Deck 2: Using Research to Understand Children and Adolescents

Question 1

Developmental researchers sometimes conduct interviews to learn more about children or adolescents. Three of the following are accurate statements about interviews. Which one is inaccurate?

A) The quality of the data they yield depends on the researcher's interviewing skills.
B) They are most likely to be productive when youngsters feel safe and comfortable.
C) They take very little time relative to other data-collection techniques.
D) They allow researchers to probe youngsters' reasoning about a topic in depth.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Three of the following statements describe ethical practices in developmental research. Which one does not?

A) Children participate in studies voluntarily, and only with their parents' consent.
B) Researchers put the welfare of participants ahead of any desire to learn new information about child development.
C) Researchers can publish data about specific participants in local newspapers if the descriptions are flattering ones.
D) Researchers inform participants' families about the results and conclusions of their research.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Researchers often gain useful information from observation of children and adolescents. Three of the following suggestions are likely to improve the quality of observational data. Which one is unlikely to do so?

A) Keep a detailed record of what you see.
B) Discuss your observations with other researchers.
C) Carefully define the behaviors you want to categorize.
D) Begin data collection almost as soon as you enter the research setting.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A researcher wants to know if young infants notice any differences between classical music and jazz music. Which data collection technique would be most useful for this purpose?

A) the Bayley Scales
B) an Apgar
C) a physiological measure
D) observation

Question 5

Imagine that you want to find out which extracurricular activities in a community's after-school programs are of most interest to teenagers. Which data collection technique would be most useful for this purpose?

A) a self-report questionnaire
B) an Apgar scale
C) a measure of habituation
D) observation

Question 6

Which one of the following statements best describes a quasi-experimental study?

A) Participants are randomly assigned to treatment and control groups.
B) Treatment and control interventions are administered to pre-existing groups.
C) Researchers examine children's behaviors in educational settings rather than in laboratories.
D) Researchers are less concerned about the validity and reliability of their measures than is true in experimental studies.

Question 7

Dr. Kim has noticed that many 4-year-olds are very kind and caring toward their younger siblings. She wants to find out if 4-year-olds who are especially kind at home are equally kind and caring with their preschool classmates. Which data collection technique would be most useful for this purpose?

A) interviews
B) a paper-pencil test
C) one or more physiological measures
D) observation

Question 8

A first-time researcher wants to determine whether a new approach to teaching preschool is more effective than older, more traditional approaches. She is thinking that she might use one or more tests as a way of assessing the effectiveness of the new approach. As she reads about the benefits and disadvantages of tests as a means of collecting data, the researcher is most likely to discover that tests:

A) Invariably involve paper and pencil, even for very young children
B) Can be useful in obtaining information about children's cognitive processes
C) Far surpass other techniques as a means of collecting research data
D) Have little value as a basis for drawing inferences about educational practices

Question 9

In which one of the following situations does a researcher definitely have a problem with the reliability of a data collection technique?

A) Ms. Arthur assesses children's overall physical fitness on Monday; she then assesses it the following Monday. Children who perform well one week are not the same ones who perform well the following week.
B) Mr. Benavidez uses a test of mechanical aptitude to determine which high school students are ready to take a calculus course. Later, he finds out that the students who got some of the lowest scores on the test are actually some of the best students in the calculus course.
C) Mr. Candelaria distributes a questionnaire to a group of fifth graders without first obtaining their parents' permission.
D) To determine the frequency with which young adolescents drink alcoholic beverages, Ms. D'Amato conducts two-hour, one-on-one interviews with a sample of 200 middle school students.

Question 10

Three of the following are typical components of the scientific method in developmental research. Which one is not typical?

A) Designing a study that addresses a particular research question
B) Collecting data from children who have agreed to participate in the study
C) Drawing conclusions from patterns observed in the data
D) Keeping the results and conclusions secret for at least five years

Question 11

Which one of the following conclusions can be firmly drawn only from an experimental study?

A) Children grow taller as they get older.
B) Boys are more likely than girls to engage in physical aggression.
C) Some drugs administered during pregnancy affect a child's prenatal development.
D) Children's muscular coordination and physical endurance improve as they grow older.

Question 12

Experimental research requires only one of the following. Which one is an essential component of an experimental study?

A) Manipulating an aspect of the environment
B) Being able to predict two or more variables
C) Describing each variable in considerable detail
D) Studying behavior in a laboratory rather than in a more naturalistic setting

Question 13

In developmental research, the sample is:

A) Those individuals who are asked to participate and choose to do so
B) The entire group about which the researcher is interested, including both participants and nonparticipants in a particular study
C) The setting in which the research participants spend significant amounts of time, such as the classroom
D) A subset of research participants whose data are particularly interesting or valuable to the outcome of the study

Question 14

Which is not one of the general steps of the scientific method?

A) collecting data
B) posing a question
C) analyzing data
D) selecting a sample

Question 15

A team of researchers wants to know whether a new crime prevention program is really effective in reducing crime in young adolescents. The researchers find two middle schools, Adams Middle School and Monroe Middle School, which serve similar kinds of students and report similar rates of theft, physical assault, and vandalism. The researchers implement the program at Adams and use Monroe as a control group. Afterwards, they discover that crime has decreased at Adams but not at Monroe. This study is a good example of a(n) _______ design.

A) correlational
B) experimental
C) cross-sectional
D) quasi-experimental

Question 16

Developmental researchers need to be sure that any data collection method they use is actually assessing what it is supposed to assess. In other words, researchers need to be concerned about the _______ of their data-collection techniques.

A) reliability
B) practicality
C) physiological basis
D) validity

Question 17

Which of the following situations does not need written consent from the participants and their families?

A) A researcher wants to interview tenth grade students about their study habits.
B) A researcher wants to administer a survey to middle school students about their television viewing at home.
C) A researcher wants to observe the natural play interactions of children on the playground in a public setting.
D) A researcher wants to give a short questionnaire to twelfth grade students about their extracurricular activities.

Question 18

Which one of the following best describes a correlational study?

A) Multiple groups of participants are involved.
B) Investigators look for naturally occurring associations.
C) Participants are randomly assigned to treatment groups.
D) Investigators can draw firm conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships.

Question 19

Dr. Fitz wants to know which of three health programs is most effective in promoting children's physical well-being. With the consent of both the children and their parents, children who regularly attend a community center are randomly assigned to one of three 8-week programs. After the programs have ended, Dr. Fitz assesses the children's general physical well being. Dr. Fitz's study can best be classified as which one of the following?

A) experimental
B) correlational
C) cross-sectional
D) quasi-experimental

Question 20

If we say that a particular data collection method has high reliability, we mean that it:

A) Yields scores that fall on a bell curve
B) Yields similar results on different occasions
C) Predicts future success in academic or social settings
D) Accurately determines whether children have met certain predetermined developmental goals

Question 21

A researcher wants to know if children's attitudes about cheating at school change as they get older. To find out, the researcher gives a questionnaire about cheating to 100 fourth graders, 100 seventh graders, and 100 tenth graders. Which one of the following research designs does this study best reflect?

A) longitudinal design
B) quasi-experimental design
C) cross-sectional design
D) correlational design

Question 22

A researcher wants to know how children's career aspirations change as they grow older. He asks a group of third graders, "What do you think you might want to be when you grow up?" Every year until they graduate from high school, the researcher contacts these same students and once again asks them about their career plans. The researcher's investigation is an example of a(n):

A) longitudinal study
B) cross-sectional study
C) naturalistic study
D) experimental study

Question 23

Teachers and other adults can learn a great deal about children and adolescents simply by observing them. Three of the following strategies should improve the quality of practitioners' observations of young people. Which one is not necessarily recommended?

A) Observe youngsters' behaviors in a wide variety of settings.
B) Keep in mind the kinds of behaviors that are typical for an age-group.
C) Focus more on what children actually say than on what their body language might reveal.
D) Try to keep an accurate record of what youngsters say and do, and keep your inferences separate from your observations.

Question 24

In a longitudinal study, a researcher:

A) Collects data from several groups of children, preferably on the same day, so that the groups can be compared
B) Examines how certain characteristics and behaviors change over time
C) Is able to prove whether future behavior is determined by earlier behavior
D) Observes two or more groups of children acting in a familiar setting

Question 25

Which one of the following statements best describes a naturalistic study?

A) It takes place under well-controlled experimental conditions.
B) It examines the behavior of people in their day-to-day environments.
C) It examines and compares the behaviors of multiple groups of people.
D) It focuses on newborn infants' behaviors, with the hopes that it can identify human beings' inborn tendencies.

Question 26

Teachers and others who work regularly with children and adolescents often need to gather information about the youngsters in their charge. Three of the following are recommendations for collecting and using information. Which one is not recommended?

A) Collect information from a variety of sources.
B) Form several different hypotheses that might explain a child's behavior.
C) Critically examine your assumptions and hunches, recognizing that they might be incorrect.
D) Realize that validity and reliability are less important in daily work with children than they are in research.

Question 27

A researcher asks a group of 10-year-olds how many hours a week they watch television and what kinds of programs they typically watch. The researcher also gives the children a questionnaire designed to assess their beliefs about gender stereotypes-that is, about what behaviors they believe are "appropriate" for males and females. The researcher then analyzes the data to see if children who have very traditional gender stereotypes (e.g., men are strong and independent, women are weak and dependent) are related to certain television viewing preferences. Which one of the following research designs is the researcher using?

A) naturalistic
B) correlational
C) experimental
D) longitudinal

Question 28

Before beginning a unit on astronomy, a seventh-grade science teacher gives students a brief pre-test designed to identify misconceptions they might have about the solar system, asteroids, black holes, and so on. When looking at the students' responses, the teachers should keep in mind three of the following weaknesses of paper-pencil tests. Which point is not necessarily accurate about paper-pencil tests?

A) Children's performance depends on their reading ability.
B) Paper-pencil tests are rarely as reliable as one-on-one interviews.
C) Paper-pencil tests provide little if any information about nonverbal behaviors.
D) Paper-pencil tests provide little if any information about social-emotional factors (e.g., self-confidence).

Question 29

A school nurse wants to know if children's knowledge about nutrition increases over the course of the elementary years. To find out, she gives a test about nutrition to students in the first, third, and fifth grades. She then compares the test scores for the three grade levels. Which one of the following research designs does the nurse's study best reflect?

A) experimental design
B) longitudinal design
C) cross-sectional design
D) correlational design

Question 30

To find out how children's drawing skills improve with age, a researcher asks 50 four-year-olds to "Draw the best picture of a person that you can." In each of the next six years (until the children are ten years old), the researcher asks them once again to draw a picture of a person. The researcher then compares quality and detail of the pictures drawn at various ages. Which one of the following research designs does this study best reflect?

A) experimental design
B) correlational design
C) cross-sectional design
D) longitudinal design

Question 31

You read in a professional magazine that the correlation between children's anxiety levels and their general effectiveness in social situations is -.30. You should conclude that:

A) Children who are highly anxious are more skillful in social situations, almost without exception.
B) Children who have low levels of anxiety are more skillful in social situations, almost without exception.
C) Children who are highly anxious tend to be more skillful in social situations, but with many children being exceptions to the rule.
D) Children who have low levels of anxiety tend to be more skillful in social situations, but with many children being exceptions to the rule.

Question 32

Dr. Lesgold finds that students in private schools perform better on achievement tests than do students in public schools. Which conclusion can Dr. Lesgold fairly draw?

A) The difference is probably due to differences in family income.
B) The difference is probably due to the fact that private schools have smaller classes.
C) The difference is probably due to the fact that private schools are more likely to "teach to the test."
D) Students' achievement test scores can be predicted to some extent by the kind of school they attend.

Question 33

In an attempt to find out why 10-year-old Rosemarie has trouble working independently, a teacher aide quietly observes her one day as she works by herself at a "science center" set up in the corner of the classroom. The aide keeps a detailed record of what Rosemarie says and does during the 15-minute period she is at the center. Which one of the following observation techniques is the aide using?

A) a running record
B) an anecdotal record
C) a checklist
D) a rating scale

Question 34

You read a research article about abstract thinking and academic achievement in a professional journal. The researchers report a correlation of +.65 between the amount of abstract thought students demonstrate and the grade-point-averages they earn. You should conclude that:

A) Students who think more abstractly are likely to have higher grade-point-averages than their classmates.
B) Students who think more abstractly are likely to have lower grade-point-averages than their classmates.
C) You can promote students' abstract thinking by helping them to earn high GPAs.
D) You can promote students' academic achievement by helping them to think more abstractly.

Question 35

Three of the following are important considerations when reading about and evaluating developmental research. Which one is least important?

A) Whether a researcher is affiliated with a large research university
B) Whether a study was described in a well respected professional journal
C) Whether a study showed dramatic (rather than small) differences between groups
D) Whether a researcher's pre-existing beliefs might have led to distortions or misinterpretations of the findings

Question 36

Mr. Jones, a physical education teacher, notices that some of his students are better basketball players than others. He wonders if having a basketball net at home fosters the development of basketball skills. He gives his students a short survey that asks them if they have a basketball net at home. Sure enough, Mr. Jones finds that the better basketball players are more likely to have a net at home. He concludes that having a basketball net at home facilitates the development of basketball skills. Is his conclusion appropriate?

A) Yes, because he used random assignment.
B) No, because he didn't conduct an experimental study.
C) No, because his study wasn't conducted in a scientific laboratory.
D) Yes, provided that his students responded truthfully to the survey.

Question 37

Imagine that a researcher finds that, on average, students who weigh more are better athletes. Which one of the following is an appropriate conclusion from this information?

A) Parents should feed their children as much as possible.
B) The school cafeteria should decrease the fat content of the food it serves.
C) On average, students who eat more become stronger and more agile.
D) There is a correlation between weight and athletic performance.

Question 38

John Nathan, who grew up in a relatively affluent family and attended private schools, has just accepted a job in a public middle school in a low-income school district. Realizing that his own experiences may not have prepared him to be successful in this setting, John decides to spend time in the neighborhood observing young adolescents as they go about their lives: playing sports, running errands, and just hanging out. He discovers that these youngsters are in some ways very different from, and yet in other ways very similar to, the kids with whom he grew up. John's inquiry most closely resembles which one of the following?

A) A correlational study
B) A longitudinal study
C) A naturalistic study
D) A cross-sectional study

Question 39

One very effective way of gathering information about children and adolescents is simply to talk to them. Three of the following should increase the quantity and quality of information you get when you talk with young people. Which one is not likely to be helpful?

A) Make it clear that you really care what a youngster has to say.
B) Try to be somewhat aloof so that you come across as an unbiased listener.
C) When asking about a sensitive topic, ask what other children might think about it.
D) Ask follow-up questions when you don't understand what a child is telling you.

Question 40

Which one of the following statements about developmental research is true?

A) Experimental studies can be conducted only in the laboratory and under somewhat artificial conditions.
B) Longitudinal studies yield the most information for making decisions about how best to foster children's development.
C) Experimental studies enable us to draw conclusions about cause-effect relationships.
D) Correlational research is more difficult and time-consuming than experimental research.

Question 41

Developmental Concepts in Early Childhood: An observer wonders whether Seth knows how to read. She realizes that the boy might know how to read, but it is also possible that this book is a favorite of the boy's and one that he has memorized after listening to it repeatedly. Without additional information, the validity of her inference about Seth's reading is questionable.

Question 42

A number of test items unfairly penalize some individuals because of their language. Which of the following is the term for this unfair penalty?

A) Invalid bias
B) Invalid
C) Cultural bias
D) Unreliable

Question 43

Mr. Patton makes a practice of writing short descriptions of his students' significant actions and statements. He usually writes these brief notes at the end of each day. Then, when he conferences with his students' families, he refers to these descriptions to share with the families. Which of the following is Mr. Patton most likely using?

A) Rating scales
B) Checklists
C) Running records
D) Anecdotal records

Question 44

Ms. Rodriguez notices that a large percentage of her students' spelling test scores are low. She wonders if a new individualized spelling approach will improve her second graders' spelling skills. She decides to use a differentiated spelling program that a colleague has shared with her and implements it during the second nine weeks of school. She keeps a record of her students' spelling test scores and talks with each student about their thoughts about the new spelling program. At the end of the nine weeks, she compares the spelling scores of the second nine weeks with the spelling scores of the first nine weeks. She finds that all of the students' scores have increased. She also sees from her conversations with her students that they enjoy the differentiated program and think that they are learning to spell better. She decides to continue the differentiated spelling program for the third nine weeks. What practice is Ms. Rodriguez using?

A) Observation
B) Action Research
C) Running records
D) Anecdotal records

Question 45

When conducting interviews with children, which practice is not recommended?

A) Pause after asking a question.
B) Make a request for information that is not in the form of a question.
C) Ask a combination of open-ended and close-ended questions.
D) Engage in quick question and answer exchanges.

Question 46

When drawing conclusion about a child's behavior, which practice is not recommended?

A) Look at test scores.
B) Look at test scores and self-reports.
C) Look at self-reports and observations.
D) Look at observations, test scores and self-reports.

Question 47

Imagine that you are a teacher who has just learned about a new technique for teaching children better study habits, and you want to know how effective it is. Describe an action research study you might conduct in your classroom to address this question. As you write your response:
a. Identify the type of research design you would use, and explain whether it would enable you to draw conclusions about a cause-effect relationship.
b. List at least five different steps you should take in conducting the research.

Question 48

Which of the following is not a recommended guideline for ethical practice by teacher researchers?

A) Interpret test for which you have been adequately trained.
B) Be firm and irrefutable in your conclusions.
C) Take the children's perspectives into account.
D) Maintain confidentiality

Question 49

Implications in Late Adolescence: The researcher realizes that any single physiological measure should be confirmed with other data. If the immaturity is confirmed, it may be age typical and would not mean that Melinda should be excluded from activities that require judgment and restraint.

Question 50

Implications in Infancy: The researcher realizes that the task may not be a valid measure of the infant's knowledge of object names. The researcher needs to observe the infant on other occasions, particularly when the infant is interacting with a familiar caregiver.

Question 51

When conducting research, it is imperative that all researchers-whether they be college professors, practitioners in the field, or graduate or undergraduate students-adhere to high ethical standards in their work. In three separate paragraphs, describe three different ethical standards that researchers should follow. Illustrate each one with a concrete example.
Developmental Trends Table
The table below describes information collected about the experiences of five youngsters. For each of these experiences, the table identifies factors that affect interpretations about the information, offers an implication for making accurate conclusions about the information, or both.
Apply what you've learned about making accurate inferences about children and adolescents to fill in the empty cells in the table.
Drawing Reasonable Conclusions About Children and Adolescents

Question 52

Which of the following is not part of the four steps identified in conducting action research?

A) Action plan
B) Data analysis
C) Journal publication
D) Data collection

Question 53

A psychologist conducts a research study and finds that abused children have more difficulty in school than nonabused children.
a. Is this an experimental, correlational, cross-sectional, or longitudinal study? Justify your choice.
b. Based on the study, the psychologist draws the conclusion that an abusive home life leads to poorer school performance in school. Is this conclusion justified? Why or why not?

Question 54

Which one of the following is the best example of action research?

A) A teacher gives her students a questionnaire that asks them to describe how often they study and what kinds of strategies they use when they study. She will use the results to develop several lessons on effective study skills.
B) A graduate student quietly observes adolescents' behaviors in the school cafeteria. He plans to describe his observations in his master's thesis.
C) A college professor recruits sixth graders to come to his lab, where she assesses their responses and reaction times in a variety of challenging problem-solving tasks. Her results will help her refine her theory about the development of children's problem-solving skills.
D) All of the school districts in a particular state are instructed to give the same mathematics achievement test to all eleventh graders. The average test scores for each district will be presented in a report that will be released to the general public.

Question 55

Three of the following are important ethical guidelines that teachers and other practitioners should keep in mind when conducting research with children or adolescents. Which one is not recommended?

A) Practitioners should keep their supervisors informed about any research projects.
B) Practitioners should keep their findings about individual children confidential.
C) Practitioners should be ready and willing to draw firm conclusions from the data.
D) Practitioners should administer and interpret specialized tests only after obtaining specific training in their use.

Question 56

Teachers and administrators at a particular school are concerned about a possible rise in bullying in recent months. Before deciding how to respond to the problem, they want to determine if, in fact, their perceptions are accurate. For example, they want to know how many students are considered to be bullies, how many students are victims of bullying, and how often students encounter bullying incidents at school. In three separate paragraphs, describe three different data collection techniques they might use to get the information they need.

Question 57

A researcher has conducted a study with 150 students in a school district to examine the students' attitudes concerning the use of technology in the classroom. Which instrument was the most likely one used by this researcher?

A) Questionnaire
B) Interview
C) Observation
D) Test