Deck 7: Survey Design and Scale Construction: Is Going Greek a Great Idea

Question 1

Daniella asked her boyfriend Ricardo "Where do you see us in ten years?" Daniella is asking Ricardo a(n):

A) open-ended question.
B) forced choice question.
C) multi-informant question.
D) closed-ended question.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

"On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means awful and 5 means perfect, how well would you rate your interpretation of this course?" This question is an example of a(n):

A) multi-informant question.
B) forced choice question.
C) open-ended question.
D) closed-ended question.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Gwen is utilizing a Likert scale for her dissertation study examining the impact of narcissistic and histrionic personality traits on romantic relationships. Another name for this type of scale is a(n):

A) summated rating scale.
B) acquiescent response set.
C) reverse-coded scale.
D) forced choice scale.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Franz utilized a rating scale for his thesis study, which examined degrees of stereotypical qualities of masculinity and femininity. Participants' responses across all scale items were summed to provide an overall score on the measure. This type of scale is known as a:

A) reverse-coded scale.
B) acquiescent response set.
C) Likert scale.
D) forced choice scale.

Question 5

Atlas and Morier (1994) conducted a study that examined differences in women who wanted to join sororities and women who did not want to join. Those women who wanted to rush a sorority tended to have a higher need to be the center of attention, but surprisingly did not have a higher need for:

A) social self-esteem.
B) affiliation.
C) academic success.
D) exhibitionism.

Question 6

According to Park and colleagues (2008), students who joined Greek organizations as first-time college students were more likely to engage in:

A) substance use.
B) sports.
C) multiple relationships.
D) self-harm behaviors.

Question 7

According to studies that examined variables related to the self, self-concept clarity refers to:

A) quick judgments of personality traits.
B) the ability to associate characteristics of self to others.
C) higher levels of self-esteem and self-image.
D) how clearly and confidently people describe their sense of self.

Question 8

Juanita is looking for the _____ on her school's library server in an effort to gain access to a comprehensive guide of more than 2,700 different scales and measures for public use.

A) Mini-Mental Status Exam
B) Mental Measurements Guide
C) Multivariate Measurements Guide
D) Mental Measurements Yearbook

Question 9

Ilona was asked by her research mentor to collect quantitative data in a systematic way to investigate the relationship between romantic interests and Internet search histories. Ilona's best approach to collect this data would be the use of a(n):

A) survey.
B) interview.
C) parent-report.
D) teacher-report.

Question 10

You are able to do all of the following with a correlational study, EXCEPT:

A) evaluate whether changes in one variable correspond with changes in another variable.
B) determine a positive or negative direction.
C) conclude cause-and-effect.
D) explore relationship between two variables.

Question 11

Raul was asked by his pastor "What are your thoughts on personal freedoms?" This is an example of a(n):

A) multi-informant question.
B) forced choice question.
C) open-ended question.
D) closed-ended question.

Question 12

According to a well-known 1995 study conducted by Baumeister and Leary examining social relationships, we human beings have a fundamental need to:

A) find personal identity.
B) associate with others.
C) seek self-assured friends.
D) discover differences in others.

Question 13

Park, Sher, and Krull (2008) conducted a study investigating differences in first-time students in college who joined Greek life and those who did not. The study found that first-time college students who joined Greek organizations scored higher in:

A) introversion.
B) self-esteem.
C) social deficits.
D) extraversion.

Question 14

Lewandowski, Nardone, and Raines (2010) conducted a study assessing the role of self-concept clarity in relationships found that self-concept clarity is related to the:

A) quantity of romantic relationships.
B) frequency of romantic relationships.
C) quality of romantic relationships.
D) duration of romantic relationships.

Question 15

Tahmud is interested in studying the relationship between religious affiliation and various data practices. The best research approach to examine Tahmud's research question would be:

A) a correlational design.
B) a quasi-experimental design.
C) active deception.
D) an experimental design.

Question 16

Shaunta has a strong belief that she can achieve any academic outcome she sets her mind to. She is displaying a high level of:

A) self-esteem.
B) self-efficacy.
C) self-concept.
D) academic performance.

Question 17

An important criterion to consider for each scale item to ensure quality is to write items that are:

A) clear.
B) vague.
C) imprecise.
D) indeterminate.

Question 18

On most scales items are constructed using a series of which type of questions?

A) closed-ended questions
B) open-ended questions
C) essay prompts
D) short answer prompts

Question 19

Reta wants to examine the association between self-esteem and perceived popularity. The best research approach to answer this question would be:

A) an experimental design.
B) a quasi-experimental design.
C) active deception.
D) a correlational design.

Question 20

"On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 means not interested at all and 10 means extremely interested, how interested are you in pursuing a career in academics?" This question is an example of a(n):

A) multi-informant question.
B) closed-ended question.
C) open-ended question.
D) forced choice question.

Question 21

Dr. Alberts is examining a measure of dietary preferences in her study of obesity and realized that if she wants higher scores on the given measure to represent higher or more healthy dietary preferences, then she needs to _____ prior to summing the items to determine the overall score for each participant.

A) calculate the mean
B) reverse-code items worded in the opposite direction
C) determine the variability
D) calculate the standard deviation

Question 22

Granetta was completing a survey developed by her social club at school. Granetta agreed with every statement regardless of the actual item content. This is an example of:

A) a forced choice response set.
B) an acquiescent response set.
C) an error of central tendency.
D) a summated rating scale.

Question 23

One way to improve a scale's precision and _____ the error of tendency is to use more response alternatives.

A) minimize
B) maximize
C) augment
D) enhance

Question 24

Dr. Kfir conducted a study that involved administration of the same scale at two different times approximately one month apart. Dr. Kfir noticed that the participants' scores on the second administration were much higher than the first administration, which suggested greater familiarity with the questions and tasks. This greater familiarity may lead participants to answer how they believe Dr. Kfir wants them to and may be an example of:

A) bias.
B) a random error.
C) an error of central tendency.
D) a validity issue.

Question 25

Lorenzo was in the process of reviewing the likert-scales used in his graduate research lab. Lorenzo observed that the majority of the scales used by his research lab have at least _____ and no more than _____ response alternatives with verbal descriptors.

A) 2; 3
B) 4; 7
C) 5; 9
D) 7; 12

Question 26

Mr. Wright is reviewing a measure of relationship satisfaction and realized that if he wants higher scores to represent higher relationship satisfaction then he needs to reverse code the items worded in the opposite direction before he _____ to determine the overall score for an individual participant.

A) calculates the mean
B) sums the items
C) determines the variability
D) calculates the standard deviation

Question 27

Dr. Quezada is concerned about the measurement's _____ and that is why she is thinking at length about the type of response alternatives included in her survey of childhood bullying experiences.

A) specificity
B) internal consistency
C) content validity
D) sensitivity

Question 28

Marcus made a very poignant statement at a recent meeting. He said, "An unreliable scale cannot be _____."

A) correlated
B) significant
C) valid
D) examined

Question 29

Reverse-coding is a scoring strategy where more negative response alternatives are assigned _____ values and more positive response alternatives are assigned _____ values.

A) higher; lower
B) lower; higher
C) modest; lower
D) lower; modest

Question 30

Reginald noticed in his work as a customer service representative that the majority of the likert-rating scales available have at least 5 to 9 response alternatives with:

A) reverse coding.
B) alternate forms.
C) variability.
D) verbal descriptors.

Question 31

Esha is creating a new scale assessing social conformity and is particularly concerned about the scale items' degree of interrelatedness among each other. Esha currently appears to be most concerned with the scale's:

A) test-retest reliability.
B) internal consistency reliability.
C) alternative forms reliability.
D) equivalent forms reliability.

Question 32

Which of the following would NOT be considered a forced choice scale format?

A) Yes or No
B) True or False
C) Yes, No, or Maybe
D) Agree or Disagree

Question 33

Dr. Hurley decided to only provide two response alternatives, True and False, on his survey about preconceived notions of individuals who are classified as Internet addicts. Dr. Hurley should be concerned that his measurement has minimal:

A) sensitivity.
B) internal consistency.
C) content validity.
D) specificity.

Question 34

Dante used a public scale for an experiment in his sociology class to examine satisfaction with community resources. Dante realized that some of the questions are written inversely. He is trying to determine a way to sum participants' responses on the scale so that a higher number accurately reflects a higher degree of satisfaction with community resources. Dante should use:

A) reverse-coding.
B) acquiescent response set.
C) dummy coding.
D) distractor items.

Question 35

One way to improve a scale's precision and minimize the error of central tendency is to:

A) use more items.
B) use more response alternatives.
C) use fewer items.
D) use fewer response alternatives.

Question 36

Nestor is reviewing data for his research lab and is in the process of going down the spreadsheet column and changing responses. He is changing 5s to 1s and 1s to 5s. He is going through the process of:

A) item differentiation.
B) item variability.
C) reverse-coding.
D) dummy coding.

Question 37

Noel asked his partner "Are you happy with our life and communication?" This could be viewed as an unfair question because it is an example of a(n):

A) forced choice item.
B) closed-ended question.
C) acquiescent response set.
D) double-barreled item.

Question 38

Jeri was completing a scale assessing her degree of anxiety regarding the upcoming presidential election. She simply selected the "neutral" option for all of her responses because it seemed less extreme. This bias is referred to as the:

A) acquiescent response bias.
B) error of central tendency.
C) social desirability bias.
D) predictive bias.

Question 39

Natalia asked her college roommate, "Will becoming a doctor or an artist help me meet my personal goals and my parents' goals for me?" This question is difficult to answer because it is an example of a(n):

A) forced choice item.
B) closed-ended question.
C) double-barreled item.
D) acquiescent response set.

Question 40

Dr. Ramos highlighted the importance of the initial steps in setting up a research study when discussing protocol with his graduate students. He emphasized that it is extremely important that a study's measures have _____, meaning the individual items on a scale are interrelated, otherwise it is a waste of time to proceed with additional analyses.

A) internal consistency reliability
B) content validity
C) face validity
D) test-retest reliability

Question 41

_____ is the best method of evaluation for test-retest reliability.

A) ANOVA
B) Paired samples
C) The t-test
D) Correlation

Question 42

Dr. Hughes wants to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the Time 1 and Time 2 administration of his neurocognitive performance measure. The best method of evaluation would be:

A) experimental design.
B) alternative-forms reliability.
C) correlation.
D) regression.

Question 43

In order to establish a scale's construct validity researchers need to evaluate the scale's _____ and discriminant validity.

A) content
B) face
C) convergent
D) internal consistency

Question 44

Winona is interested in whether the purpose of a scale developed to measure parental discipline practices is known to participants while they are completing the measure. She wants to know the degree to which the scale measures what it is supposed to measure, just by looking at it. This is an example of:

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

Question 45

Dr. Kruze gave his physics class an exam last week. Many of his students complain that the exam did not test them on any of the material they learned in lecture. The students are suggesting the exam had poor:

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

Question 46

In order to establish a scale's _____ validity researchers need to evaluate the scale's convergent and discriminant validity.

A) construct
B) internal consistency
C) face
D) discriminant

Question 47

Participant scores can vary between two administrations of a measurement because of _____; and may have nothing to do with the actual scale itself.

A) bias
B) random error
C) validity issues
D) error of central tendency

Question 48

If a scale lacks concurrent validity this suggests a problem with the scale's:

A) construct validity.
B) predictive validity.
C) criterion validity.
D) discriminant validity.

Question 49

Dr. Watkins believes that a participant's anxiety levels following a scare tactic will be strongly related to their ability to score well on a subsequent performance measure. Dr. Watkins is interested in which type of validity?

A) content
B) construct
C) convergent
D) criterion

Question 50

Dr. Ames is interested in whether his perfectionism scale corresponds with an existing outcome, like a grammar task if given at the same time. Dr. Ames is interested in:

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

Question 51

Dr. Clark gave his astronomy students an exam today and was pleased to hear that the students thought the exam was fair and covered a broad range of the lecture material from the past several weeks. This suggests that the students believed the exam had:

A) low content validity.
B) high content validity.
C) low construct validity.
D) high discriminant validity.

Question 52

A(n) _____ is a statistic that represents the degree to which two variables are linearly related.

A) t-test
B) ANOVA
C) ANCOVA
D) correlation

Question 53

The results from a study that examined self-concept clarity and self-esteem indicated that participants had less consistency and stability in their self-descriptions over time. This would suggest that assessment of this variable would present issues with:

A) content validity.
B) internal consistency reliability.
C) test-retest reliability.
D) construct validity.

Question 54

To establish a scale's construct validity researchers need to evaluate the scale's convergent and _____ validity.

A) content
B) internal consistency
C) face
D) discriminant

Question 55

Asking participants to complete two different versions of a scale is an effort to evaluate a scale's:

A) internal consistency reliability.
B) content validity.
C) alternative-form reliability.
D) test-retest reliability.

Question 56

Dr. Timms developed a measure of health anxiety. Dr. Timms's initial evaluation of the health anxiety scale revealed that the scale was significantly and positively correlated with other scales of similar variables and was uncorrelated with scales measuring theoretically incompatible variables. Dr. Timms's health anxiety scale appears to have a:

A) low degree of discriminant validity.
B) high degree of convergent validity.
C) low degree of construct validity.
D) low degree of content validity.

Question 57

Measures with strong face validity encounter several limitations including all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) social desirability bias.
B) demand characteristics.
C) subjectivity.
D) objectivity.

Question 58

Changes in scores from a measure administered at two separate times due to chance fluctuations is an example of:

A) standard deviation
B) random error
C) random assignment
D) reliability

Question 59

Dr. Adkins noticed that the room was colder during the second administration of a performance task than during the first administration. This is a completely chance event. This would be an example of:

A) bias.
B) a random error.
C) an error of central tendency.
D) a validity issue.

Question 60

If two scales are purported to measure trait levels of anxiety then both scales should be:

A) highly correlated.
B) uncorrelated.
C) poorly correlated.
D) invalid.

Question 61

Dr. Carigan hypothesized that sleeping patterns and weather patterns would be related. Dr. Carigan's hypothesis is:

A) nondirectional.
B) directional.
C) positive.
D) negative.

Question 62

In typical data software programs each column represents:

A) a single survey item.
B) multiple items.
C) a single participant.
D) multiple participants.

Question 63

Dr. Luxley wanted to make sure his research sample was representative of the local rural community with approximately 65% females and 35% males. He wanted to make sure his sample had similar demographics so he used:

A) stratified random sampling.
B) simple random sampling.
C) convenience sampling.
D) area probability sampling.

Question 64

All recent patients seen within the last month at a local Emergency Room (ER) were surveyed regarding their satisfaction with overall care, as well as specific questions regarding their interaction and satisfaction with ER staff. Approximately 23% of the surveys were completed and returned. The _____ is 23%.

A) response rate
B) return rate
C) sample rate
D) variability rate

Question 65

It is important to remember that researchers must defend their rationale for requesting personal or sensitive information from participants. This defense occurs as part of which initial process?

A) EEOC approval
B) IRB approval
C) CAC approval
D) assent

Question 66

High school administrators gave all ninth graders a scholastic aptitude test. Four years later all of those who had been surveyed were asked to report their freshmen year GPA in college. These high school administrators are interested in the _____ of the scholastic aptitude test.

A) concurrent validity
B) content validity
C) predictive validity
D) convergent validity

Question 67

Researchers included items on sports and recent events on a scale about political interests. They did this in an effort to mislead the participants as to the purpose of the survey. The sports and recent event items were:

A) biased items.
B) face valid items.
C) discriminant items.
D) distractor items.

Question 68

Local university administrators developed a new curriculum and wanted to pilot it on a representative student sample. Approximately 20% of students study online and 80% are residential students. Administrators wanted the pilot sample to have a similar makeup so they used:

A) convenience sampling.
B) simple random sampling.
C) stratified random sampling.
D) area probability sampling.

Question 69

Dr. Andros is a history professor studying cultural stereotypes. He decides to sample the freshmen students who study in the library at his university. This is an example of:

A) stratified random sampling.
B) random sampling.
C) convenience sampling.
D) area probability sampling.

Question 70

In an effort to minimize the potential for evaluation apprehension in a recent study examining test anxiety, Dr. Marks included additional _____ in the scale.

A) target items
B) distractor items
C) discriminant items
D) demographic items

Question 71

Rosenberg (1969) found that individuals become concerned with how researchers may interpret their answers or behaviors during research studies. This is referred to as:

A) face validity.
B) bias.
C) evaluation apprehension.
D) distraction.

Question 72

Area probability sampling is a variation of:

A) stratified random sampling.
B) simple random sampling.
C) convenience sampling.
D) cluster sampling.

Question 73

Dr. Clarion had one group of research participants complete scale 1 first and scale 2 next and had the other group of participants complete scale 2 first and scale 1 next. This was done in an effort to:

A) reduce bias.
B) increase validity.
C) increase reliability.
D) increase variability.

Question 74

Dr. Diaz was studying separation anxiety among summer camp attendees. Dr. Diaz decided to engage in _____ in order to separate the summer camp attendees by geographic region and then randomly sample from each identified region.

A) stratified random sampling
B) simple random sampling
C) convenience sampling
D) area probability sampling

Question 75

When a study is launched preliminarily to determine the study's strengths and weaknesses it's known as:

A) correlating.
B) hypothesizing.
C) directional testing.
D) pilot testing.

Question 76

Dr. Ramirez hypothesized that an increase in snow cone sales would be related to higher temperatures. This hypothesis is:

A) nondirectional.
B) directional.
C) skewed.
D) biased.

Question 77

Simple random sampling functions on the idea that:

A) researchers need to separate participants into subgroup.
B) some people have a 10% chance of being selected.
C) everyone has an equal chance of being selected.
D) 50% of the participants have an equal chance of being selected.

Question 78

In typical data software programs each row represents:

A) multiple participants.
B) a single participant.
C) a single item.
D) multiple items.

Question 79

Dr. Armstrong is conducting a new cognitive study and hypothesized that a higher degree of work infractions (e.g., tardiness) would be related to a reduced working memory capacity. Her hypothesis is:

A) nondirectional.
B) directional.
C) skewed.
D) biased.

Question 80

Drs. Jackson and O'Brien work at a residential chemical dependency unit. They are interested in studying coping strategies among heroin users. The doctors survey residents at the chemical dependency unit where they work. They are using a(n):

A) stratified random sample.
B) random sample.
C) area probability sample.
D) convenience sample.