Deck 7: Conducting Research That Explains Things: What Explains Life Satisfaction

Question 1

You have decided to conduct a study to examine whether gender explains client no-shows (i.e., a client failing to show up for a therapy appointment). You have found literature that suggests that males are more likely to no-show for appointments for services like the one you are evaluating. What is the logical next phase of research for you to undertake?

A) determine the statistic that will be used to test the study hypothesis
B) determine the study methods you will employ
C) compose the statement of the study conclusions
D) collect and analyze data

Answer 1

determine the study methods you will employ

Question 2

What major issue is examined when you determine the method for selecting the study sample from the study population?

A) causation--that is, was it the treatment or something else that explains the results?
B) chance--that is, can chance explain our study results?
C) generalization of study findings--that is, can we generalize our findings to our study population?
D) relevance--that is, is our study relevant to our study purpose?

Answer 2

generalization of study findings--that is, can we generalize our findings to our study population?

Question 3

Which of the following is a research question for an explanatory study?

A) Do persons who engage in regular aerobic exercise use fewer days of work leave due to health issues?
B) Are our clients who are being treated for depression have lower scores for depression after treatment than before?
C) What are the characteristics of the students in our research class in regard to age, gender, and family structure?
D) What are the stages of moral decline for at-risk youth who have been adjudicated for delinquency?

Answer 3

Do persons who engage in regular aerobic exercise use fewer days of work leave due to health issues?

Question 4

The major purpose of the literature review for the explanatory study is to ______.

A) identify the characteristics of people who will be in your study
B) determine the conclusions your study will take
C) shape your conceptualization of themes and the direction of your research
D) find the statistical measure that will be of most help in your testing of the research hypothesis

Question 5

In explanatory research, a theory is an attempt to______.

A) confirm
B) justify
C) characterize
D) explain

Question 6

In explanatory research, a variable is something that ______.

A) varies
B) remains constant
C) stabilizes
D) transcends

Question 7

You are studying a group of clients in your women's support group services. You've collected data on age and whether a client has no-showed (failed to show up for an appointment). What are the variables in your study?

A) age
B) age, and whether the client no-showed
C) age, whether the client no-showed, and being a client in the support group service
D) age, whether the client no-showed, and gender

Question 8

You would expect to find a negative empirical relationship from data on grades in school and data on ______

A) self-esteem
B) depression
C) self-confidence
D) motivation to go to college

Question 9

You can generalize your findings on a scientific basis to your study population from an explanatory research study if you have a ______ sample.

A) snowball
B) convenience
C) purposive
D) random

Question 10

You can generalize the findings of your explanatory research study to your study population on a logical basis if you have data on ______.

A) relevant variables about the sample and the population that show similarities between the two groups
B) relevant variables about the sample and the population that show major differences between the two groups
C) the reliability and validity of the tools used to measure study variables
D) the sophistication of the research design

Question 11

Evidence for the reliability of the Beck Depression Inventory would be a finding of ______.

A) no relationship between the scores for the even-numbered items on this scale and scores for the odd-numbered items on this scale
B) a positive relationship between the scores for the even-numbered items on this scale and scores for the odd-numbered items on this scale
C) a negative relationship between the scores for the even-numbered items on this scale and scores for the odd-numbered items on this scale
D) a zero correlation between the even-numbered items on this scale and the scores for the odd-numbered items on this scale

Question 12

Which of the following types of research will normally have a study hypothesis that is being tested?

A) descriptive and exploratory
B) descriptive and qualitative
C) explanatory and evaluative
D) explanatory and exploratory

Question 13

Which of the following is a good statement of a study hypothesis?

A) Scores on depression will improve because of the effects of the service.
B) There is a positive relationship between scores for self-esteem and grades in school.
C) People will better understand the effects of the full moon because of the workshop they will attend on the research that has been conducted on this subject.
D) Given the importance of dysfunctional thinking on depression, cognitive behavioral therapy will prove to be effective because it addresses dysfunctional thinking about life events.

Question 14

When you are seeking a statistic that tests your hypothesis, which of the following is a description of a data structure you might consider?

A) You are examining the relationship between two variables where each is measured at the interval level.
B) You are examining the relationship between two variables where the level of measurement is not known.
C) You are measuring the proportion of people who are female in a sample of clients.
D) You are identifying the stages of moral decline for at-risk youth.

Question 15

In order to report that your data supported your study hypothesis, you must have the result that your data went in the hypothesized direction and were ______.

A) not surprising
B) not statistically significant
C) easily explained by chance
D) statistically significant

Question 16

The value of p in the analysis of data provides guidance on ______ significance.

A) practical
B) statistical
C) generational
D) causative

Question 17

In social science research, the value of p that is suggested as a guide for determining if statistical significance has been achieved with a set of data that is ______.

A) less than .05 (i.e., p < .05)
B) more than .05 (i.e., p > .05)
C) less than .10 (i.e., p < .10)
D) more than .10 (i.e., p > .10)

Question 18

Suppose you conducted a study about the relationship of self-esteem and grades in school. The scores for self-esteem were recorded from a common scale of self-esteem where higher scores represent higher self-esteem. Grades were recorded as the numerical average of all grades for students on their last report card. Your hypothesis was as follows: There is a positive relationship between grades in school and self-esteem. You found a correlation of .31 between these two variables and a p value of .34 (i.e., r = .31; p = .34). Did these data support your hypothesis?

A) Yes, because the correlation was positive rather than negative.
B) Yes, because the correlation was positive and statistical significance was found.
C) No, because the data fail to be statistically significant.
D) No, because the data had a positive correlation rather than a negative one.

Question 19

Suppose you conducted a study about the relationship of self-esteem and grades in school. The scores for self-esteem were recorded from a common scale of self-esteem where higher scores represent higher self-esteem. Grades were recorded as the numerical average of all grades for students on their last report card. Your hypothesis was as follows: There is a positive relationship between grades in school and self-esteem. You found a correlation of .31 between these two variables and a p value of .34 (i.e., r = .31; p = .34). What would be most appropriate as part of the conclusions you report from this study?

A) The data from this study found a positive relationship between self-esteem and grades in school.
B) The data from this study found a negative relationship between self-esteem and grades in school.
C) The data from this study proved that self-esteem is a cause of school grades.
D) The data from this study failed to find a significant relationship between self-esteem and grades in school.

Question 20

If all the persons in your study sample are female, gender will not be a variable in your study.

Question 21

Descriptive statistics are used to test a study hypothesis.

Question 22

The value of p in the statistical analysis of data is derived from inferential statistics.

Question 23

A negative correlation between scores for depression and grades in school would mean that those who were higher than others on one of these variables would tend to be higher than others on the other variable.

Question 24

The study sample is a smaller group of people than the study population.

Question 25

Explanatory research examines the relationships between two or more variables rather than just describing variables one at a time.

Question 26

One of the key tasks of the data analysis phase of explanatory research is the drawing of conclusions about what was learned from the study.

Question 27

You can have validity in your measurement tool even if you do not have reliability.

Question 28

If you collected data from all members of your research class for a study, you can scientifically generalize the results of your study to all students in your university.

Question 29

Suppose you decided to conduct an explanatory research study using the clients of a given service in a specified agency with which you are familiar. Your study objective is to determine if gender explains client no-shows (i.e., whether a client shows up for a service appointment). Explain how you would select the clients for your study and whether you can generalize your findings on a scientific basis to the population of all clients currently served by your agency.

Question 30

Articulate the study hypothesis for a study where you are examining the relationship between the variables of school grades, measured as the numerical average of all grades in the last reporting period, and scores on a self-esteem scale where higher scores represent a higher level of self-esteem. Identify one basis whereby your statement adheres to the guides for stating the study hypothesis.

Question 31

Suppose you have a study hypothesis that suggests you will find a negative relationship between scores for social support and scores for stress. Your data have yielded a correlation coefficient of -.37 with a p value of .21. Explain why you would or would not draw the conclusion that you found a negative relationship between social support and stress.

Question 32

What is the most important thing you should report in the conclusions section of your research report? Give an example.

Question 33

What is an example of the structure of your data in an explanatory study? Explain what research task in explanatory research is guided by knowing the structure of your data.