Question 1

Dr. Monroe is interested in surveying college students at her university who are first generation college students. She contacts the registrar's office and finds out that there are 3500 first generation college students total. She wants to include 350 of those students in her sample. She then divided the population by the sample size and gets k = 10. She then picks a random number between 1 and 10 which is 8. This determines that every 8th person in the population will be included in the sample. What type of sampling method is this?

Accepted Answer

A)  cluster sampling. 
B)  stratified sampling 
C)  random sampling 
D)  systematic sampling

Question 2

Suppose you wish to test a representative sample of people in your psychology class on attitudes toward on-line courses. There are 40 people in the class, 30 females and 10 males. What would be the most efficient strategy to ensure that your sample reflects the distribution of males and females in the classroom population?

Accepted Answer

A)  simple random sample 
B)  cluster sample 
C)  proportional stratified sample 
D)  convenience sample

Question 3

Construct validity is most related to what other concept discussed in research methods?

Accepted Answer

A)  reliability 
B)  operational definitions 
C)  falsifiability 
D)  measurement

Question 4

Convergent validity refers to

Accepted Answer

A)  the degree to which the measure does not correlate with measures of different constructs. 
B)  the degree to which the measure does correlate with measures of similar constructs. 
C)  the degree to which the test measures multiple constructs. 
D)  the degree to which the test measures a single construct.

Question 5

Your textbook authors suggest that if your population has fewer than 100 people you should

Accepted Answer

A)  use a stratified sampling method. 
B)  use simple random selection. 
C)  find a larger population 
D)  test everyone in the population.

Question 6

Gerald is developing a measure of shyness and he determines that students scoring high on the measure also score high for introversion on a well-known introversion-extraversion scale. The outcome best illustrates

Accepted Answer

A)  face validity. 
B)  concurrent validity. 
C)  predictive validity. 
D)  discriminant validity.

Question 7

Jacqueline wanted to assess the reliability of ratings made of children's aggressive behavior so she had two students rate the degree of aggression displayed by each of 50 children while engaged in play. She then compared the ratings made by these two students and computed the degree of agreement between them. Jacqueline used what method of assessing reliability?

Accepted Answer

A)  split-half reliability 
B)  interrater reliability 
C)  internal consistency reliability 
D)  test-retest reliability

Question 8

Discriminant validity refers to

Accepted Answer

A)  the degree to which the measure does not correlate with measures of different constructs. 
B)  the strong correlation the measure has with measures of similar constructs. 
C)  the degree to which the measure discriminates between different components of the construct. 
D)  the degree to which the test measures a single construct.

Question 9

Jim is conducting a survey to learn about student attitudes toward abortion. He passes out his survey to the first 100 students that enter the cafeteria. What sampling method is Jim using?

Accepted Answer

A)  convenience 
B)  cluster 
C)  stratified 
D)  EPSEM

Question 10

The extent to which groups that are known to diverge from one another actually differ on the construct being developed is known as

Accepted Answer

A)  discriminant validity 
B)  predictive validity evidence 
C)  known groups validity evidence 
D)  criterion validity

Question 11

What differentiates interval from ratio scales of measurement?

Accepted Answer

A)  Interval scales use rank order; ratio scales do not 
B)  In a ratio scale equal distance on the dimension represent equal distance on the dimension being measured; this is not true for interval 
C)  Scores of zero are not possible on interval scales 
D)  Ratio scales include an absolute zero point - indicating the absence of what is being measured

Question 12

Temperature on a Kelvin scale is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  nominal measurement. 
B)  ordinal measurement. 
C)  interval measurement. 
D)  ratio measurement.

Question 13

________of participants is done to obtain a representative sample, and ____________of the participants is done to improve the experimental design of the study.

Accepted Answer

A)  Random selection; random assignment 
B)  Random selection; random sampling 
C)  Random assignment; random selection 
D)  Random assignment; matching

Question 14

Which of the following would represent scores on a nominal scale?

Accepted Answer

A)  Attractiveness ratings on a scale of 1-5 
B)  Coding religion as protestant = 1; catholic = 2, etc. 
C)  Temperature on a Celsius scale 
D)  Exam scores

Question 15

The publisher of the SAT can assess this type of reliability when individuals take the SAT more than one time with different versions of the SAT being given each time. Which type of reliability can be assessed?

Accepted Answer

A)  equivalent forms reliability 
B)  internal consistency reliability 
C)  Cronbach's reliability 
D)  interrater reliability

Question 16

The measurement of a variable has validity when

Accepted Answer

A)  the same results are obtained each time it is measured. 
B)  it becomes an accepted variable in a given area of research. 
C)  it can be measured quantitatively. 
D)  the inferences that are made from the measurement are accurate.

Question 17

Interobserver agreement is assessed with nominal or ordinal variables by calculating

Accepted Answer

A)  percentage of agreement 
B)  correlation coefficient 
C)  t-test 
D)  coefficient alpha

Question 18

_____refers to the consistency of results and __________is the extent to which you are measuring what you think you are measuring.

Accepted Answer

A)  Reliability; periodicity 
B)  Validity; reliability 
C)  Reliability; validity 
D)  Convergence; divergence

Question 19

Owen wanted to assess the internal consistency of his measure of anxiety so he measured reliability estimates by comparing items within his test. He reported a reliability estimate of .80. What measure of reliability is Owen using?

Accepted Answer

A)  Cronbach's alpha 
B)  path analysis 
C)  factor analysis 
D)  Riesen's reliability estimate

Question 20

In the context of an experiment, a variable is

Accepted Answer

A)  any factor that can vary across participants or situations. 
B)  any phenomenon or characteristic that can be measured. 
C)  any phenomenon or characteristic of a participant or situation that has a specific value. 
D)  the unknown quantity that the experiment will determine.

Exam 5: Measuring Variables and Sampling