Deck 7: Group Research Design

Question 1

Group research designs are appropriate for which of the following?

A) Answering research questions about a single element, such as one person, one family, one organization, or one community.
B) Answering research questions that deal with groups of elements, such as people, organizations, and agencies.
C) Answering research questions that involve words or images rather than numbers and "counting things."
D) Answering research questions that include more than one independent variable.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following suggests that an exploratory group research design is indicated?

A) The research question pertains to an area of research that is new or has not been investigated in depth.
B) The research question pertains to the relationship between two or more variables.
C) The intent of the research is to study some phenomenon as it is, without trying to alter it.
D) Both a and c.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A descriptive research question is concerned with describing some phenomenon in a holistic way; an example of this is represented by which of the following?

A) The research question pertains to the relationship between two or more variables.
B) The intent of the research is to study some phenomenon as it is, without trying to alter it.
C) The research question is designed to help us acquire a preliminary understanding of a phenomenon.
D) The research intends to identify which approaches are the most effective means to produce specified changes.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following represents an explanatory research study?

A) The intent of the research is to study some phenomenon as it is, without trying to alter it.
B) The research question pertains to the relationship between two or more variables.
C) The research question seeks to determine whether some minimum standard outcome has achieved at a specified point in time.
D) The research intends to identify which approaches are the most effective means to produce specified changes.

Question 5

The term used to describe the process of first developing hypotheses and then collecting observations is:

A) Triangulation.
B) Inductive reasoning.
C) Deductive reasoning.
D) Retrospective baseline.

Question 6

What differentiates experimental designs from pre-experimental designs?

A) Having more than one group or multiple observation points.
B) The use of inductive reasoning.
C) The treatment or service goals.
D) Random assignment to groups.

Question 7

Answering an explanatory research question with confidence requires which of the following group research designs?

A) Pre-experimental.
B) Experimental.
C) Multiple baseline.
D) Quasi-experimental.

Question 8

Which of the following research designs is appropriate for answering exploratory research questions?

A) Experimental.
B) Quasi-experimental.
C) Pre-experimental.
D) Single subject designs.

Question 9

Which of the following research designs are likely indicated to answer a descriptive research question?

A) A pre-experimental research design.
B) A quasi-experimental research design.
C) An experimental research design.
D) Both a and b.

Question 10

When a research question is explanatory, but an experimental design is not feasible, the researcher should:

A) Abandon the research study.
B) Be explicit about the limitations of the group research design when reporting the results of the research study.
C) Seek additional research funding to support a more rigorous design.
D) Revise the research question to create a more feasible alternative.

Question 11

Which of the symbols below would be used to depict the dependent variable in a group research design?

A) X.
B) R.
C) NR.
D) O.

Question 12

Which of the symbols below would be used to depict the independent variable or intervention in a group research design?

A) R.
B) O.
C) X.
D) NR.

Question 13

The purpose of random assignment is:

A) To create groups containing equal numbers of subjects.
B) To create pretreatment equivalency across groups.
C) To create a control group for experimental comparison.
D) All of the above.

Question 14

Random sampling is:

A) A means of creating between-group equivalence.
B) A means of creating a comparison group for use in examining the impact of an intervention.
C) A means for triangulating research measures.
D) A means of selecting elements from a population so that each and every element has an equal chance of being selected.

Question 15

In group research designs, if two observations are utilized and one occurs before the intervention is administered, that observation is known as the:

A) Post-test.
B) Pre-test.
C) Cross-sectional research design.
D) Before-and-after research design.

Question 16

The purpose of a delayed pre-test is to:

A) Assess the normal amount of change that occurs between two measurements before the introduction of the independent variable.
B) Assess the amount of change that occurs between two measurements after the introduction of the independent variable.
C) Allow additional time to recruit research participants to maximize sample size.
D) Determine whether observed differences between the pre-test and the post-test are maintained over time.

Question 17

The purpose of a follow-up observations is to:

A) Allow additional time to locate original research participants to maximize sample size at post-test.
B) Assess the normal amount of change that occurs between two measurements before the introduction of the independent variable.
C) Determine whether observed differences between the pre-test and the post-test are maintained over time.
D) Assess the amount of change that occurs between two measurements after the introduction of the independent variable.

Question 18

The notation below represents which of the following group research designs?
O₁ X O₂
O₁ O₂

A) One group pre-test post-test.
B) Post-test only with non-equivalent groups.
C) Multigroup, post-test only.
D) Pre-test post-test comparison group.

Question 19

Attrition refers to which of the following?

A) The tendency for research participants to withdraw prematurely from a research study.
B) A retention rate of at least 70% of research participants in the study.
C) A time series group research design.
D) All of the above.

Question 20

Which of the following represents one of the characteristics of a true experiment?

A) The independent variable is held constant through all phases of the research project.
B) There is random assignment to at least one group.
C) There is a temporal order in which the presumed cause occurs before the presumed effect.
D) Potentially beneficial services are not denied to otherwise eligible members of the research population.

Question 21

A rival hypothesis is defined as:

A) A hypothesis developed by another research colleague studying the same phenomenon.
B) Alternative explanations apart from the independent variable that might account for the outcome.
C) The establishment of a clear relationship between the independent and dependent variable.
D) Assigning research subjects to treatment groups based on need rather than randomization.

Question 22

In a classic experiment, equivalent groups are formed by which of the following?

A) Matching
B) Random sampling
C) Attrition
D) Random assignment.

Question 23

Internal validity refers to:

A) Inferring causation from pre-experimental research designs.
B) The amount of confidence we have that changes in the dependent variable are the result of the independent variable and not some other factor.
C) Minimizing attrition in longitudinal or time series designs.
D) The degree to which study results can be generalized to other cases not studied as well as to the population in general.
E) Creating equivalent groups through random sampling.

Question 24

External validity refers to:

A) The degree to which study results can be generalized to other cases not studied as well as to the population in general.
B) Creating equivalent groups through random sampling.
C) The amount of confidence we have that changes in the dependent variable are the result of the independent variable and not some other factor.
D) Minimizing attrition in longitudinal or time series designs.

Question 25

Describe how exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research studies have informed interventions aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect, as presented in the chapter.

Question 26

Explain three ways to randomly assign subjects to groups.

Question 27

What is the rationale for using random assignment in experimental group research designs?

Question 28

What is the difference between random assignment and random sampling?

Question 29

Discuss guidelines that can help social work researchers decide when to use and when not to use a pre-test in their research designs.

Question 30

Discuss four of the eight ethical concerns related to the use of experimental group research designs in social work and the methods to overcome those ethical concerns.

Question 31

Describe the primary benefit of employing a Solomon four group research design.

Question 32

Describe the primary reason that Duggan and colleagues' (2004) evaluation of the Hawaii Healthy Start Program, as presented in the chapter, found a lack of positive results.

Question 33

Briefly describe three threats to internal validity and three threats to external validity in group research designs.