Deck 9: Procedure for Conducting an Experiment

Question 1

How might you solicit individuals for a study via the Internet?

A) contact an organization or association and ask for their members email address
B) purchase email address from a commercial organization such as a white pages services
C) post a study or survey on a Web site that specializes in advertising such opportunities
D) all of the above are potential ways of soliciting participants

Answer 1

D

Question 2

When conducting research with human and non-human participants, the experimenter must obtain approval of the research plan from and , respectively.

A) department chair; IACUC
B) IACUC; IRB
C) IRB; department chair
D) IRB; IACUC

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A "participant pool" is

A) a collection of former research participants that have expressed a willingness to conduct future studies.
B) a group of individuals that have completed a pilot study and are therefore no longer naïve to the researcher's hypothesis.
C) a group of potential research participants usually college students).
D) a place where participants can swim and cool off after their arduous research participation.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The primary concern of the Institutional Review Board IRB) is to

A) improve the internal validity of the research design.
B) insure the ethical treatment of nonhuman animals in research.
C) protect the welfare of human participants.
D) insure that research proposals contain no risk to the participants.

Question 5

If an IRB refuses to approve a study the researcher

A) must abide by their ruling and either redesign the study or not conduct it.
B) has the option to appeal to the national IRB committee.
C) can still conduct the study but has greater liability if something goes wrong.
D) must appear before the board to answer questions about his or her research design.

Question 6

Reporting of details regarding participant characteristics, selection, and assignment procedures

A) violates conditions of anonymity and is therefore considered unethical.
B) is important to enable other researchers to replicate your findings.
C) is considered superfluous and unnecessary given space limitations in most journals.
D) is not important.

Question 7

One problem, noted in your text, with recruiting research participants through the Internet is that

A) the participants may not be representative of non-Internet users.
B) it is difficult to find diverse samples.
C) contacting potential participants is difficult.
D) most researchers are not "net savvy."

Question 8

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee IACUC) judges which of the following?

A) whether the researcher has chosen the appropriate species of animal to answer his or her question
B) the number of animals that should be used to maintain a reasonable amount of power
C) whether methods of euthanasia are in accordance with accepted procedures
D) insures that no animals are used in research

Question 9

Even though psychologists are interested in behavioral diversity, most participants in psychological experiments are

A) cats and dogs.
B) animals and introductory psychology students.
C) rats and pigeons.
D) farm animals.

Question 10

What should be the main determinant of what kind of organism is used in a given experiment?

A) availability
B) precedent; what others in the field use
C) cost
D) the type of research problem

Question 11

According to research by Kimmel 1991), IRB decisions seem to be partially dependent on

A) the size of the university larger universities tend to have lower approval rates).
B) gender male reviewers are more likely to approve studies).
C) time of day more studies are approved in the morning).
D) age younger reviewers tend to be more lenient).

Question 12

As sample size increases,

A) research becomes less valid.
B) the ability to detect statistically significant differences among groups.
C) average scores on the dependent variable increase
D) scores on the independent variable decrease

Question 13

Whether or not your research project is reviewed by IACUC or IRB, the result includes research that must be followed with participants such as non-human animals or human participants.

A) protocols
B) ideas
C) questions
D) powers

Question 14

When selecting participants from a population, experimenters need

A) to be concerned about differences between volunteers and nonvolunteers.
B) not worry about random selection with children
C) not worry about representativeness if a large sample size is used.
D) all of the above.

Question 15

If human participants cannot be selected randomly,

A) then select with a conscious bias and keep that in mind when interpreting data.
B) then use non-human participants so you can get them at your convenience.
C) it is imperative to match participants to each other individual matching).
D) it becomes more important to report exactly how participants were selected and assigned.

Question 16

Participants in human experiments are generally selected

A) at random from the population.
B) based on convenience and availability.
C) through lotteries and newspaper ads.
D) from phone books or class rosters.

Question 17

Other than humans, the most common research participants are

A) rhesus monkeys
B) house cats
C) albino rats
D) fruit flies

Question 18

One source of research participants that has been used with increasing frequency over the past decade is

A) students enrolled in the first course in biology.
B) monkeys.
C) the Internet.
D) elementary and secondary schools.

Question 19

The most common criticism regarding the use of college student participant pools is that

A) students are coerced into participating in research.
B) it may compromise internal validity.
C) it may compromise external validity.
D) it may introduce a confounding variable.

Question 20

Psychology participant pools provide a sample.

A) convenient
B) simple random
C) stratified
D) cluster

Question 21

Effect size is the

A) magnitude of alpha and power combined.
B) magnitude of the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable.
C) magnitude of the manipulation of the independent variable.
D) scale on the vertical axis required to plot all of the data.

Question 22

Researchers would like for power to be at least

A) .30.
B) .50.
C) .80.
D) 2.5.

Question 23

The power of a statistical test is determined by

A) the probability level.
B) the sample size.
C) the effect size.
D) all of the above.

Question 24

Which of the following does NOT impact the power of a statistical test?

A) the source of participants
B) the effect size
C) the sample size
D) the alpha level

Question 25

Human participants must sign a "consent to participate" form unless exempted) prior to being in the experiment. This form should include all of the following EXCEPT

A) benefits to be derived from participating.
B) the general purpose of the study.
C) any monetary or grade benefits for participating.
D) a disclaimer saying that the experimenter is not responsible for any harm to the participant.

Question 26

If you think that informed consent is unnecessary in your research you

A) should still obtain assent.
B) must request a waiver from the IRB.
C) must get approval to forgo consent from the research dean at your college or university.
D) are wrong; all research requires informed consent.

Question 27

Which of the following is a measure of effect size?

A) Cronbach's alpha
B) G-Power
C) analysis of variance
D) Cohen's d

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT an advantage that comes from automating one's experimental apparatus?

A) increased power of statistical tests
B) decreased probability of recording errors
C) increased uniformity of stimulus presentation
D) facilitation of presentation of the independent variable.

Question 29

Suppose you have gone to great lengths to determine which participants will perform the experiment at what time and in what group, but some participants just fail to show up for their appointments. What should you do?

A) nothing; conduct the experiment as planned, without their data
B) randomly select and assign new participants to take their place
C) estimate what their performance would have been based on how other members of their group performed and add it in to your results
D) to fill in the gaps in your groups, take the nearest willing volunteers

Question 30

Generally speaking, as the number of the participants in the study increases,

A) power decreases.
B) power also increases.
C) the likelihood of correctly rejecting the null hypothesis decreases.
D) the likelihood of making a Type II error also increases.

Question 31

Power of a statistical test refers to

A) the probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis.
B) the probability of rejecting a false null hypothesis.
C) the probability of not rejecting a true null hypothesis.
D) the probability of not rejecting a false null hypothesis.

Question 32

The probability of rejecting a false null hypothesis is referred to as

A) power.
B) potency.
C) serendipity.
D) sample.

Question 33

A power analysis allows you to determine the number of participants needed if you also know

A) alpha.
B) effect size.
C) alpha and power.
D) alpha, power, and effect size.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT true with regard to procedures?

A) as long as the instructions are uniformly presented, it is not very important how an experimenter greets and otherwise interacts with the participants
B) the handling of rats between the home cages and the test apparatus can influence the outcome of the experiment
C) all participants should experience the same events even though they are totally unrelated to the experiment
D) it is far more important to treat human participants in exactly the same manner than it is for non-human participants

Question 35

When writing instructions for participants to follow or read, which of the following should be considered important?

A) scientific, technical language
B) using phrases such as " ignore distractions"
C) using simple, easy to understand language
D) none of the above

Question 36

The session that the researcher holds with participants at the conclusion of the experiment is called

A) a postexperimental interview.
B) deception.
C) informed consent.
D) post hoc information gathering.

Question 37

Instructions serve many purposes in the data collection process. Which of the following is NOT among them?

A) define the participants' task for them
B) motivate participants to perform well
C) direct participants' attention to relevant stimuli
D) explain to participants the true nature of the study

Question 38

Perhaps the greatest technological advance in experimental apparatus has been

A) the ability to tape record experimental instructions.
B) the arrival of affordable, easily programmed microcomputers.
C) the development of the Skinner box.
D) the development of EEG.

Question 39

The consent to participate statement must include all of the following, except which one?

A) information about earning extra credit.
B) funding sources and any governmental agencies affiliated with the study.
C) list of procedures, discomforts or risks associated with participation.
D) detailed information about the study: where, when and how long will the subject participate.

Question 40

Power refers to

A) the chances of rejecting the false null hypothesis.
B) the chances of rejecting a true null hypothesis.
C) the chances of rejecting any null hypothesis.
D) the chances of generalizing your results beyond the sample tested.

Question 41

Which of the following should be done first during debriefing?

A) ask participants questions about their experience
B) let participants ask questions about their experience
C) tell participants that deception was involved in the research
D) explain the purpose of the research

Question 42

The function of debriefing is fulfilled when students from general psychology classes participate in research and learn about the research process.

A) ethical
B) methodological
C) educational
D) satisfaction

Question 43

Postexperimental interviews are particularly important when, experimental procedures involves the use of

A) deception.
B) random assignment.
C) minors.
D) all of the above.

Question 44

When conducting an Internet based study it is a good idea to not only conduct a pilot study using several participants but to also complete the study yourself because

A) completing the study yourself allows you to understand how it feels to complete an online study
B) having participants complete the study allows you to get feedback regarding whether the study works properly in your browser
C) this will allow you to determine if the data collected will be returned to you is an manner that is understandable and arranged in a way that can be statistically analyzed.
D) All of the above are correct Vocabulary

Question 45

According to your text what is the primary disadvantage of posting debriefing information on a website?

A) an inability to accurately explain the nature of the research
B) difficulty in determining the effectiveness of our deception
C) an inability to assess the psychological state of the participant
D) the inability to fulfill the educational component of the debriefing session.

Question 46

Which of the following is not one of the functions of debriefing your participants?

A) deception
B) ethical
C) educational
D) methodological

Question 47

A good way to work out the kinks of an experiment is to

A) conduct a pilot study.
B) write an IRB proposal.
C) engage in step-by-step visualization of the research procedure.
D) have someone else read the procedure section of your paper.

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT typically considered to be a function of debriefing?

A) to return participants to their preexperimental state
B) to teach the participants something about the research
C) to obtain demographic information from the participants
D) to assess the effects of the independent variable manipulation

Question 49

debriefing is the preferred method but debriefing can also be used.

A) satisfaction ; educational
B) face to face; questionnaire
C) methodological ; ethical
D) questionnaire; face to face

Question 50

The function of debriefing is fulfilled when researchers are able to accurately judge participants' suspicions and perceptions.

A) ethical
B) methodological
C) educational
D) satisfaction

Question 51

"Pilot" research allows the investigator to

A) check out the procedures before collecting the real data.
B) select the right participants for his or her study.
C) determine if the randomizing techniques really work.
D) simplify his or her research design.

Question 52

Frequently, experimenters try out new procedures and/or apparatuses by running the experiment using just a few participants. This experiment is called a

A) pilot study.
B) test run.
C) dry run.
D) mini-study.

Question 53

Postexperimental interviews fulfill many obligations the experimenter has toward his or her participants. Which of the following is NOT among them?

A) ethical obligations to inform participants about the experiment
B) educating participants about the nature and role of psychological research
C) offering the participant satisfaction with his or her role in the experiment
D) assessing whether the participant would like to be trained as a researcher, too

Question 54

Which of the functions of debriefing is probably least likely to be accomplished?

A) the ethical function of explaining the purpose of any deception employed
B) the educational value function
C) the ability to determine if our independent variable manipulation was effective
D) none of the above; that is, all have been shown to be adequately addressed with debriefing.