Deck 1: Introduction to Research Methods

Question 1

What makes scientific knowledge different from other types of knowledge?

A) it is definite where other knowledge is uncertain
B) it is based in numbers instead of stories
C) it is collected systematically to minimize bias
D) there is no significant difference from other types of knowledge

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In addition to making many decisions about how to conduct research, which of these must a researcher also do when engaged in a research study?

A) document the decisions made
B) include a random sample
C) have a control group
D) prove that the hypothesis is right

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of these statements captures the nature of scientific knowledge?

A) it often reflects the researchers' personal opinions
B) it is not possible to generate through research in the social sciences
C) it is built from an accumulation of research findings from many studies
D) once it is established, it never changes

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of these is true of the empirical approach to knowledge?

A) it is used primarily in science, not everyday living
B) it is used primarily in everyday living, not in science
C) it is based on observation or experience
D) it is knowledge gained only from quantitative or experimental methods

Question 5

Knowledge that is acquired based on observation, direct or indirect, or in other words, on experience, is called:

A) theoretical
B) personal
C) empirical
D) qualitative

Question 6

Researchers must plan to match their approach with their research question, in part because research ideas are translated into:

A) observations
B) measures
C) biases
D) samples

Question 7

Which type of research results are not reduced to numbers?

A) quantitative
B) qualitative

Question 8

Based on Topic 3, The Role of Theory in Research, which of these represent the relationship between theory and research:

A) theory is completed before research
B) research is completed before theory
C) research and theory are independent
D) research and theory are interdependent

Question 9

Which of these statements is FALSE about good theories?

A) good theories are generalizable
B) good theories are testable
C) good theories use rigorous criteria
D) good theories prove the results of research

Question 10

When research is used to test hypotheses derived from theories it is called:

A) deductive
B) inductive
C) conjunctive
D) grounded

Question 11

When observations are used to formulate a theory, it is called:

A) deductive
B) inductive
C) conjunctive
D) grounded

Question 12

Research that works "down" from hypotheses and "up" from observations is called:

A) deductive
B) inductive
C) conjunctive
D) grounded

Question 13

The fundamental difference between experimental and nonexperimental study designs is that experimental study designs:

A) interact directly with people
B) use only quantitative measures
C) use a manipulation or treatment
D) have a pretest and a posttest

Question 14

Educational researchers want to find out if students learn language better when they use digital flashcards to study at least once a day. The flashcards would be called:

A) the experiment
B) the independent variable
C) the criterion
D) the treatment

Question 15

A treatment is sufficient to make a study an experiment.

Question 16

In experiments, one group does not receive the treatment. They are called:

A) the double blind
B) the blind
C) the control group
D) the placebo

Question 17

In some experiments, the researcher does not know who received a treatment and who didn't. This is called:

A) control group
B) placebo
C) blind
D) true experiment

Question 18

Surveys, polls, interviews, and observations are common types of which research?

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

Question 19

In an experiment, Group A members were given badges for being on time to the classroom while Group B members were given no special treatment. Which group is the control group?

A) group A
B) group B
C) neither group
D) both groups

Question 20

When researchers investigate cause-and-effect relationships, they usually prefer which type of approach?

A) experimental
B) nonexperimental
C) meta-analysis
D) there is no preference

Question 21

Basic statistical characteristics of humans that are used as identity markers are called:

A) variables
B) criteria
C) demographics
D) statistics

Question 22

While experiments allow researchers to propose answers to causal questions, in some cases, experiments are not appropriate. The most common reasons are:

A) experiments must be done in a laboratory
B) experiments take a lot of time
C) it would unethical to conduct some types of experiments on people
D) experiments do not allow some types of comparisons to be made

Question 23

When researchers observe and describe a current condition and look to the past to try to identify the possible causes of the condition, it is called a(n) ____________ study.

A) causal-comparative
B) correlational
C) cross-sectional
D) longitudinal

Question 24

A researcher compared the academic success of high school students who had received free tutoring during elementary school years with the success of high school students who were similar on major characteristics but did not receive free tutoring. The purpose was to determine the effects of free tutoring on academic success. What type of research design is this?

A) causal-comparative
B) correlational
C) longitudinal
D) experimental

Question 25

Which of these is a form of nonexperimental research?

A) causal-comparative research
B) surveys
C) correlational research
D) all of the above

Question 26

This type of research allows researchers to collect information about attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of a population.

A) experiment
B) interview
C) survey
D) case study

Question 27

When all individuals in a population are included in data collection, it is called a:

A) parameter
B) populace
C) census
D) full sample

Question 28

When researchers are interested in the degree of relationship among two or more quantitative variables, the appropriate design is:

A) correlational
B) case study
C) cross-sectional
D) survey

Question 29

If a researcher wanted to measure second graders each week for a year on their reading capabilities, this would most likely be:

A) cross-sectional research
B) longitudinal research
C) case study research
D) historical research

Question 30

Research that uses statistical analysis and presents results in numbers is called:

A) experimental research
B) deductive research
C) quantitative research
D) qualitative research

Question 31

Research that is collected in interviews or observation and presented primarily through words and is called:

A) ethnographic research
B) inductive research
C) quantitative research
D) qualitative research

Question 32

Which of these statements matches the relationship between research topics and qualitative or quantitative research?

A) most research topics fit best with a specific research approach
B) most research topics can be formulated into questions that fit either quantitative or qualitative approaches
C) for most research topics, the researcher can decide which approach to take after collecting data

Question 33

Qualitative researchers often approach their research planning with an exploratory approach, which uses _______________ logic.

A) inductive
B) deductive
C) hypothetical
D) instrumental

Question 34

Which type of research often strives to select large samples to use as participants?

A) qualitative
B) census
C) quantitative
D) purposive

Question 35

What is a common method used to analyze a sample and estimate how well it represents a population?

A) differentiation
B) statistics
C) demographics
D) interpolation

Question 36

Which type of researchers is more likely to include relevant details about the researchers' personal backgrounds?

A) qualitative
B) quantitative
C) experimental

Question 37

Which type of researchers is less likely to make adjustments in measures once the research has begun?

A) qualitative
B) quantitative
C) experimental

Question 38

Researchers who are primarily interested in a topic where little is known may find the best approach to be the use of ___________ methods.

A) quantitative
B) cross-sectional
C) qualitative
D) quasi-experimental

Question 39

A researcher who wishes to see if existing theories are relevant to a current set of circumstances might be best suited to a ________________ approach.

A) quantitative
B) qualitative
C) pretest-posttest
D) case study

Question 40

Which of these factors may help to determine if a qualitative or quantitative approach is taken? (select all that apply)

A) the research topic is more suited to one or the other
B) the research question is more suited to one or the other
C) when a culture is closed or secretive
D) when participants have limited availability

Question 41

Although it can take many forms and use many approaches, the purpose of ______________ research is to assess the outcomes of a program.

A) experimental
B) basic
C) evaluation
D) foundations

Question 42

Program evaluation is almost always used for practical decisions, which is a form of research called __________.

A) basic research
B) experimental research
C) prototype research
D) applied research

Question 43

Programs are usually based on nonexperimental research in which researchers attempt to understand what is required by those who the program will serve. This is called:

A) program pretest
B) basic evaluation
C) needs assessment
D) preliminary evaluation

Question 44

Programs are often similar to experiments, in which the program acts as a treatment, but it allows for adjustments in the program while it is taking place. The measurement of the program's progress as it is taking place is referred to as:

A) formative evaluation
B) midstream adjudication
C) applied experiments
D) modified formulations

Question 45

Programs are similar to experiments in that the programs' intervention acts as a treatment in an experiment. Just like experiments, researchers often make adjustments based on feedback during the experiment process.

Question 46

What are the two prongs of formative evaluation?

A) process and progress
B) before and after
C) people goals and program goals
D) internal and external changes

Question 47

At the end of evaluating a program, an evaluator will collect the information and compare it against the ultimate goals of the program in a:

A) white paper
B) summative evaluation
C) programmatic review
D) formative evaluation

Question 48

Which of the following led to a formal set of ethics for research?

A) professionalism in the field of research
B) the introduction of qualitative methods
C) the nonconsensual, unethical research carried out during WWII
D) the expansion of research from animals to people

Question 49

In direct response to the unethical medical research conducted in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, the_____________ was formulated to define legitimate medical research.

A) American Medical Association
B) Hippocratic oath
C) Institutional Review Board for Medicine
D) Nuremburg Code

Question 50

One widely recognized case of ethics violations is a study began in 1932 by the U.S. Public Health Service of black sharecroppers who had syphilis. It is known as:

A) the Nuremburg study
B) the Tuskegee Syphilis study
C) the Alabama sharecropper study
D) the Framingham heart study

Question 51

Why was the study of black sharecroppers with syphilis a controversial study?

A) the entire study sample was poor black men in the South
B) the participants were offered free medical care, meals, and life insurance to cover burial costs, but were not given the promised rewards
C) one-third of the study's participants did not have syphilis at the outset of the study but were given syphilis through the study
D) during the study, a treatment for syphilis was discovered but was not given to the study's participants, resulting in continued suffering and death from the disease

Question 52

The ethical breach over the syphilis study in the U.S. led directly to which of these:

A) a report from the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, nicknamed "the Belmont report"
B) the disbanding of the U.S. Public Health Service
C) government and university rules that greatly limit study of poor minority communities
D) the adoption of the Nuremburg code in the United States for the first time

Question 53

Most institutions where research is conducted have an ethics review process.

Question 54

At colleges and universities, the ethics review process is managed by a committee that is commonly named:

A) the ethics committee, or CEC
B) the institutional review board, or IRB
C) the Common Rule board or CRB
D) the Human Subjects committee, or HSC

Question 55

At colleges and universities, who must receive approval through the ethics review process?

A) just professors with grants
B) just those in medical research
C) just graduate and undergraduate students
D) anyone completing qualifying research that involves human subjects

Question 56

What key qualities determine whether work counts as "research" that is reviewed for ethics?

A) "systematic" and "generalizable"
B) "systematic" and "educational"
C) "educational" and "published"
D) "private" and "published"

Question 57

Which of these examples of research would NOT be subject to ethics review?

A) the work includes more than a single story or case
B) the work includes animals but not people
C) the work only involves secondary data about human subjects that was in a public dataset
D) the work was created to fulfill an educational requirement

Question 58

What three important concepts form the basis of modern ethics review?

A) beneficence, justice, and autonomy
B) beneficence, safety, and knowledge
C) protection, information, and health
D) honesty, fairness, and privacy

Question 59

One of the basic concepts on which modern ethics reviews are based is the idea that participants are protected from physical and psychological harm. This is referred to as:

A) beneficence
B) benefittance
C) safety
D) protective research

Question 60

What, if anything, is considered when managing potential harms to participants in a research plan?

A) all harm must be anticipated
B) it is the responsibility of the participant to understand the research
C) harms should be minimized, but weighed against the potential benefit to society
D) no harms are acceptable in research planning

Question 61

Another principle in research ethics: Treating all subjects equitably and all burdens or benefits related to the research are shared fairly. This is referred to as the principle of:

A) equality
B) justice
C) autonomy
D) beneficence

Question 62

The principle that welfare subjects should not incur risks by participating in research when the resulting treatment would only benefit the wealthiest people is an example of:

A) equality
B) justice
C) autonomy
D) beneficence

Question 63

Those who participate in research must know about the risks and the benefits they may get from their participation. This is called:

A) equality
B) transparency
C) informed consent
D) justice

Question 64

Research participants not only must be informed of risks and benefits but must know that they can refuse to answer specific questions or withdraw from participating in the research at any time. This represents the principle of:

A) autonomy
B) protocols
C) voluntarism
D) right to privacy

Question 65

Almost all researchers agree that participants have which of these rights? (pick one)

A) knowledge about the purpose of the research
B) complete honesty about the purpose of the study
C) ability to have a copy of all of the data they provided
D) a right to have their names acknowledged and included in the research

Question 66

Is deception about the purpose of the research ever appropriate according to modern research ethics?

A) yes, but only if the participants are limited in their ability to agree to participate
B) yes, it is standard to limit information about the research purpose until it is completed
C) yes, but only rarely, when it is necessary and a benefit is created by the research
D) no, deception is never acceptable

Question 67

After participants play their part in research, they may receive more information about the purpose of the study, the procedure(s) used, and be offered to share the results. This is called:

A) debriefing
B) exit interview
C) informed consent
D) post-research protocol

Question 68

Participants in research have a right to privacy. This means that researchers must:

A) not disclose the participants' identities in the research process
B) maintain confidentiality in how the data is stored
C) protect the participant's identity in how they describe the person so they cannot easily be identified by the description
D) all of the above