Question 1

Children who have been the victims of child maltreatment are followed from early childhood through adolescence with their psychological and emotional well being assessed every 3 years during this time. This is an example of a

Accepted Answer

A)  an archival study. 
B)  longitudinal study. 
C)  a correlational study. 
D)  a cross sectional study.

Question 2

One of the advantages of doing a case study is that it is easy for the researcher to remain objective about his observations and interpretations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

A meta-analysis involves

Accepted Answer

A)  combining results from different studies to identify patterns of findings that are consistent across studies. 
B)  increasing the size of a sample to include a wider range of child characteristics. 
C)  adding additional groups of participants to a study so it will represent a wider age range. 
D)  establishing a level of statistical significance that we can agree makes the results highly reliable.

Question 4

Changes that occur in the sample in a longitudinal study over time that make it less representative than it was at the start of the study create

Accepted Answer

A)  a cohort effect. 
B)  perceptual bias. 
C)  sample bias. 
D)  generalization deficits.

Question 5

When we are interpreting the results of a study, it is important to remember that

Accepted Answer

A)  we must have practical significance, whether or not we have statistical significance. 
B)  most studies have only limited application to real world situations. 
C)  the conclusions are generalizations that apply to groups of people, not to every single individual. 
D)  a good study should confirm the null hypothesis of the study.

Question 6

Researchers found that children who were well behaved had parents who used positive parenting techniques. Is this research correlational or experimental? Can we conclude that positive parenting causes children to be well behaved? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Researchers found that children who were well...

Question 7

A researcher does not have to collect her own data in order to conduct research.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

In order to protect the rights of individuals who participate in scientific research, it is necessary to

Accepted Answer

A)  pay participants for the time that they give to the study. 
B)  make the names of participants available to anyone who requests that information. 
C)  weigh the potential risks to the participants against the anticipated benefits of the research. 
D)  provide the participants with advice, based upon the results of the study, for how they can improve their lives.

Question 9

Professor Tyrone is interested in studying how the use of media (such as having the television on, answering text messages, or listening to an I-pod) affects students' ability to study for their courses. It would be better if she got permission to look up the students' grade point average than to simply ask the students to self-report their grade point average because

Accepted Answer

A)  they might not correctly report their grade point average in an attempt to make themselves look better to the researcher. 
B)  students don't pay much attention to grades, so many may not have this information in their memory. 
C)  grade point averages change so frequently that it is difficult for students to accurately recall what it is. 
D)  it won't be clear to students what information Professor Taylor is looking for when she asks about their grade point average.

Question 10

When we use observations to conduct research

Accepted Answer

A)  we are able to identify the causes of the behavior we observe. 
B)  we can be certain that we are seeing behavior as it naturally occurs. 
C)  it does not tell us directly about the causes of the behaviors we see. 
D)  they cannot help us to formulate new hypotheses that we can later test.

Question 11

If we conduct a research study using a sample of 14- to 16-year old adolescents attending school in ethnically-diverse middle class communities, we could correctly generalize our results to

Accepted Answer

A)  all adolescents between the ages of 14 to 16. 
B)  all middle class adolescents. 
C)  all middle class adolescents between the ages of 14 to 16. 
D)  adolescents who have characteristics similar to those of the sample.

Question 12

Case studies are often used to study

Accepted Answer

A)  individuals who are exceptional in some way. 
B)  large, representative groups of individuals. 
C)  group differences. 
D)  retrospective recall.

Question 13

Describe what ethical precautions researchers must take when doing research that involves children.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe what ethical precautions researchers must take...

Question 14

How would you assess whether a website you had found concerning children's motor skill development had information you could trust?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How would you assess whether a website...

Question 15

Applied developmental research is research that:

Accepted Answer

A)  has the primary purpose of adding to our theoretical understanding of the process of development. 
B)  provides information that is interesting and important. 
C)  uses the scientific method to try to reach valid conclusions. 
D)  is intended to help us make changes that will improve the lives of children.

Question 16

Research that has measured the event-related potentials (ERPs) of infants found that infants paid more attention to a stimulus when their caregivers

Accepted Answer

A)  reacted to the stimulus in a negative way than in a positive way. 
B)  appeared to be ignoring the stimulus. 
C)  reacted to the stimulus in a positive way than in a negative way. 
D)  reacted in a neutral way to the stimulus.

Question 17

Dr. Jordan studied 100 children from when they were eight-years-old until they were 13 years old. What is this type of research design called? She has concluded that children become more helpful to peers over this five-year age span. What limitations are there to this type of research design that might cause you to question whether her interpretation of her results is really accurate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Dr. Jordan studied 100 children from when...

Question 18

Because the participants who drop out of a longitudinal study are likely to be different in some ways from those who remain until the end of the study

Accepted Answer

A)  the conclusions drawn from longitudinal studies are seldom reliable. 
B)  the sample that is initially representative becomes increasingly biased over time. 
C)  there will be a cohort effect upon the final results. 
D)  attrition will make the sample more representative over time.

Question 19

A test consisting of arithmetic problems is given to children. The researchers state that results of the test will show the level of artistic skill the children have. When given the test twice, one month apart, children score at about the same level. Explain and critique the reliability and the validity of this test.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A test consisting of arithmetic problems is...

Question 20

You can be confident that the books and journals on child development that you find at your campus library will have accurate information because

Accepted Answer

A)  all material has been reviewed by the library staff before it becomes part of the library's collection. 
B)  libraries only purchase books and journals that are best sellers. 
C)  libraries only purchase books and journals that are recommended by the government's Educational Resource Information Center. 
D)  the librarians conduct a peer review for each book or article.

Exam 3: How We Study Development