Deck 10: Experiments: Researching Cause and Effect

Question 1

An experimental design testing the hypothesis that group A will score higher on a measure than group B would use a ______ test to test for differences between the two groups.

A) zero-tailed
B) one-tailed
C) two-tailed
D) three-tailed

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The most sophisticated experimental designs include all EXCEPT ______.

A) manipulation of a variable
B) random assignment
C) control group
D) basic experimental design

Answer 2

D

Question 3

We can reduce or eliminate the influence of possibly relevant variables in an experiment by ______.

A) conducting interviews with participants
B) observing participants closely
C) randomly assigning participants to each experimental group
D) repeating the experiment

Answer 3

C

Question 4

To be satisfied that X does cause Y, which of the following does not need to happen?

A) X must precede Y in time.
B) X and Y must vary together.
C) Y must demonstrably be caused by X and not by something else.
D) Y must precede X in time.

Question 5

Which of the following experimental designs has a control group?

A) field experiment
B) ex post facto design c one-group pretest, posttest design
D) two-group pretest, posttest design

Question 6

Which one of the following is common to all experimental designs?

A) sophisticated statistical analysis
B) doing something to see what happens as a result
C) interviewing participants
D) replicating real-world conditions

Question 7

Which of the following is a threat to internal validity?

A) ecological isomorphism
B) spurious relationships
C) sample sizes
D) chi-square

Question 8

In experimental design, attrition refers to ______.

A) people leaving a study
B) people changing over time
C) a treatment effect spreading from group to group
D) a treatment having less and less effect

Question 9

The term "ecological isomorphism" refers to the extent to which the ______.

A) people in the experiment are similar
B) researcher engages in environmentally sound experimental practices
C) experimental conditions replicate real-life conditions
D) experiment's results match results from real life

Question 10

Random assignment of individuals into experimental groups ______ the experiment's level of sophistication.

A) randomizes
B) improves
C) reduces
D) has no effect on

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a threat to internal validity?

A) ecological isomorphism
B) spurious relationships
C) selection bias
D) attrition

Question 12

Which of the following is a threat to external validity?

A) the experimental situation
B) spurious relationships
C) attrition
D) chi-square

Question 13

Good experimental design does not require ______.

A) random assignment
B) a control group
C) a pretest
D) nonprobability sampling

Question 14

A problem with experimental designs can be ______.

A) finding a sufficient number of people to participate
B) reliability of the experimental measures
C) lack of statistical analysis software
D) ex post facto design

Question 15

Which of the following approaches is best suited to assess whether there are causal relationships among variables?

A) focus groups
B) surveys
C) experiments
D) content analysis

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a threat to external validity?

A) the experimental situation
B) the Hawthorne effect
C) operationalization of constructs
D) attrition

Question 17

In experimental design, diffusion refers to ______.

A) people leaving a study
B) people changing over time
C) a treatment effect spreading from group to group
D) a treatment having less and less effect

Question 18

Experimental designs that manipulate three or more variables are referred to as ______.

A) bivariate designs
B) monovariate designs
C) factorial designs
D) manipulated designs

Question 19

Which of the following is the most sophisticated experimental design?

A) ex post facto
B) ad hoc
C) Solomon Four-Group
D) pretest posttest
E) random assignment

Question 20

A two-by-two experimental design with 10 people per experimental condition would require ______ participants.

A) 20
B) 40
C) 60
D) 80

Question 21

What is the reason online experiments have been slower to gain popularity when compared to online surveys?

A) Experimental design often requires that participants don't do more than responding to questions.
B) Experimental design often requires that participants do something more active than responding to questions.
C) It is much easier logistically to do experiments online as opposed to surveys.
D) Online experiments are cheaper but take less time.

Question 22

The focus of internal validity is on experimental design.

Question 23

The focus of external validity is on whether the experiment has captured the external world the researcher is investigating.

Question 24

Experimental settings are not a threat to external validity because they reflect external reality.

Question 25

In asking about the validity of an experiment, a researcher is asking whether the experiment captured the concepts the researcher intended to capture.

Question 26

Experimenter bias is a threat to internal validity stemming from the experimenter's own judgments.

Question 27

A spurious relationship occurs where a relationship between variables has been found but is actually explained by another variable the researcher was not focused on.

Question 28

Manipulation checks provide a check on whether research participants interpreted experimental conditions as the researcher intended.

Question 29

To determine causation, the dependent variable must be caused by the independent variable.

Question 30

Attrition occurs when people return repeatedly to a study.

Question 31

The goal of experimental design is to determine correlations.

Question 32

Repeated testing can be a threat to internal validity as group participants become more and more familiar with a test.

Question 33

What is one way to reduce the number of dropouts in online experiments?

A) Use the most sophisticated technology you can find.
B) Avoid gaming features.
C) Be vague in instructions so respondents read further.
D) Put barriers such as instructions and practice tasks up front.

Question 34

The Hawthorne effect refers to increases in worker productivity explained by workers apparently interpreting research by management as management taking an interest in them.

Question 35

A problem with the one-group pretest-posttest design is many other variables might be playing a part.

Question 36

In experimental research, diffusion means that a treatment effect spreads from group to group.

Question 37

Selection bias occurs when experimental groups are not comparable.

Question 38

Control, for the purpose of experimental design, limits the movement of participants.

Question 39

Control groups are not exposed to the experimental variable(s).

Question 40

In experimental research, maturation means that people change over time.

Question 41

Explain, with examples, the difference between internal and external validity in experimental design.

Question 42

Explain, with examples, the concepts of attrition, maturation, and diffusion.

Question 43

Explain, with examples, the concept of "control" in experimental design.

Question 44

A within-subject design is one in which participants are exposed to more than one experimental condition.

Question 45

Random assignment assumes the probability of something occurring in one group is the same as the probability of it occurring in another group.

Question 46

Explain, with examples, the idea of spurious relationships.

Question 47

Selection bias occurs when experimental groups are comparable.

Question 48

The biggest test of external validity is the ability to generalize to a broader population.

Question 49

Experimenter bias can be reduced by using online experiments.

Question 50

Diffusion helps ensure internal validity.

Question 51

Explain the concept of random assignment in experimental design and why it is important.

Question 52

Maturation, for the purpose of experimental design, means that people mostly stay the same over time.

Question 53

To date, the Internet has been used to host surveys far more than experiments.

Question 54

Spurious relationships are when the relationship between variables has been found and it is the relationship the researcher is seeking.

Question 55

List at least one advantage and one disadvantage of online experiments.

Question 56

Identify and explain the conditions that need to be met before we can confidently state that changes in variable A cause changes in variable B.

Question 57

Attrition occurs when people slowly leave a study.

Question 58

Which of the two research methods-surveys and experiments-is best situated to answer questions of causality? Explain why.

Question 59

A within-subject design is one in which each person participates under one set of conditions.

Question 60

Factorial designs are experimental studies that manipulate two or more variables.

Question 61

"You must have a specific hypothesis before you can design an experiment." Support or refute that statement.