Exam 9: Nonexperimental Research

Suppose a friend of yours wanted to use a median split before conducting his or her analyses. What would you say to this friend? What issues would you urge him or her to consider?

In structural equation modeling, recursive models refer to _____(a)_____, and nonrecursive models refer to _____(b)_____.

In terms of nonexperimental methods, what is meant by the equation: Error = 1 - r² ? In your response, be sure to describe each element of the equation, why error would be computed by subtracting r² from 1, and what the "error" in this equation refers to.

What are some research questions that might be best answered through the use of multi-level modeling?

In a multilevel modeling design investigating the effects of geographic location, political orientation, and whether respondents attended public or private high schools, on attitudes toward proposed environmental regulations, the observed ICC (i.e., intraclass correlation) was .95. This value suggests that:

Why does generalizing a multiple regression equation to another sample tend to produce a lower R² in the second sample?

If a Pearson's product moment correlation is obtained between two measures with Cohen's coefficient alpha values of 0.30 and 0.40, then it is likely that:

In nonexperimental methods, which of the following designs allows the simultaneous testing of multiple predictor variables on multiple criterion variables? (circle all that apply)

In structural equation modeling, the path between two latent factors possesses which of the following characteristics? (circle all that apply)

Jesse and Hank investigated the relationships between the geographic region in which respondents lived, respondents' attitudes toward public school, and their willingness to break rules to help others, what Jesse and Hank deem the "robin hood effect." They found that in a multiple regression, with geographic region and public school attitudes as the predictors and willingness to break rules to help others as the criterion, the partial correlation between geographic location and willingness to break rules was 0.00 after controlling for public school attitudes. Conversely, after controlling for location, the partial correlation between public school attitudes and willingness to break rules was 0.50! Considering what we know about nonexperimental methods and the potential effects of error, which of the following statements is NOT a probable explanation for the observed patterns of partial correlations?

Which of the following statistical analyses can be used to determine experimental causality? (circle all that apply; if you choose e or f, just circle e or

A multilevel modeling design recruited people who had lived in the same city their entire lives, and investigated the effects of geographic location, political orientation, number of children, and whether respondents attended the local public or private high school (there were only two in each town), on attitudes toward proposed environmental regulations. In this example, number of children is likely a _____(a)_____ predictor of attitudes, and geographic location is likely a _____(b)_____ predictor of attitudes.

Researchers wanted to investigate the relationships between the number of years of school completed, whether students have had primarily male, female, or equal proportions of male and female teachers, and academic aptitude. To encompass as representative a sample as possible, researchers recruited all 6th, 9th, and 12th grade cohorts from each of 150 schools around the country. Using multilevel modeling, the researchers wanted to test the effects of number of years in school and teachers' gender on scholastic aptitude of individual students. How many levels would be present in this design? In your response, be sure to identify each nested level, and provide a brief explanation for why each level would be appropriate. Feel free to provide a diagram if it helps illustrate your response; however, do not substitute a diagram for your explanations. *note to instructor: do not include this item and item 10 from the multiple choice section in the same exam

A correlational relationship between any two variables (A and

A study interested in gender differences in how men and women experience a treatment vs. a control would be an example of a __________. If the treatment instead was a scale assessing emotional intelligence, the study would be an example of a ____________.

Researchers wanted to investigate how the type of town or city in which people lived (e.g., rural area, large town, suburb, metropolis), the type of residence (i.e., single-family homes or apartment complexes), number of children, attitudes about civic engagement, and religiosity (i.e., how involved people are with their religion), predicted people's voting behavior. You recommended they use multilevel modeling to test the relationships among these variables - (a) explain why and how this was the right or wrong choice. What considerations should go into deciding what nonexperimental design to use? (b) Regardless of whether it was the correct or incorrect choice, outline how these variables would be organized in a hierarchical linear model, and explain why data would be organized in this way. After data were collected, the researchers changed their mind and analyzed this model using multiple regression. (c) Explain what sort of information would be lost, or why it would be inappropriate, to use multiple regression in this example.