Deck 8: Measurement in Quantitative and Qualitative Inquiry

Question 1

Reliability involves

A)whether a particular technique applied repeatedly to the same object would yield the same results each time.
B)ensuring accuracy.
C)ensuring that your measure measures what you think it should measure.
D)ensuring precision,
E)all of the above.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Most social scientists would not accept the conceptualization of IQ as foot size because such a measurement would lack

A)precision.
B)reliability.
C)accuracy.
D)validity.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a type of reliability?

A)inter-rater.
B)test-retest.
C)internal consistency.
D)known groups.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The use of several different research methods to test the same finding is called triangulation.

Question 5

If a measure is reliable,it must also be valid.

Question 6

Asking a group of experts whether the items on a scale appear to measure what they intend to measure is a way to assess the scale's:

A)predictive validity.
B)concurrent validity.
C)construct validity.
D)content validity.

Question 7

Professor Smith gave an exam on Monday.On Wednesday Smith gave the same class the same exam.Professor Smith was clearly interested in assessing the exam's

A)reliability.
B)validity.
C)face validity.
D)conceptualization.
E)precision.

Question 8

Professor Lum asked respondents,"How old are you?" Later in the interview Lum asked,"What is your date of birth?" This illustrates that Lum was interested in the ________ of the measurement.

A)face validity.
B)content validity.
C)criterion validity.
D)reliability.

Question 9

The weakest form of validity is:

A)face validity.
B)criterion validity.
C)construct validity.
D)content validity.

Question 10

If an instrument has both convergent and discriminant validity,it then has:

A)predictive validity.
B)concurrent validity.
C)construct validity.
D)content validity.

Question 11

Predictive validity is one form of criterion-related validity.

Question 12

A measure has discriminant validity when:

A)it discriminates between groups.
B)its results do not correspond as highly with measures of other constructs as they do with other measures of the same construct.
C)its results correspond to the results of other methods of measuring the same construct.
D)its content validity is less than its criterion validity.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is/are true about reliability and validity in qualitative research?

A)Standardized scales whose reliability and validity are known to be high would NOT be relied upon as the prime measures.
B)Akin to inter-observer reliability in quantitative studies, one might assess whether two independent raters arrive at the same interpretation from the same mass of written qualitative field notes.
C)Reliability might be assessed by asking subjects whether the researcher's interpretations ring true and are meaningful to them.
D)All of these are true about reliability and validity in qualitative research.
E)None of these is true about reliability and validity in qualitative research.

Question 14

An interview with someone with a limited vocabulary who therefore does not understand the questions being asked is likely to produce

A)systematic error.
B)random error.
C)unreliable data.
D)both random error and unreliable data

Question 15

When someone who has sexually abused a child consistently denies having done so,it is an example of

A)systematic measurement error.
B)random measurement error.
C)unreliable data.
D)both b andc.

Question 16

The tendency to give a favorable impression of oneself reduces the reliability of a measure.

Question 17

If a measure has face validity,we can be quite confident that it really measures what it intends to measure.

Question 18

The tendency of people to answer questions through a filter that will convey a favorable impression is called

A)the acquiescent response set.
B)social desirability bias.
C)cultural bias.
D)random error.

Question 19

Professor Myth asked respondents whether or not they had ever been divorced.One year later Professor Myth asked respondents the same question.Myth found that with repeated applications of the measure different responses were obtained for the same subject.This means that the measuring instrument was

A)unreliable.
B)invalid.
C)unreliable or the value on the variable had changed.
D)lacking in face validity.

Question 20

An instrument is developed with the intent to measure whether the parenting skills of parents referred for child abuse or neglect improve after participation in a parenting education treatment program.The instrument is found to be valid when untreated parents referred for child abuse or neglect score much worse on it than model parents who are child therapists.Which of the following statements is/are true about the instrument?

A)It appears to have known groups validity.
B)Because it is valid, it can be relied upon to detect whether small, subtle improvements occur in the parenting skills of the parents who participate in the program.
C)It appears to have predictive validity.
D)All of these.
E)None of these.

Question 21

Explain why if a scale is found to be reliable,we CANNOT assume that it is also valid.

Question 22

Social desirability bias is a form of random measurement error.

Question 23

Describe how qualitative studies attempt to deal with reliability and validity.

Question 24

Coefficient alpha measures internal consistency reliability.

Question 25

Mr.Isle has noticed that several women he considers to be very feminine wear dresses or skirts often.Therefore,he decides he will determine a woman's degree of femininity by finding out how many times she wears a skirt or a dress over a period of a month.The women who wear dresses or skirts most frequently will be considered the most feminine; those who rarely wear either will be considered the least feminine.Is Mr.Isle's method of measuring femininity reliable? Why or why not? Is his method of measuring femininity valid? Why or why not? What is the tension that often exists between the criteria of reliability and validity?

Question 26

Measurement error can be systematic or random.

Question 27

Some child-welfare workers observe children playing with anatomically correct dolls to help them assess whether those children have been sexually abused.If a child simulates sexual acts with the dolls,it is viewed as evidence that the child may be a victim of sexual abuse.What are some sources of systematic and random measurement error in this approach to assessment? How could the reliability and validity of this assessment procedure be gauged?

Question 28

Each alternative form of measurement (written self-reports,interviews,direct behavioral observation and examining available records)is vulnerable to measurement error.

Question 29

Explain why if a scale is found to be valid,we can assume that it is reliable.

Question 30

Given a scale to measure family risk of child abuse or neglect,contrast a way to measure the criterion-related validity of the scale with a way to measure that scale's construct validity.

Question 31

Reliability and validity are handled precisely in the same ways in qualitative inquiry as they are in quantitative inquiry.