Exam 2: Using Research to Understand Children and Adolescents

Teachers and other adults can learn a great deal about children and adolescents simply by observing them. Three of the following strategies should improve the quality of practitioners' observations of young people. Which one is not necessarily recommended?

Experimental research requires only one of the following. Which one is an essential component of an experimental study?

Imagine that a researcher finds that, on average, students who weigh more are better athletes. Which one of the following is an appropriate conclusion from this information?

Three of the following statements describe ethical practices in developmental research. Which one does not?

Which of the following is not part of the four steps identified in conducting action research?

In developmental research, the sample is:

Which one of the following statements best describes a quasi-experimental study?

John Nathan, who grew up in a relatively affluent family and attended private schools, has just accepted a job in a public middle school in a low-income school district. Realizing that his own experiences may not have prepared him to be successful in this setting, John decides to spend time in the neighborhood observing young adolescents as they go about their lives: playing sports, running errands, and just hanging out. He discovers that these youngsters are in some ways very different from, and yet in other ways very similar to, the kids with whom he grew up. John's inquiry most closely resembles which one of the following?

Three of the following are important considerations when reading about and evaluating developmental research. Which one is least important?

Which of the following situations does not need written consent from the participants and their families?

A researcher wants to know how children's career aspirations change as they grow older. He asks a group of third graders, "What do you think you might want to be when you grow up?" Every year until they graduate from high school, the researcher contacts these same students and once again asks them about their career plans. The researcher's investigation is an example of a(n):

Which one of the following best describes a correlational study?

Ms. Rodriguez notices that a large percentage of her students' spelling test scores are low. She wonders if a new individualized spelling approach will improve her second graders' spelling skills. She decides to use a differentiated spelling program that a colleague has shared with her and implements it during the second nine weeks of school. She keeps a record of her students' spelling test scores and talks with each student about their thoughts about the new spelling program. At the end of the nine weeks, she compares the spelling scores of the second nine weeks with the spelling scores of the first nine weeks. She finds that all of the students' scores have increased. She also sees from her conversations with her students that they enjoy the differentiated program and think that they are learning to spell better. She decides to continue the differentiated spelling program for the third nine weeks. What practice is Ms. Rodriguez using?

Three of the following are important ethical guidelines that teachers and other practitioners should keep in mind when conducting research with children or adolescents. Which one is not recommended?

When drawing conclusion about a child's behavior, which practice is not recommended?

Which one of the following statements best describes a naturalistic study?

Developmental researchers need to be sure that any data collection method they use is actually assessing what it is supposed to assess. In other words, researchers need to be concerned about the _______ of their data-collection techniques.