Deck 12: Evaluation Research

Question 1

Producers of TV shows that depict violence often ignore the studies that indicate that children who watch violence are more likely to be aggressive,have fewer friends,and have poorer relationships with their parents than children who do not watch violent shows.The producers of the violent TV shows probably ignore the research because:

A)they did not understand the researcher.
B)the findings contradict deeply held beliefs.
C)the findings conflict with the producers' vested interests.
D)of logistical problems.
E)of administrative control interferes.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A potential shortcoming of using computer simulation in the field of social indicators research is:

A)it will eliminate the need for external researchers,eliminating important jobs.
B)people are unpredictable,and thus the results of simulations are not necessarily guaranteed.
C)the cost of a computer capable of running simulations is extremely high.
D)it can only be used for physical,not social variables.
E)it can save organizations significant costs.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following topics would be appropriate for evaluation research?

A)Examining whether fee reductions at the local swimming pool increases pool use.
B)Examining whether women who get mammograms detect breast cancer earlier than women who do not.
C)Examining whether changes in speed limits influence traffic fatalities.
D)Examining whether the use of mediation in divorces results in "fairer" settlements.
E)All of these choices are appropriate topics for evaluation research.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Although some research indicates that the depiction of violence on TV has no effect on children,many parents still screen their children's TV selections to prevent the selection of violent programs.From a methodologist's perspective,parents probably ignore the implication of this research because:

A)they may not be interested in the research.
B)the research may be unreliable.
C)logistical problems enter.
D)administrative control interferes.
E)they may not understand the research and/or the research may contradict deeply held beliefs.

Question 5

A friend of yours was asked to evaluate the effect of an advertisement campaign designed to get people to have their blood pressure checked.After examining the records kept in the target area,your friend showed you the following graph where X indicates an observation. What will you tell your friend?

A)The ad campaign is producing the intended effect.
B)The independent variable,the campaign,is affecting the dependent variable,the percent having their blood pressure checked.
C)More observations are needed to determine whether the independent variable is having the intended effect.
D)The ad campaign has no effect.
E)The ad campaign is producing the intended effect and the independent variable,the campaign,is influencing the dependent variable,the percent having their blood pressure checked.

Question 6

Which of the following is(are)FALSE regarding time-series designs?

A)They enable detection of whether a process of maturation could be at work.
B)Regular fluctuations that occur apart from the experimental stimulus can be identified.
C)They protect against the possible influence of some extraneous factor.
D)They involve multiple observations at different points in time.
E)All of these choices are false.

Question 7

Creating new measures for variables in evaluation research has the advantage of:

A)greater possible relevance and validity to the study.
B)known degrees of reliability and validity.
C)greater possible reliability to the study.
D)being less time-consuming than using an already devised measure.
E)more precision.

Question 8

When performing evaluation research,creating one's own measure of a variable has all but which of the following benefits?

A)Greater relevance to project
B)Increased validity
C)Saves time and resources
D)Allows unresearched variables to be measured
E)Can be perfectly tailored to your project

Question 9

Which of the following would NOT be appropriate for measurement in evaluation research?

A)Dependent variable(s)
B)The experimental context
C)The outcome(s)of the experiment
D)The independent variable(s)
E)All of these choices should be measured

Question 10

In a study that examined whether the use of mediation in divorces resulted in "fairer" settlements,the intervention is

A)the use of mediation.
B)the "fairer" settlement.
C)the actual divorce.
D)the judge's decision.
E)the courtroom.

Question 11

If gun control legislation was passed to reduce the number of homicides,which of the following graphs would be most likely to convince you that the legislation was producing the intended effect? Note that in all graphs the horizontal axis (x axis)is time and the vertical axis (y axis)is number of homicides.The dot- indicates an observation.

A)
B)
C)
D)
E)All of these choices show that gun control legislation reduces homicides.

Question 12

Pregnant women planning to deliver their baby in hospital A were given a poison control test.After the delivery of their baby,the new moms attended a two hour training session on poison control.One week later,at the baby's one-week check-up exam,the new moms retook the poison control test.Located in the same city,pregnant women planning to deliver their baby in hospital B were given a poison control test.One week later,at the baby's one-week check-up exam,these new moms retook the poison control test.What design is being used?

A)Pretest-posttest control group
B)Time-series
C)Nonequivalent control group
D)Cross-sectional design
E)Multiple time-series

Question 13

Professor Henley is interested in comparing the use of the legal system in different countries.Henley examines the number of arrests per 1,000 population,the number of jury trials per 1,000 court cases,the number of lawyers per capita,and the number of people incarcerated per 1,000 population.Henley is doing

A)social indicator research.
B)cost/benefit analysis.
C)time-series designs.
D)computer simulations.
E)intervention analysis.

Question 14

The denominator in a per capita rate is:

A)1,000.
B)the size of the population.
C)the size of the sample.
D)the GNP.
E)the number of households in the population.

Question 15

You are conducting a study of how effective a midnight basketball program is on reducing inner city juvenile crime.You measure the number of crimes reported to the police before and after the program is instituted,and you compare your findings to the crime rates in another city of similar size that does not have such a program.What is the experimental stimulus of your research?

A)The crime rate in the city without the basketball program
B)The crime rate in the city with the midnight basketball program
C)The number of kids who take part in the program
D)The midnight basketball program
E)The crime rate after the program was instituted

Question 16

You examined the IQ scores of children at several high schools.You finally select two high schools where the children appear similar in terms of IQ scores,family income,family religion,and the like.You match two classes from each grade (9 to 12)from each high school.In one high school you plan to offer a course on study skills in the selected classes and in the other high school you plan to have students follow their "normal" curriculum.After obtaining permission from the principals,parents,and children to do your research,you arrive at the first school to begin the study skills class.You find that the classes you had selected are on field trips and that the principal assigned a different class at the same grade level to you.This illustrates the problem(s)of:

A)logistics only.
B)administrative control only.
C)ethics only.
D)logistics,administrative control,and ethics.
E)logistics and administrative control only.

Question 17

Social indicators research combines:

A)evaluation research with interviewing.
B)evaluation research with the analysis of existing data.
C)the analysis of existing data with questionnaires.
D)the analysis of existing data with the comparative/historical approach.
E)evaluation research with the comparative/historical approach.

Question 18

A new law has been enacted increasing the penalty for drunk driving in order to reduce the number of alcohol related traffic fatalities.The number of fatalities one year before and after the law was enacted is measured,as well as a count of the number of high profile accidents.The experimental stimulus in this project would be:

A)the new law.
B)the rate of traffic fatalities before the law began.
C)the number of traffic fatalities after the law was enacted.
D)the number of arrests for driving under the influence after the law began.
E)the number of high profile traffic accidents.

Question 19

The national speed limit in the United States was reduced to 55 mph in 1974.Proponents and critics of this legislation have looked at the number of traffic fatalities on major U.S.highways for the years preceding and following this legislation.Sonny examined the traffic fatalities on each of the major U.S.highways for every year from 1968 to 2005.Sonny used a:

A)pretest-posttest one-group design.
B)time-series design.
C)multiple time-series design.
D)nonequivalent control group design.
E)one-shot case study.

Question 20

You are conducting a study of how effective a midnight basketball program is on reducing inner city juvenile crime.You measure the number of crimes reported to the police before and after the program is instituted,and you compare your findings to the crime rates in another city of similar size that does not have such a program.What sort of evaluation design are you using?

A)The time-series
B)The multiple time-series
C)The nonequivalent control group design
D)The posttest-only control group design
E)The one-shot case study

Question 21

Rebecca was hired to determine what types of recreational programs teenagers wanted and would use in the town of Methods,U.S.A.Rebecca was hired to conduct a:

A)cost-benefit study.
B)monitoring study.
C)needs assessment study.
D)time-series study.
E)all of these choices are correct.

Question 22

When a control group is not feasible for practical or ethical purposes,the use of a non-equivalent control group can be beneficial.

Question 23

As programs are refined,eventually computer simulation will reduce cost because significant problems can be modeled before a program is put in place.

Question 24

Applied research is a form of evaluation research.

Question 25

Intersocietal comparisons are facilitated by calculating per capita rates.

Question 26

Social indicators research often uses existing statistics.

Question 27

Another name for the experimental stimulus in evaluation research is program intervention.

Question 28

Computer simulation has mostly removed the need to conduct actual evaluation research.

Question 29

In reality,only quasi-experimental designs can be used in evaluation research.

Question 30

Quantitative evaluations can yield only quantitative results.

Question 31

Evaluation research refers to a research purpose rather than a specific research method.

Question 32

Evaluation research,because it occurs within real life,has special problems.What are some of these problems?

Question 33

Evaluation research as a scientific undertaking is a matter of finding out whether something happened or didn't happen.

Question 34

You never want to use existing measurements when conducting evaluation research.

Question 35

Computer simulations are based on mathematical equations describing the relationships that link variables.

Question 36

What is meant by social indicators research? Give an outline of an original study showing how this type of research would be used.

Question 37

Which of the following statements about the Sabido methodology is FALSE?

A)The methodology has used television shows to promote literacy and family planning.
B)The methodology pays attention to the kinds of characters portrayed in TV shows.
C)The methodology can be used to evaluate social programs.
D)The methodology is not used to construct or develop social programs.
E)All of these statements are TRUE.

Question 38

For the last 15 years Jenny tracked the divorce and marriage rates in the United States.Jenny is doing a:

A)monitoring study.
B)needs assessment study.
C)cost-benefit analysis.
D)logistical study.
E)none of these choices is correct.

Question 39

Ultimately,the criteria of success and failure is a mathematical formula.

Question 40

Operationalization is not necessary in evaluation research.

Question 41

What are the potential benefits of implementing computer simulation and modeling to evaluation research? What are the potential problems with using it?

Question 42

Why might the lack of use of research findings be frustrating for the evaluation researcher?