study's results to other subjects and situations.
What is plagiarism?
the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.
At the end of a well-written introduction, the reader should be able to predict what?
the problem or the purpose of study
When a person concludes that there is a difference between population means when she has actually observed an improbable difference between two sample means that come from identical populations, she has made what type of error?
type 1 error
Which of the following is most important to an evaluator: reliability objectivity, validity?
validity
In a study designed to assess the comparative effectiveness of two workbooks used in teaching students about laboratory procedures. What is the independent variable? Dependent variable?
workbooks, comparative effectiveness
