Deck 13: Quasi-Experimental Designs

Question 1

Quasi-experimental designs differ from experimental designs in which of the following ways?

A)Quasi-experiments have multiple dependent variables.
B)Quasi-experiments do not involve random assignment of participants to conditions.
C)Quasi-experiments study personality variables rather than situational influences.
D)Quasi-experiments are conducted outside of a laboratory.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When participants are selected for a pretest-posttest design because they have extremely low or extremely high scores on the dependent variable, researchers must be on the lookout for

A)maturation.
B)regression to the mean.
C)local history effects.
D)order effects.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A local history effect occurs

A)because participants were not randomly assigned to groups.
B)as a result of regression to the mean.
C)when all of the participants are from the same location.
D)when groups experience different events other than the quasi-independent variable.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design, the greatest threat to internal validity is

A)maturation.
B)local history.
C)experimenter expectancy.
D)reactivity.

Question 5

Regression to the mean is most likely to be a threat to internal validity when

A)the sample size is small.
B)adolescents are being studied.
C)participants are not assigned randomly assigned to conditions.
D)the sample was chosen because it had low or high scores on the dependent variable.

Question 6

When should a one-group pretest-posttest design be used?

A)When random assignment is not possible
B)When the sample is very homogeneous
C)When evaluating the effects of educational programs
D)Never

Question 7

Compared to true experiments, quasi-experiments tend to

A)have lower internal validity.
B)involve fewer participants.
C)be used more for research on nonhuman animals.
D)have lower external validity.

Question 8

The central threat to the internal validity of a simple interrupted time series design is

A)maturation.
B)contemporary history.
C)regression to the mean.
D)pretest sensitization.

Question 9

When the groups in a quasi-experiment were not equivalent at the beginning of the study, _________ may compromise internal validity.

A)maturation
B)regression to the mean
C)selection bias
D)pretest-posttest contamination

Question 10

The one-group pretest-posttest design is a _______ design.

A)nonequivalent control group
B)correlational
C)pre-experimental
D)quasi-experimental

Question 11

The interrupted time series design with a reversal attempts to address which of the following threats to internal validity?

A)Selection bias
B)Regression to the mean
C)Contemporary history
D)Pretest sensitization

Question 12

In a simple interrupted time series design,

A)the dependent variable is measured several times.
B)some participants complete the dependent variable before the manipulation, whereas other participants complete the dependent variable after the manipulation.
C)the independent variable is manipulated several times.
D)none of these occur.

Question 13

Which of the following confounds is most likely in research that studies children over time?

A)Regression to the mean
B)Selection bias
C)History
D)Maturation

Question 14

A nonequivalent group's posttest-only design is also called a

A)static group comparison.
B)regression design.
C)biased participants design.
D)pre-experimental design.

Question 15

Adding a nonequivalent control group to an interrupted time series design

A)eliminates the effects of local history.
B)converts a quasi-experimental design to an experimental design.
C)requires multiple replications.
D)results in none of these.

Question 16

Unlike an independent variable, a quasi-independent variable

A)has only one level.
B)is a personality characteristic.
C)is not varied by the researcher.
D)is held constant.

Question 17

Experimental contamination occurs when

A)the experimenter informs participants of his or her hypotheses.
B)participants are not randomly assigned to conditions.
C)a variable unrelated to the study affects participants' responses.
D)participants in different conditions interact with one another.

Question 18

Contemporary history is a problem

A)in all experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
B)when one group experiences an event that another group does not experience.
C)in research that deals with current events.
D)when another event occurs at the same time as the quasi-independent variable.

Question 19

Which of the following threats to internal validity is present in a one-group pretest-posttest design?

A)Maturation
B)History
C)Testing effect
D)All of these answers are correct

Question 20

A researcher is studying the effects of sunspot activity on human emotions. In this study, sunspot activity is the

A)dependent variable.
B)independent variable.
C)participant variable.
D)quasi-independent variable.

Question 21

What are the primary threats to internal validity when a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design is used?

Question 22

What are longitudinal designs?

Question 23

In a longitudinal design, the quasi-independent variable is

A)manipulated.
B)the passage of time.
C)measured several times.
D)a characteristic of the participants.

Question 24

The perspective that argues that researchers should rely on many diverse ways of obtaining evidence in a study is

A)empiricism.
B)critical multiplism.
C)quasi-experimentation.
D)multiple replication.

Question 25

In general, quasi-experiments

A)do not control extraneous variables as well as experiments do.
B)are not useful for answering real-world questions.
C)lack realism.
D)cannot be analyzed statistically.

Question 26

Longitudinal designs are better than cross-sectional designs for studying age-related changes because they

A)use random assignment.
B)control for generational effects.
C)use control groups.
D)eliminate confounding.

Question 27

What three criteria must be met to establish that a particular variable causes certain behavioral effects?

Question 28

To infer that one variable causes another,

A)the cause and the effect must covary.
B)the study must have high external validity.
C)the cause and the effect must be measured at the same time.
D)a quasi-experimental design must be used.

Question 29

What is the rationale behind the simple interrupted time series design?

Question 30

What is regression to the mean? How does it threaten internal validity?

Question 31

What are pre-experimental designs, and why should they never be used?

Question 32

If quasi-experimental designs are usually not as internally valid as experiments, why do researchers use them?

Question 33

How do quasi-experimental designs differ from true experimental designs?

Question 34

Why do researchers often need to "patch up" quasi-experimental designs?

Question 35

What is the difference between longitudinal and cross-sectional designs?

Question 36

Research that is designed to document the effects of changes in laws, policies, or programs is called

A)critical multiplism.
B)program evaluation.
C)policy analysis.
D)decision research.

Question 37

What is program evaluation? Why do program evaluators often rely on quasi-experimental methods?

Question 38

Researchers "patch-up" quasi-experimental designs by

A)adding comparison groups.
B)measuring hypothesized mediators.
C)measuring additional dependent variables.
D)doing all of these.

Question 39

When researchers want to distinguish age differences from cohort differences, they use

A)longitudinal designs.
B)cross-sectional designs.
C)cross-sequential cohort designs.
D)cross-lagged panel designs.

Question 40

Donald Campbell made many contributions in the area of

A)statistical analyses.
B)developmental psychology.
C)physiological research.
D)quasi-experimental designs.