Deck 6: Research Strategies and Validity

Question 1

As the values for one variable increase from one person to another, the values for a second variable tend to decrease. This is an example of a(n) ____ relationship.

A) positive
B) negative
C) curvilinear
D) inconsistent

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Deciding whether a study will compare different groups of individuals or examine changes within the same group of individuals involves a decision about the research ____.

A) procedure
B) design
C) strategy
D) protocol

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which research strategy attempts to address questions about cause-and-effect relationships but fails to produce an unambiguous answer because the study contains a flaw?

A) Experimental
B) Quasi-experimental
C) Nonexperimental
D) Correlational

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which research strategies produce similar data structures that use similar statistical analyses?

A) Descriptive and correlational
B) Correlational and experimental
C) Correlational and nonexperimental
D) Experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental

Question 5

A research study records a score measuring Facebook use and a score measuring happiness level for each individual in a group of 20-year-old women. The study intends to determine whether there is a relationship between the two variables. This study is best characterized as ____ research.

A) descriptive
B) correlational
C) experimental
D) nonexperimental

Question 6

Which question is best addressed with the experimental strategy?

A) What is the average number of hours of sleep that a typical college student gets each night?
B) Is there a relationship between the amount of sleep that college students get each night and the GPA of those college students?
C) Does increasing the hours of sleep college students get each night cause an increase in GPA?
D) What career choices are most popular among students with high GPAs?

Question 7

The degree to which your research results generalize beyond the specific characteristics of your study refers to ____.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) general validity
D) reliability

Question 8

A study examining the percentage of children age 3-5 who are enrolled in preschool is an example of what research approach?

A) Experimental
B) Quasi-experimental
C) Correlational
D) Descriptive

Question 9

Any factor that limits the ability to generalize the results of the study is a threat to ____.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) reliability
D) accuracy

Question 10

Which question can be addressed with a descriptive strategy?

A) What is the average number of hours of sleep that a typical college student gets each night?
B) Is there a relationship between the amount of sleep that college students get each night and the GPA of those college students?
C) Does increasing the hours of sleep college students get each night cause an increase in GPA?
D) Is there a relationship between college GPA and career choice after graduating?

Question 11

A scatter plot showing the relationship between two variables shows data points that form a straight-line pattern. What kind of relationship is indicated by this pattern?

A) Positive
B) Negative
C) Curvilinear
D) Linear

Question 12

A research ____ is a general plan for implementing the research strategy.

A) procedure
B) design
C) study
D) protocol

Question 13

Which question is best addressed with the correlational strategy?

A) What is the average number of hours of sleep that a typical college student gets each night?
B) Is there a relationship between the amount of sleep that college students get each night and the GPA of those college students?
C) Does increasing the hours of sleep college students get each night cause an increase in GPA?
D) What career choices are most popular among students with high GPAs?

Question 14

Which research strategies attempt to address the same question about the relationship between variables?

A) Descriptive and correlational
B) Correlational and experimental
C) Correlational and nonexperimental
D) Experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental

Question 15

Experiments allow researchers to ____.

A) eliminate experimenter bias
B) answer questions about the existence of a relationship between two variables
C) observe naturally occurring behavior
D) answer cause-and-effect questions about the relationship between two variables

Question 16

A research study begins by separating a sample of 20-year-old women into two groups: a high Facebook use group and a low Facebook use group. A score measuring happiness is then obtained for each woman. The study intends to determine whether there is a relationship between Facebook use and happiness. This study is an example of the ____ research strategy.

A) descriptive
B) correlational
C) experimental
D) nonexperimental

Question 17

As the values for one variable decrease from one person to another, the values for a second variable also tend to decrease. This is an example of a(n) ____ relationship.

A) positive
B) negative
C) curvilinear
D) inconsistent

Question 18

Which research strategy is least concerned with examining relationships between variables?

A) Descriptive
B) Correlational
C) Experimental
D) Quasi-experimental

Question 19

A research study attempts to describe the relationship between self-esteem and birth order position by measuring self-esteem for each individual in a group of first-born boys, and then comparing the results with self-esteem scores for a group of later-born boys. This study is an example of the ____ strategy.

A) nonexperimental
B) correlational
C) experimental
D) quasi-experimental

Question 20

A research ____ is a general approach that is intended to address a specific question.

A) procedure
B) design
C) strategy
D) protocol

Question 21

When participants in one treatment condition have characteristics that are different from the characteristics of participants in another treatment condition, then ____ may be threatened.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) reliability
D) accuracy

Question 22

A study examining the relationship between humor and memory compares memory performance scores for one group presented with humorous sentences and a second group presented with nonhumorous sentences. The participants in both groups consist of a mixture of males and females. In this study, gender (male/female) is best characterized as a(n) ____ variable.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) extraneous
D) confounding

Question 23

Sensitization can threaten external validity because the results obtained in a study may be limited to ____.

A) the unique circumstances of the research study
B) individuals who have experienced a pretest
C) individuals who have experienced a series of conditions
D) participants who take on a variety of subject roles

Question 24

A researcher finds that a particular medication causes rats' memory to improve. A second researcher plans to test this medication with humans diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The second researcher is addressing the problem of ____.

A) external validity
B) internal validity
C) reliability
D) accuracy

Question 25

The results of a study may be influenced by the experimenter's expectations regarding the outcome of the study. This artifact is known as ____.

A) reactivity
B) novelty
C) experimenter bias
D) volunteerism

Question 26

The individual differences between participants, such as age, gender, height, strength, intelligence, etc., are known as ________.

A) demand characteristics
B) participant variables
C) exaggerated variables
D) artifacts

Question 27

A researcher finds that room color influences the mood of 45-year-old women in a sample. To preserve external validity, the researcher should generalize these findings to which group?

A) All people
B) People from adolescence to age 45
C) Middle-aged women
D) Adults in general

Question 28

A researcher is concerned that experimental results obtained with college students may not apply to adults in the general population. This illustrates a concern with ____ validity.

A) internal
B) external
C) experimental
D) correlational

Question 29

A study examining the relationship between humor and memory compares memory performance scores for one group presented with humorous sentences and a second group presented with nonhumorous sentences. The participants presented with the humorous sentences are all males. The participants presented with the nonhumorous sentences are all females. In this study, gender (male/female) is best characterized as a(n) ____ variable.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) extraneous
D) confounding

Question 30

A research study finds that a group of participants who received relaxation training had lower exam anxiety scores than a group who did not receive training. However, the researcher suspects that the difference between groups may be caused by the fact that the participants in one group are generally smarter than those in the other. This study has a problem with ____.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) experimental validity
D) correlational validity

Question 31

In which research situation below would an extraneous variable become a confounding variable?

A) An extraneous variable varies systematically along with the two variables being studied.
B) Two or more extraneous variables vary systematically with each other.
C) An extraneous variable is not directly investigated as part of the research question.
D) There are more than two extraneous variables present.

Question 32

When research is conducted in a ____, participants may be particularly influenced by ____.

A) laboratory; reactivity
B) laboratory; novelty
C) field study; reactivity
D) field study; demand characteristics

Question 33

A(n) ____variable is a variable in a study that is not being directly studied.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) extraneous
D) lax

Question 34

A researcher who is studying methods of decreasing test anxiety decides to measure anxiety in a group of volunteers both before and after an experimental intervention. He finds that anxiety levels are lower after the intervention. However, when reviewing his results, the researcher notes that the first test occurred about a week before midterm exams and the second test occurred two weeks after the exams. This study appears to have a problem with ____.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) reliability
D) accuracy

Question 35

A researcher designs a study to determine whether female preschoolers prefer sweetened or unsweetened cereal. The researcher first presents the children with the sweet cereal and measures how much they ate. Later, during the same session, the researcher presents the children with the unsweetened cereal and measures how much they ate. The research finds that the group of preschoolers ate more of the sweetened cereal and therefore prefers the sweetened cereal. Is this conclusion justified?

A) Yes; this conclusion is justified.
B) No; this conclusion is not justified. Individual differences could threaten the results.
C) No; this conclusion is not justified. Time-related variables could threaten the results.
D) No; this conclusion is not justified. Children's gender could threaten the results

Question 36

The ____ of a research study is concerned with factors in the study that raise doubts about the interpretation of the results.

A) internal validity
B) external validity
C) reliability
D) accuracy

Question 37

Variables related to ________ are potential threats to the internal validity of every study.

A) time between treatments
B) pretest sensitization
C) fatigue and practice
D) the environment of the study

Question 38

Susan is a participant in a research study. She has never participated in a study before, and she is excited and a little nervous, so she unintentionally behaves differently than she normally would. Susan's situation is an example of which threat to external validity?

A) The novelty effect
B) Fatigue
C) Practice
D) Multiple treatment interference

Question 39

A study is ____ if it produces only one explanation for the results.

A) internally valid
B) externally valid
C) reliable
D) accurate

Question 40

Demand characteristics can threaten internal validity because the results ____.

A) may not generalize to situations where demand characteristics are different
B) may be specific to the experimenter who has the expectations
C) can be explained by reactivity instead of the treatment conditions
D) correlate with those that threaten external validity

Question 41

Both correlational and nonexperimental studies intend to examine relationships between variables without trying to explain the relationships.

Question 42

Experimental and nonexperimental studies both involve comparing groups of scores.

Question 43

A researcher is conducting a study in which a treatment group is compared to a no-treatment control group. The treatment group is tested in the lab and the control group is tested in a classroom. Time is likely to be a threat to the internal validity of the study.

Question 44

An extraneous variable can become a confounding variable if it changes systematically along with the other variables being examined in a research study.

Question 45

Any factor that allows for an alternative explanation for the results of a study is a threat to external validity.

Question 46

Volunteer bias is a threat to external validity.

Question 47

Experimenter bias and participant reactivity can threaten both internal and external validity.

Question 48

Any factor that limits the ability to generalize the results of a research study to different populations or different environments is a threat to external validity.

Question 49

If the participants in one treatment condition are noticeably older than the participants in another treatment condition, then participant age is a confounding variable.

Question 50

The purpose of the correlational research strategy is to describe the relationship between two variables and measure its strength.

Question 51

An extraneous variable is any variable that is inadvertently part of a research study but not directly investigated.

Question 52

If there are two or more possible explanations for the results of a research study, then the study has a problem with external validity.

Question 53

A research design is a general approach that is intended to address a specific question.

Question 54

When the data points in a scatter plot are all over the place with no clear pattern, it is an indication that there is no consistent relationship between the two variables.

Question 55

The purpose of the descriptive research strategy is to describe the relationship between two variables.

Question 56

The problem with using college students as research participants is that college students are not perfectly representative of the general adult population.

Question 57

Selection bias is a threat to external validity.

Question 58

One test of a study's external validity is if the same results can be obtained using other systems of measurement.

Question 59

The descriptive research strategy is the only strategy that is not concerned with relationships between variables.

Question 60

Of all the research strategies that investigate relationships between variables, the correlational strategy is the only one that does not involve comparing groups of scores.

Question 61

What is an extraneous variable? How can it become a confounding variable? Describe a research study that contains an example of an extraneous variable.

Question 62

Define internal validity in research design. Describe two threats to the internal validity of a research study. (Note: For each threat, be sure to label it, describe it, and be sure to indicate how it specifically is a threat to the internal validity of the design.)

Question 63

Define external validity in research design. Describe in detail one threat to the external validity of a research study. Be sure to specify how that characteristic is a threat to external validity.

Question 64

Describe the kind of question that each of the major five research strategies intends to answer.

Question 65

What is a confounding variable? How does it affect the validity of your research study? Describe a research study that contains an example of a confounding variable.

Question 66

Describe the decisions involved in planning the research strategy, research design, and research procedure stages of a study.