Exam 2: Research Methods in Psychology

Looking for the prevalence of good people in the world is an example of non-scientific question.

Random allocation:

Dr Phen is conducting a study of happiness among employees who work in various types of jobs. He surveys people about the type of work they do and measures how happy they are. He finds that individuals who have white-collar occupations report higher levels of happiness than people who have blue-collar occupations. What should Dr Phen conclude about the results of this correlational study?

What are the independent variables in this experiment?

A paper that has been published on a renowned journal is a sufficient proof that the study is flawless.

What is the meaning of the expression 'nullius in verba', the motto of the Royal Society of London?

__________ allows to create two groups of participants that are not consistently different from one another.

Dr Murphy is investigating the effect of caffeine on students' performance on a memory task. She randomly allocates 200 university students into two groups. She asks Group A to drink 30ml of black coffee 30 minutes before the memory task, whilst Group B is asked to drink 30ml of water instead. Group B is:

Which of the following statements regarding observational methods is INACCUARTE?

Describe the main differences between longitudinal and cross-sectional designs.

________ is a technique that helps researchers ensure their sample is representative of the population.

Dr Foster is studying whether a change in oxygen levels delivered to patients with anxiety disorder can increase the likelihood of experiencing panic-attack-like symptoms. 'Oxygen levels' is:

Discuss the following statement as reported in your textbook: "Statistical analyses in psychology are likely to change radically in the next few years, with a shift in focus from how likely results are to how sizeable and replicable they are."

What is referred to as the 'file-drawer problem' in scientific research?

Observational methods allow to collect:

Experiments have high ecological validity as they show people's natural behaviour.

Cohort effects are a common risk in longitudinal studies.

__________ assessment allows real-time measurements of behaviour either periodically (__________ technique) or whenever they are required (__________ technique).

__________ designs are more sensitive than independent measures designs but they are prone to __________ effects.

Name at least four weaknesses of qualitative research methods