Exam 2: Using Research to Understand Children and Adolescents

A researcher wants to know if children's attitudes about cheating at school change as they get older. To find out, the researcher gives a questionnaire about cheating to 100 fourth graders, 100 seventh graders, and 100 tenth graders. Which one of the following research designs does this study best reflect?

If we say that a particular data collection method has high reliability, we mean that it:

Which one of the following is the best example of action research?

Mr. Patton makes a practice of writing short descriptions of his students' significant actions and statements. He usually writes these brief notes at the end of each day. Then, when he conferences with his students' families, he refers to these descriptions to share with the families. Which of the following is Mr. Patton most likely using?

Which one of the following conclusions can be firmly drawn only from an experimental study?

Implications in Late Adolescence: The researcher realizes that any single physiological measure should be confirmed with other data. If the immaturity is confirmed, it may be age typical and would not mean that Melinda should be excluded from activities that require judgment and restraint.

Developmental researchers sometimes conduct interviews to learn more about children or adolescents. Three of the following are accurate statements about interviews. Which one is inaccurate?

A school nurse wants to know if children's knowledge about nutrition increases over the course of the elementary years. To find out, she gives a test about nutrition to students in the first, third, and fifth grades. She then compares the test scores for the three grade levels. Which one of the following research designs does the nurse's study best reflect?

Dr. Kim has noticed that many 4-year-olds are very kind and caring toward their younger siblings. She wants to find out if 4-year-olds who are especially kind at home are equally kind and caring with their preschool classmates. Which data collection technique would be most useful for this purpose?

Before beginning a unit on astronomy, a seventh-grade science teacher gives students a brief pre-test designed to identify misconceptions they might have about the solar system, asteroids, black holes, and so on. When looking at the students' responses, the teachers should keep in mind three of the following weaknesses of paper-pencil tests. Which point is not necessarily accurate about paper-pencil tests?

You read in a professional magazine that the correlation between children's anxiety levels and their general effectiveness in social situations is -.30. You should conclude that:

A researcher has conducted a study with 150 students in a school district to examine the students' attitudes concerning the use of technology in the classroom. Which instrument was the most likely one used by this researcher?

A number of test items unfairly penalize some individuals because of their language. Which of the following is the term for this unfair penalty?

Implications in Infancy: The researcher realizes that the task may not be a valid measure of the infant's knowledge of object names. The researcher needs to observe the infant on other occasions, particularly when the infant is interacting with a familiar caregiver.

Which of the following is not a recommended guideline for ethical practice by teacher researchers?

Dr. Fitz wants to know which of three health programs is most effective in promoting children's physical well-being. With the consent of both the children and their parents, children who regularly attend a community center are randomly assigned to one of three 8-week programs. After the programs have ended, Dr. Fitz assesses the children's general physical well being. Dr. Fitz's study can best be classified as which one of the following?

You read a research article about abstract thinking and academic achievement in a professional journal. The researchers report a correlation of +.65 between the amount of abstract thought students demonstrate and the grade-point-averages they earn. You should conclude that:

A researcher asks a group of 10-year-olds how many hours a week they watch television and what kinds of programs they typically watch. The researcher also gives the children a questionnaire designed to assess their beliefs about gender stereotypes-that is, about what behaviors they believe are "appropriate" for males and females. The researcher then analyzes the data to see if children who have very traditional gender stereotypes (e.g., men are strong and independent, women are weak and dependent) are related to certain television viewing preferences. Which one of the following research designs is the researcher using?

A first-time researcher wants to determine whether a new approach to teaching preschool is more effective than older, more traditional approaches. She is thinking that she might use one or more tests as a way of assessing the effectiveness of the new approach. As she reads about the benefits and disadvantages of tests as a means of collecting data, the researcher is most likely to discover that tests:

In a longitudinal study, a researcher: