Deck 5: Formulating a Research Question

Question 1

List two advantages of conducting research on a topic that interests you personally and professionally as opposed to a topic in which you have little interest.

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Describe the process of refining a research topic into a research question.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Briefly describe a research hypothesis that you might like to test. What factors would you consider in deciding whether it was feasible to conduct that research?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Name and define three characteristics of a good research question.

Question 5

What are theory maps and why are they useful?

Question 6

Describe three sources for research ideas.

Question 7

What are boundary conditions and how do they relate to theory testing?

Question 8

Explain why it is important to conduct a literature review before designing a research study.

Question 9

What types of information should you look for in a literature review?

Question 10

When conducting a literature review, what aspects of the methodologies used in previous research should you consider?

Question 11

Distinguish between primary and secondary sources for a literature review. Give an example of each.

Question 12

In the context of literature reviews, what is the grey literature? Give two examples of the type of research reports that appears in the grey literature.

Question 13

Describe two library research tools that can be used to conduct a literature review.

Question 14

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of computerized literature searches such as those conducted through PsycINFO.

Question 15

What is a citation search and why would you conduct one?

Question 16

What factors should you consider in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a published journal article?

Question 17

What factors are important for evaluating the quality of the information obtained from the Internet?

Question 18

Explain the ways in which the processes of literature reviewing and study development are interdependent.

Question 19

What is a research hypothesis? Give an example, based on your research interests.

Question 20

Distinguish between a research hypothesis and a statistical hypothesis. Give an example of a research hypothesis and its associated statistical hypothesis.

Question 21

List the five questions that should be addressed when designing a study.

Question 22

List three reasons why you should write a research proposal prior to data collection.

Question 23

What is replication research?

Question 24

Distinguish among a direct replication, a conceptual replication, and a replication and extension.

Question 25

Why do some researchers consider an exact replication to be less valuable than a conceptual replication?

Question 26

Describe two scientific functions that direct replications perform.

Question 27

Describe the three criteria that can be used to decide if a replication is successful. Explain why the criterion one uses is important.

Question 28

Describe the factors that one must consider when planning a replication study.

Question 29

Describe two factors that point to the need for repli?cation research on a topic. Under what circumstances is replication research least likely to be needed?

Question 30

Describe the roles of the three forms of replication in a systematic research program.

Question 31

Describe three factors that might make practitioners reluctant to use the results of research in their practices.

Question 32

What is the truth test, as it applies to the question of whether decision-makers might consider a given set of research results to be useful to them?

Question 33

Distinguish between the truth test and the utility test as ways to evaluate research for usefulness.

Question 34

Name and define the two types of independent variables are studied in applied research.

Question 35

Consider the interrelationship between the type of independent variable and the type of dependent variable examined in applied research. Which combination is most likely to result in useful findings? Which combination is least likely to do so?

Question 36

If you conduct research on an applied issue, what can you do to ensure that practitioners learn about the results of your research?

Question 37

What are three keys to designing useful applied research? Why are these important?

Question 38

Describe the sources of bias that can affect the development of a research question or hypothesis.

Question 39

Describe two ways in which researchers' personal values can affect the development of a research question or hypothesis.

Question 40

Describe two types of biased assumptions that can emerge when formulating an applied research question.

Question 41

Describe two steps you can take to avoid bias when designing a study.

Question 42

The background one draws on when formulating a research question consists of

A) one's personal life experiences.
B) what one has learned in behavioral science courses.
C) what one has learned through being trained in research methods.
D) all of the above.

Question 43

You have noticed that students who sit at the front of the classroom ask more questions and score better on exams than students who sit at the back of the classroom. You develop a research question based on this observation. The background for your idea can best be described as coming from

A) your personal life experience.
B) what you have learned in behavioral science courses.
C) what you have learned from taking a research methods course.
D) all of the above.

Question 44

Developing the formal background for a research project involves

A) reflecting on one's personal life experiences.
B) conducting a literature review on the topic of the project.
C) working solely from your current knowledge base to develop a hypothesis.
D) avoiding being distracted by investigating theories other than the one that is the basis of your research.

Question 45

Rosa has an idea for a thesis project but thinks she should do something related to her advisor's line of research rather than follow her own idea. The BEST thing for Rosa to do in this situation is to

A) consult with her advisor to clarify what is expected of her.
B) work only on her advisor's project, putting her own interests on hold.
C) work independently on her thesis.
D) not do a thesis.

Question 46

When formulating a research question, one should choose a topic that

A) one finds interesting.
B) can be researched given the time and other resources available.
C) one has a good background in.
D) meets all of the above criteria.

Question 47

When evaluating the feasibility of a study that you would like to conduct, you should think about

A) whether the resources you need will be available to you.
B) how to operationally define the variables you want to study.
C) how to conduct a literature review of your topic.
D) whether you have sufficient informal background to conduct the study.

Question 48

You want to conduct research on the causes of aggression. As part of the process of refining a research topic into a hypothesis, you will need to decide on all of the following EXCEPT

A) what specific type of aggression you want to investigate.
B) the context in which you want to study aggression.
C) which of the possible causes of aggression you want to investigate.
D) what statistical test to use for your data.

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good research question?

A) It expands our current knowledge base.
B) It is easy to formulate valid operational definitions for the variables involved.
C) It has been investigated many times in the past with all the studies providing consistent results.
D) It compares the validity of two or more theories rather than just focusing on one theory.

Question 50

Which of the following would NOT be a good strategy for developing a research idea?

A) Look for a principle that has been supported in many direct replications and conduct a direct replication of one of those studies.
B) Ask yourself, "Everyone thinks that A causes B; but what if B actually causes A?"
C) Try to find out why two studies of the same phenomenon produced different results.
D) Find two competing theories of a phenomenon and design a study to determine which is more valid.

Question 51

Theory maps are

A) cognitive structures people use to find their way through novel environments.
B) tools for outlining theories and understanding how hypotheses derive from a theory.
C) an interesting idea in principle, but not very useful for formulating hypotheses.
D) devices for summarizing the results of individual research studies.

Question 52

Which of the following would be a good source for research ideas?

A) observing that in everyday life people do not behave the way a theory says they should
B) reading a study and thinking, "Hmm; they seem not to have taken X into account in testing their hypothesis."
C) reading a study and thinking, "Hmm; they say that A caused their results, but I think that it was really B."
D) all of the above

Question 53

Problem-oriented research can be conducted to

A) define the nature of a problem.
B) test potential solutions for the problem.
C) test the validity of practitioners' psychological assumptions.
D) do any of the above.

Question 54

The term boundary conditions refers to the

A) conditions or situations under which an effect operates.
B) extent to which a given theory can produce testable hypotheses.
C) upper and lower limits of a given study's level of internal validity.
D) extent to which available resources limit the kinds of hypotheses that a researcher can test.

Question 55

As part of developing a hypothesis, the literature review consists of

A) writing the part of the introduction section of a research report that presents the background of the study.
B) writing comprehensive summaries and analyses of theory and research on your topic.
C) collecting theoretical, empirical, and methodological information on your topic.
D) locating sources of ideas for a research question.

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT one of the purposes of the literature review one conducts to develop the background for a study?

A) provide a scientific context for the research
B) compile a comprehensive database of all the existing theory and research relevant to a research question.
C) avoid duplication of effort by identifying research questions that have already been adequately addressed
D) identify possible problems in conducting the research

Question 57

Which of the following types of information should be part of a literature review for a proposed study?

A) information about the theory on which your research is based
B) the ways in which previous researchers have addressed your research question
C) information about theories that are competitors of the theory on which your research is based
D) all of the above

Question 58

Which of the following types of information should be part of a literature review for a proposed study?

A) information about aspects of your research question that have not yet been fully addressed
B) reliable and valid operational definitions of the variables you plan to use in your research
C) the types of statistical tests that are appropriate for the kinds of data you will collect
D) all of the above

Question 59

In the context of a literature review, the term primary source refers to

A) articles relevant to your research that you identified on your own without using an index.
B) summaries of studies such as those found in the introduction section of a journal article.
C) an original research report or presentation of a theory written by the people who conducted the research or developed the theory.
D) press reports of research results in major news outlets such as the New York Times.

Question 60

In the context of a literature review, the term secondary source refers to

A) articles relevant to your research that you identified on your own without using an index.
B) summaries of studies such as those found in textbooks.
C) an original research report or presentation of a theory written by the people who conducted the research or developed the theory.
D) personal experiences that give you ideas for research questions.

Question 61

Which of the following is an example of a primary source?

A) a graduate-level textbook on a topic
B) a journal article that summarizes and critiques existing research on a topic
C) an article in a professional journal that reports new research on a topic written by the people who conducted the research
D) a book that summarizes and critiques existing research and theory on a topic

Question 62

Secondary sources of information can be useful because they

A) often present very simplified descriptions of research, omitting much of the detail found in primary sources.
B) are easier to locate than primary sources.
C) provide an interdisciplinary view of a theory or area of research.
D) often compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of studies and theories.

Question 63

Problems associated with secondary sources include that

A) they may omit information that might be useful to you when describing studies.
B) they sometimes provide inaccurate descriptions of the results of the research they discuss.
C) they may over-simplify the results of research.
D) do all of the above.

Question 64

An advantage of journal articles over many other sources of information is that

A) the information published in journal articles has been reviewed for accuracy by experts.
B) all journal articles meet the criteria for being primary sources of information.
C) they are generally written in non-technical language and are therefore easy to understand.
D) they extensively discuss the strengths and limitations of all the research and theories relevant to a topic.

Question 65

The term grey literature refers to

A) articles that appear in journals other than those published by the American Psychological Association.
B) sources that provide inaccurate descriptions of the results of the research they discuss.
C) textbooks.
D) research reports that receive only limited distribution, such as conference presentations and technical reports.

Question 66

If you need information about a study that was not included in the published research report (such as a copy of a measure) you should

A) do nothing; there is no way to obtain that information.
B) contact the author of the report to ask for the information you need.
C) contact the editor of the journal in which the report appeared to ask for the information you need.
D) contact the publisher of the journal in which the report appeared to ask for the information you need.

Question 67

If you need a resource that your library does not have but that is available in other libraries, you should

A) do nothing; there is no way to obtain that resource.
B) contact one of the libraries that has the resource and ask them to lend it to you.
C) ask your library's interlibrary loan service to obtain the resource for you.
D) request a travel grant from your university to go to one of the libraries that has the resource so that you can consult it there.

Question 68

Although computerized literature searches (such as those done using PsycINFO) can save time,

A) only the journals you specify are searched, so you might miss relevant articles.
B) unless you construct a search strategy very carefully, a lot of the articles you find will not be relevant to your research.
C) they include only journal articles that are available at one's own university library.
D) the results of computerized searches often do not provide the information needed to find an article.

Question 69

What questions should you ask that will help you evaluate the quality of the research you find in your literature review?

A) Might differences between groups be accounted for by something other than the different conditions of the independent variable?
B) Did the researchers use appropriate operational definitions of their independent and dependent variables?
C) Are there any alternative explanations for the results in addition to those noted by the researchers?
D) all of the above.

Question 70

What questions should you ask that will help you evaluate the quality of the research you find in your literature review?

A) Did the researchers overlook any variables that might be relevant to their hypotheses?
B) What evidence is there for the reliability and validity of the measures and manipulations used in the research?
C) Did the researchers conduct appropriate statistical analyses?
D) all of the above.

Question 71

When evaluating information from online sources such as blogs, one should consider

A) how well qualified the author is to write on the topic.
B) the level of objectivity of the information provided.
C) how up-to-date the information is.
D) all of the above.

Question 72

The research hypothesis in a study

A) is expressed in terms of the results of the statistical tests to be used.
B) states an expectation about the relationship between two variables.
C) is unrelated to the study's statistical hypothesis.
D) should be stated in as general a manner as possible.

Question 73

Which of the following statements about research hypotheses is/are TRUE?

A) The research hypothesis states the researcher's expectation about the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable.
B) Research hypotheses should be stated in as general a manner as possible.
C) The research hypothesis restates the narrative hypothesis in statistical terms.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 74

Which of the following statements about statistical hypotheses is/are TRUE?

A) The statistical hypothesis expresses the research hypothesis in terms of the expected results of a statistical test.
B) It is possible for a researcher to test a statistical hypothesis that is not consistent with the research hypothesis.
C) The validity of the conclusions drawn from research results depends on the degree to which the statistical hypothesis is congruent with the research hypothesis.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 75

Which of the following is NOT part of the research proposal you write while designing a study?

A) a description of theory on which the study is based
B) a consideration of the risks and benefits the research will pose for participants
C) a description of the research design to be used
D) a summary of previous research conducted on the research topic.

Question 76

Replication research might be conducted to

A) confirm the results of previous research.
B) detect errors that might have occurred in previous research.
C) assess the generalizability of previous research.
D) do any of the above.

Question 77

In a direct replication, the researcher

A) tests the same hypoth?esis as the original research, but uses a different set of operational defi?nitions.
B) replicates an earlier study and adds a component that expands its scope.
C) seeks to recreate a study as closely as possible.
D) attempts to show that the results of the original study were incorrect.

Question 78

In a conceptual replication, the researcher

A) tests the same hypoth?esis as the original research, but uses a different set of operational defi?nitions.
B) replicates an earlier study and adds a component that expands its scope.
C) seeks to recreate a study as closely as possible.
D) attempts to show that the results of the original study were incorrect.

Question 79

In a replication and extension, the researcher

A) tests the same hypoth?esis as the original research, but uses a different set of operational defi?nitions.
B) replicates an earlier study and adds a component that expands its scope.
C) seeks to recreate a study as closely as possible.
D) attempts to show that the results of the original study were incorrect.

Question 80

________ replications are conducted to assess the ________ of previous research.

A) Conceptual; generalizability
B) Direct; generalizability
C) Direct; internal validity
D) Conceptual; internal validity