Deck 2: Research Methods

Question 1

Observational research has the ability to eliminate the possibility of a third variable that may explain the relationship between two variables.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Participants tend to give different answers to the same question depending on the answer choices they are given.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Experimental research manipulates an independent variable to see how it affects a dependent variable.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Experimental research is the only method that can give us information about causation.

Question 5

Prevalence is defined as the proportion of a population that has a particular disease.

Question 6

Correlation is not causation.

Question 7

Archival research provides researchers with information about causation.

Question 8

Internal validity refers to the degree to which researchers have reasonable confidence that the same results may be obtained using the same experiment for other people and in other situations.

Question 9

Each hypothesis must be tested using a specific research method.

Question 10

Archival research eliminates the third variable problem

Question 11

What is the general goal of scientific research?

A) describe a phenomenon
B) make predictions about a phenomenon
C) explain why a phenomenon happens
D) All of the above

Question 12

Ashley believes that people who are suffering from a lot of stress tend to become sicker than those who have little stress in their lives. Ashley's belief is an example of a(n) _________ ?

A) hypothesis
B) theory
C) procedure
D) independent variable

Question 13

A(n) __________ is an organized set of principles used to explain an observed phenomenon.

A) independent variable
B) dependant variable
C) theory
D) hypothesis

Question 14

Bill believes that stress leads to illness. In order to measure this, he is going to record the number of times each participants coughs. The number of coughs is an example of a(n) __________.

A) operational definition
B) conceptual definition
C) theory
D) independent variable

Question 15

Sarah has looked up divorce data on the "web" to examine if children from a broken home are more susceptible to the common cold than children from two-parent families. Sarah is using the observational method known as __________?

A) participant observation
B) naturalistic observation
C) archival research
D) case reporting

Question 16

Recent research has demonstrated that as the number of friends someone has increases, so to does his/her life expectancy. Based on this research, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Having more friends causes people to live longer
B) The number of friends is positively correlated with life expectancy
C) The number of friends is negatively correlated with life expectancy
D) Living longer causes people to have more friends.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a strength of the survey method of conducting research?

A) It is a very inexpensive way to gather data
B) It is easy to get a large number of participants with this method
C) Researchers do not have to be concerned about the effects of observer bias
D) Researchers can determine causality.

Question 18

In a recent study, researchers had half of the watch a TV commercial that depicted very attractive (and skinny) women whereas the other half watched a TV commercial depicting normal women. In order to measure college women's attitudes toward food, the participants were than asked to fill out a questionnaire about their eating attitudes. The researchers also left out a bowl of M & M's and allowed the participants to eat some while completing the survey. The researchers than counted how many M & M's each participant ate. In this experiment, the type of TV commercial watched in the ________ and the number of M & M's eaten is the ________.

A) independent variable; dependent variable
B) dependent variable; independent variable
C) operational definition; conceptual definition
D) conceptual definition; operational definition

Question 19

________ are the only research method that allows researchers to determine whether one variable ________ another.

A) Experiments; correlates
B) Experiments; causes
C) Survey; correlates
D) Survey; causes

Question 20

__________ is a research method that allows researchers to take advantage of naturally occurring events such as earth quakes, and other natural disasters.

A) Observational research
B) Natural experiments
C) Experiments
D) Case reports

Question 21

In order to examine how personality influences coronary heart disease, Dr. Phil measured the heart rates of two different groups of people (Type A and Type B). This research method is an example of what type of research?

A) Retrospective study
B) Prospective study
C) Archival research
D) Case study

Question 22

Research that looks at people who have developed a specific disease to see who they life styles may have differed is an example of a __________ study?

A) prospective
B) retrospective
C) case
D) archival

Question 23

One major issue to consider when running a clinical trial is the issue of _________; participants that are involved in these trials may often suffer from more than one disease.

A) co morbidity
B) observer bias
C) inaccurate reporting
D) leading question bias

Question 24

________ measures the extent to which the effects on the dependent variable were caused by the independent variable.

A) Internal validity
B) External validity
C) Reliability
D) Mundane realism

Question 25

In many research projects involving a new drug, a __________ condition is needed to eliminate __________ effects.

A) control; expectancy
B) control; recency
C) placebo; expectancy
D) placebo; recency

Question 26

________ refers to the degree to which researchers have reasonable confidence that the same results may be obtained using the same experiment with other people in other situations.

A) Internal validity
B) External validity
C) Reliability
D) Mundane realism

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a way to increase external validity?

A) Use a representative sample
B) Use a convenience sample
C) Make participation in your study as convenient as possible
D) Conduct the same study in different populations or locations

Question 28

Studies in situations that resemble places and events in the real world are said to be ________ in ________ .

A) high; mundane realism
B) low; mundane realism
C) high; reliability
D) low; reliability

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a necessity in running a research project?

A) Participants must sign an informed consent
B) No deception can be used
C) The study must go through an extensive institutional review first
D) Patient's confidentiality must be kept

Question 30

At the end of each research project, all participants must be ________ (i.e., explained the purpose of the study, allowed to ask questions; attempted to resolve negative feelings; etc.)

A) debriefed
B) given an informed consent
C) deceived
D) analyzed

Question 31

Researchers have found a negative correlation between educational attainment and inflammation. This means:

A) As educational attainment increases, level of inflammation decreases
B) As educational attainment increases, level of inflammation increases.
C) Educational attainment causes inflammation
D) As educational attainment increases, level of inflammation increases

Question 32

Researchers have found a positive association between depression and heart disease. This means:

A) Depression causes heart disease.
B) As likelihood of depression increases, likelihood of heart disease decreases.
C) As likelihood of depression increases, likelihood of heart disease increases.
D) As likelihood of depression decreases, likelihood of heart disease decreases.
E) Both C and

Question 33

In a recent study, participants were randomly assigned to eat soup in one of two conditions: in one condition their soup bowl continually re-filled, whereas in the other condition, they ate from a normal soup bowl but were allowed to eat as many bowls as they would like. The independent variable in this study was _____________ and the dependent variable was____________.

A) the flavor of soup, how much soup was consumed
B) how much soup was consumed, the flavor of soup
C) the type of bowl, how much soup was consumed
D) how much soup was consumed, the type of bowl,

Question 34

In Crum and Langer's 2007 study examining the power of mind-set on health, how did they increase the likelihood that their results were due to their intervention and not due to some other factor?

A) they conducted a lab study, rather than a field study
B) they used a retrospective design to establish groups
C) they relied on a prospective design to establish groups
D) they used random assignment to establish groups

Question 35

Describe the five steps involved in the scientific method of conducting research.

Question 36

Describe two ways of conducting research using observational or naturalistic methods, and two limitations of such an approach.

Question 37

Describe four weaknesses of survey methods of research.

Question 38

Describe how the use of random assignment and control help researchers using experimental methods determine correlation versus causation.

Question 39

Describe two ways of increasing internal validity, and two ways of increasing external validity.

Question 40

A recent study (Eisenberg, 2004) reported that adolescents who frequently have dinner with their families reported lower levels of smoking, drinking, drug use, and depressive thoughts. How does this study illustrate the 3^rd variable problem?

Question 41

Apply each of the four approaches to research to examine the alcohol-health link.