Deck 8: Experimental Research

Question 1

A threat to internal validity due to something that occurs and affects the dependent variable during an experiment,but which is unplanned and outside the control of the experimenter is known as

A) selection bias.
B) history.
C) maturation.
D) testing effect.
E) matching.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In experimental designs,it is important that the control group and experimental group

A) are as similar as possible.
B) represent very different groups so the research is generalizable.
C) do not come from the same background.
D) receive the same treatment.
E) are matched.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In matching,assignment to experimental and control groups is done by

A) using a table of random numbers to direct individuals to groups.
B) reviewing individual characteristics so that groups are as alike as possible.
C) assigning individuals to groups based on their gender.
D) flipping a coin and placing individuals and groups depending on whether the toss is tails or heads.
E) none of these

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In one type of quasi-experimental study design,in place of a control group,one uses a

A) comparison group.
B) matched group.
C) group exposed to a placebo.
D) randomly selected sample.
E) none of these.

Question 5

A Solomon four-group design differs from a classic experimental design in that the former

A) does not include a pre-test.
B) adds an experimental and control group that does not have a pre-test.
C) can be used to sort out the effects of selection bias.
D) can be used to differentiate the effects of placebos from other variables.
E) none of these

Question 6

In some instances,it is impossible to measure a condition before the experiment is conducted.In this situation,one can employ a research design known as a

A) classic experimental design.
B) post-test only.
C) comparison group.
D) All of these.
E) None of these

Question 7

In an experimental design,the independent variable is.

A) eliminated
B) manipulated
C) reduced
D) extended
E) promoted

Question 8

validity refers to the agreement between a study's conclusion and what is actually true.

A) Factor
B) Internal
C) Content
D) Construct
E) External

Question 9

Which of the following is not a criteria of a causal relationship?

A) empirical association
B) temporal precedence
C) no evidence of an antecedent variable
D) minimization of spuriousness
E) none of these

Question 10

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) Control groups are exposed to the opposite stimuli as the experimental group.
B) Placebos are given to both the control and experimental groups.
C) Experimental groups are exposed to the stimulus and not the placebo.
D) A stimulus is made available to those only in the control group.
E) none of these

Question 11

Causal hypotheses are best suited forresearch questions.

A) exploratory
B) descriptive
C) inductive
D) explanatory
E) Any of these can be used for causal hypotheses.

Question 12

research is designed to explain why something varies.

A) Descriptive
B) Explanatory
C) Causal
D) Experimental
E) Developmental

Question 13

Experimental designs have the advantage of being superior to non-experimental designs because they most clearly achieve the purpose of

A) description.
B) critique.
C) exploration.
D) explanation
E) prediction.

Question 14

Which of the following is missing in a quasi-experimental design?

A) The researcher has no control over timing.
B) The researcher has no control over selection of subjects.
C) The researcher has no ability to randomize treatment and control groups.
D) All of these are missing from quasi-experimental designs.
E) None of these are missing from quasi-experimental designs.

Question 15

The Solomon four-group design has

A) two experimental and two control groups.
B) three experimental groups and one control group.
C) two pretest groups and two posttest groups.
D) four experimental groups.
E) four control groups.

Question 16

An experimental design has the advantage over non-experimental approaches in determining the order in which events occur and

A) controlling the effects of other variables.
B) minimizing the costs of the research.
C) accommodating ethical concerns.
D) proving conclusively that a relationship is causal.
E) providing a 'real­life' context for a study.

Question 17

In a classic experimental design,it is important to take measures of control and experimental groups

A) before and after the treatment.
B) at least once during the research.
C) after the treatment.
D) before the treatment.
E) It is not important to take measures of control and experimental groups.

Question 18

An experimental design is appropriate if it isto do so.

A) practical and ethical
B) ethical and inexpensive
C) inexpensive and timely
D) timely and practical
E) none of these

Question 19

A placebo

A) must appear authentic.
B) is a simulated treatment of the control group.
C) is the experimental condition of the IV that is controlled by the researcher.
D) is the agreement between a study's conclusions about causal conditions and what is actually true.
E) must appear authentic and is a simulated treatment of the control group.

Question 20

What type of experimental design is best when ethical concerns prevent the ability of the researcher to perform a true controlled experiment?

A) a Solomon four group design
B) a pretest-posttest design
C) a quasi-experimental design
D) a natural experiment
E) a posttest only control group experimental design

Question 21

Aexperiment keeps both the subjects and researchers from knowing which subjects are in the control and experimental groups.

A) natural
B) laboratory
C) double-blind
D) hidden
E) field

Question 22

The double-blind experiment is useful because

A) both the subjects and researchers know the experimental and control groups.
B) neither the subjects nor the researchers know the experimental and control groups.
C) only the researcher knows the experimental and control groups.
D) there are no control groups in double-blind experiments.
E) there are no experimental groups in double-blind experiments.

Question 23

In experimental designs,the researcher is manipulating the independent variable and seeing what happens to the dependent variable.

Question 24

Before conducting an experiment,we can minimize the chances that the control and experimental groups are different from each other in important ways by randomly assigning the population to each group.

Question 25

Experimental study designs are best suited forresearch.

A) exploratory
B) descriptive
C) controlled
D) community
E) explanatory

Question 26

To minimize the effects of an experimenter affecting the research results,we can use a(n)

A) placebo.
B) double-blind study.
C) random assignment.
D) experimental design.
E) pretest.

Question 27

The classic experiment is also referred to as the pretest-posttest control group experiment.

Question 28

In field experiments,the researcher does not

A) concern herself with internal validity.
B) have complete control over the setting.
C) pay research subjects.
D) worry about assigning individuals to experimental and control groups.
E) have complete control over the setting and pay research subjects.

Question 29

Experimental designs are especially helpful for determining the time order of variables and in minimizing the effects of

A) exploration.
B) causation.
C) concepts.
D) third variables.
E) matching.

Question 30

Which type of experimental design was employed by Chris Caldeira in the focal research example?

A) field experiment
B) posttest only control group experiment
C) quasi experiment
D) classic experiment
E) both a quasi experiment and a field experiment

Question 31

Field experiments typically have better generalizability because they occur outside an official laboratory setting.On the other hand,there are disadvantages,which include which of the following?

A) Researchers do not have complete control over the setting.
B) It may be impossible to run the experiment so that it is methodologically sound.
C) Researchers are usually at the mercy of others in the setting and must abide by institutional constraints.
D) All of these.
E) None of these.

Question 32

The Solomon four-group design includes three experimental groups and one control group.

Question 33

In classic experimental designs,it is important to measure the dependent variable at two points in time.

Question 34

One advantage of pretest-posttest experiments is the ability to separate the effects of the independent variable from maturation.

Question 35

A Solomon four-group design is useful for addressing issues of internal validity.

Question 36

Internal validity is not an issue with quasi-experiments because there are experimental and control groups.

Question 37

In experimental designs,we need to be careful that the stimulus is administered to one group but not another.

Question 38

Selecting treatment and control groups from the population by method of random sample increases the study's
generalizability.

Question 39

In a classic experimental design,the independent variable can be manipulated,controlled,introduced,or it can occur naturally.

Question 40

In posttest only quasi-experimental designs,the major threat to internal validity is that it is virtually impossible to conclude that changes are the result of the manipulation of the independent variable alone.

Question 41

Describe the differences between a comparison group quasi-experiment and a post-test only quasi-experiment.

Question 42

The focal research by Chris Caldeira is a field experiment because the experiment is being held in a regular classroom.

Question 43

Describe the situation in which a natural experiment is more appropriate over a classical experimental design.What are the inherent differences between these experimental designs? What issues do you have to account for when doing a natural experiment?

Question 44

Many research studies are provoked by an individual's interest in and passion about an area of investigation.Think about an issue that you care deeply about and devise a research study that would involve an experimental or quasi- experimental design.How would you design a research approach that would minimize the effect of experimenter expectations or testing effects? What steps would you take?

Question 45

Professor Henry is interested in the effect of anti-violence videos on teenagers' involvement in interpersonal violence.Funding has been obtained to show these videos to 300 adolescents who attend a local school.Create a causal hypothesis and develop an experimental design to test it.Identify two advantages of applying this design and two disadvantages of the research approach.Use a classic experiment and a Solomon four group design.

Question 46

One advantage of experimental designs in laboratory settings is that you know with some confidence that only one group has been exposed to the treatment introduced by the researcher.

Question 47

Discuss the issue of internal validity and experiments.Which types of experimental designs are best suited to address the issue of internal validity? How so?