Deck 2: Developing a Research Question

Question 1

When beginning to do research in a new area of study,you should

A) plunge right in and design a study
B) not be too influenced by the work of others, as it could limit your creativity
C) conduct a literature review
D) start recruiting participants

Answer 1

C

Question 2

When considering information on a web site's credibility,you should

A) try to find a date that allows you to evaluate the timeliness of the document
B) make sure that it's sponsored by a corporation
C) check to make sure that it's information is in line with your point of view
D) make sure that language appropriate for the common person is used

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Proprietary web sites are

A) not used by psychologists
B) analogous to magazines to which you must subscribe so you can read them
C) freely available to the public
D) never accessed via the library

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Once you have found an interesting topic,you should try to

A) expand your search to include all of psychology
B) narrow the topic down to a manageable size
C) find the full history of your topic
D) plan your experimental design

Question 5

Which of the following is true of a library but not necessarily true of the Internet?

A) Someone other than the author placed the material there.
B) All of the material is from nonprofit organizations.
C) The material is not controversial.
D) All of these are true.

Question 6

A credible web site

A) Should discuss the way that it's funded
B) Should never reveal its sources
C) Should reference the literature
D) Should present ideas from a specific point of view

Question 7

Web of Science permits

A) one to go back in time from a starting reference
B) keyword searches
C) author searches
D) one to go forward in time from a starting reference

Question 8

A search engine is

A) An index for philosophical ideas
B) Too diffuse to be useful
C) a specialized program that searches the Web for documents
D) an engine that permits you to use special features of programs

Question 9

The text suggests that a good first step in researching a broad topic is to

A) start with PsycINFO
B) browse national magazines, like Newsweek
C) check a textbook or handbook
D) ask your friends

Question 10

Information on a corporation's website should be considered

A) accurate
B) false
C) an advertisement
D) a public service announcement

Question 11

What is the purpose of doing a thorough literature review before designing an experiment?

A) Actually, you shouldn't do one. They are a waste of time.
B) The APA requires one prior to publication.
C) You need to know what research has already been done in the area
D) To make use of proprietary databases

Question 12

A proprietary web site is one that

A) is limited to subscribers
B) carries information on pharmaceuticals
C) is not available to minors
D) None of these is true.

Question 13

A meta-engine is

A) a search engine for philosophical subjects
B) more focused than other search engine
C) a search engine that searches the output of other search engines
D) an engine that permits you to use special features of other search engines

Question 14

A Uniform Resource Locator is a(n)

A) web address
B) librarian
C) electronic card catalog
D) database

Question 15

The pre-publication process in which work submitted for publication is evaluated by others is called

A) Other evaluation
B) Informative selection
C) Filtered evidence
D) Peer review

Question 16

In picking a topic for research,the most important step is to

A) be sure the topic is big enough
B) be sure the topic is interesting
C) be sure others have studied the problem
D) get started

Question 17

Information obtained from a web site gains credibility if

A) the author is a well known authority
B) the author's work is cited approvingly by a well-known authority
C) you can find biographical material validating the author's credentials
D) All of these increase credibility.

Question 18

PsycINFO and PsycLIT are examples of:

A) primary sources
B) secondary sources
C) reference works
D) bibliographic tools

Question 19

Ideas for studies can be found:

A) From talking to your instructor
B) In textbooks
C) From reading journal articles
D) All of the above

Question 20

Information obtained from web sites maintained by political or advocacy groups should be considered

A) as accurate
B) somewhat cautiously
C) as false
D) as proprietary

Question 21

The introduction of a research proposal

A) Gives the way that theories would predict the experimental outcome
B) Explains the data
C) Includes a request for money
D) Includes the way that the data will be collected

Question 22

The best use of data bases such as PsycINFO is to ____ studies on a given problem.

A) find the latest
B) find the earliest
C) determine which are the key
D) make a list of all

Question 23

Large psychological data sets are being made available on the Internet so that

A) the data may be analyzed for relationships not considered by the original researchers
B) researchers can mimic experimental techniques
C) as part of new National Institute of Health guidelines
D) researchers know what other researchers are working

Question 24

A research proposal is generally required by

A) A Committee for a Master's Thesis
B) Funding agencies
C) University ethics boards
D) All of the above

Question 25

When doing a literature search,after you have located the key articles in a given field,you should then carefully read the ____ and skim the rest

A) abstracts and conclusions
B) method sections
C) results sections
D) none of these; you should carefully read the entire articles

Question 26

Infotrac is useful because it

A) covers only scientific publications
B) covers popular journals
C) has more scientific publications than PsycLit
D) none of these is true

Question 27

The statement of the research question should be as ____ as possible

A) general
B) specific
C) relevant to the real world
D) complete

Question 28

Why should you stop yourself from restricting your search to full-text articles that are available on-line?

A) these articles are proprietary, and thus too expensive to use exclusively
B) they are not yet peer reviewed
C) a thorough literature search will probably have articles and books on it that are not yet available online
D) You shouldn't. Full-text only is fine

Question 29

The research proposal

A) follows the same outline as a published article
B) states the expected results and how they will be analyzed
C) serves as a sort of contract between the student and the adviser
D) all of these are true

Question 30

If you are interested in reading an article that is in a journal that your library doesn't carry,you could

A) Order it via Inter-Library Loan
B) Look it up on INFOTRAC
C) Try a PsycINFO search
D) Use Web of Science

Question 31

The methods section of a research proposal

A) indicates the expected results
B) gives details of expected analysis
C) explains the way in which you want to test your hypothesis
D) Is not really necessary, since the experiment has not yet taken place

Question 32

The advantage of the proposal is that it

A) serves as a sort of contract between student and adviser
B) forces the researcher to think through details such as the exact statistic to be used
C) provides a basis for much of the eventual published report
D) All of these are true.

Question 33

If I wanted to find articles about heart disorders in people with Bipolar Disease,I could

A) Search for "Heart Disorders" using PsycINFO
B) Search for "Bipolar Disease" using PsycINFO
C) Perform both "a" and "b", then combine the searches with an "AND"
D) Perform both "a" and "b", then combine the searches with an "OR"

Question 34

As you develop your hypothesis and design your experiment,

A) you should ask yourself "Exactly what am I trying to find out?"
B) you should ask yourself "Is this fundable?"
C) you should worry about whether anyone else has tried to do this before
D) you should ask yourself "Is this really what I'm interested in?"

Question 35

The format for a research proposal is

A) Generally similar in outline and style as the final report
B) Usually very brief (fewer than 120 words)
C) Done with a few key points, rather than paragraph form
D) Almost always an oral presentation

Question 36

In the event that you cannot find a book that you need through your library,you should:

A) Order the book through InfoTrac
B) Order the book through Inter-Library Loan
C) Call all of the libraries in a 100 mile radius looking for the book
D) Call your instructor

Question 37

E-mail

A) should only be used to contact acquaintances
B) is increasingly used for scientific exchange
C) messages are not usually replied to as promptly as telephone messages or regular mail
D) all of these are true

Question 38

A research proposal is:

A) A Master's Thesis
B) A statement of everything necessary to evaluate the adequacy of the research before it is conducted
C) What scientists give before they can get married
D) A request for money

Question 39

The introduction of a research proposal

A) Contains experimental methodology
B) Explains your reason for wanting to do the study
C) Contains what the data means
D) Includes a request for money

Question 40

PsycINFO does not contain

A) popular magazines
B) journal references
C) references to dissertations
D) references to technical reports

Question 41

Describe the steps in developing a researchable question.

Question 42

What are some of the methods that might be used to locate important articles after you have found references to them in a database?

Question 43

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various proprietary databases for searching the scientific literature in Psychology.

Question 44

What is the difference between the Internet and a Library,and what is its significance?

Question 45

The results section of a research proposal

A) indicates the actual results
B) indicates the expected results
C) does not give details of analysis
D) does not include any graphic presentations

Question 46

How does one evaluate the credibility of information obtained from the Internet?