Deck 2: Getting Started in Research

Question 1

The relationship between people's heights and weights is positive.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Correlation does not imply causation.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In a research study, a variable that is conceptualized as the cause of another variable is the dependent variable.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Most research in psychology is conducted using convenience samples.

Question 5

Experiments do not have the directionality problem.

Question 6

Differences between group means are typically presented using bar graphs.

Question 7

Good research questions should only come from previous research.

Question 8

In a study on the effect of visualization on golfing performance, the independent variable is visualization.

Question 9

Research has shown that the use of human figure drawings improves children's memories for being touched.

Question 10

Milgram's (1963) obedience study was inspired by his experience in the army.

Question 11

Pearson's r cannot be negative.

Question 12

Two important considerations in evaluating research questions are their interestingness and feasibility.

Question 13

If two variables are positively related, changes in one cause changes in the other.

Question 14

The only good research questions in psychology are those that lead to new ways to help people.

Question 15

In a negative relationship, higher scores on one variable are associated with lower scores on another variable.

Question 16

Bar graphs are typically used to present relationships between quantitative variables.

Question 17

Pearson's r is appropriate for describing nonlinear relationships.

Question 18

Most research in psychology is conducted using random samples.

Question 19

Whether or not someone is clinically depressed is an example of a quantitative variable.

Question 20

Marital status is an example of a categorical variable.

Question 21

Which of the following is a categorical variable?

A) eye color
B) IQ
C) number of lifetime sexual partners
D) shoe size

Question 22

Most professional journals in psychology are not peer reviewed.

Question 23

In a study of happiness, 100 people rate their level of happiness on a 1-to-10 scale. What kind of variable is this?

A) categorical
B) quantitative
C) independent
D) dependent

Question 24

"Feasibility" refers to how interesting a research question is.

Question 25

A research methods student conducts a study on the relationship between people's level of extroversion and the number of close friends they have. She computes Pearson's r, which comes out to be - 1.70. Which of the following is most clearly true?

A) The relationship between the two variables is weak.
B) More extroverted people have fewer friends.
C) She ought to use a bar graph to display her results.
D) She made an error in computing Pearson's r.

Question 26

Which of the following is most clearly a statement about a statistical relationship between variables?

A) About one-third of Americans have a psychological disorder at some time in their lives.
B) Summer temperatures in Phoenix often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
C) "Pain-Away" is more effective at treating headaches than its main competitor.
D) Many people are willing to visit a psychotherapist for help with their problems-but many are not.

Question 27

Which of the following is the most common type of sample in psychological research?

A) a convenience sample
B) a random sample
C) a haphazard sample
D) a stratified sample

Question 28

A review article typically presents no new data.

Question 29

A professional journal is a personal diary kept by a researcher.

Question 30

An empirical research report presents the results of one or more new empirical studies.

Question 31

PsycINFO does not include articles published before 1973.

Question 32

The process of peer review prevents many important studies from being published.

Question 33

Which of the following statements is true?

A) There are many good operational definitions for stress.
B) Any operational definition of stress must include a physiological component (e.g., blood pressure).
C) There is no good way to define stress.
D) Stress cannot be measured using questionnaires.

Question 34

A research question that has already been studied by scientific researchers is generally not worth pursuing further.

Question 35

The research literature in psychology consists of all published research in the field.

Question 36

Which of the following is most likely to be the population in a psychological research study?

A) 60 introductory psychology students
B) all students at the University of Michigan
C) all introductory psychology students
D) adult humans

Question 37

There is a statistical relationship between two variables if which of the following is true?

A) One of the variables has a higher mean than the other.
B) The average level of one variable differs across levels of the other.
C) The variables are conceptually similar (e.g., intelligence and common sense).
D) all of the above

Question 38

When you want to show that Variable X has a direct effect on Variable Y, what is the best kind of study to conduct?

A) a nonexperimental study
B) an experiment
C) an observational study
D) a survey

Question 39

A typical research article would include references to three to five articles or book chapters.

Question 40

A monograph is a book written by one author or a small group of authors.

Question 41

What is a random sample? Explain why researchers in psychology do not typically use random samples in their research.

Question 42

Which of the following studies most clearly has the directionality problem?

A) a study on whether or not a person was sexually abused as a child and how paranoid he or she is as an adult
B) a study on the relationship between losing a limb and one's self-esteem
C) a study relating college students' study habits to their final exam performance
D) a study on the correlation between how much negative emotion a person has and how many physical symptoms he or she has

Question 43

Explain how the peer review process generally works in scientific research.

Question 44

Which of the following could NOT be the independent variable in an experiment?

A) sexual abuse
B) study strategy
C) room temperature
D) mood

Question 45

What typically happens to a manuscript during the peer review process for a professional journal?

A) The researcher gets comments on the manuscript from his or her friends before submitting it for publication.
B) The manuscript is posted on the Internet and voted on by a large group of evaluators.
C) The journal editor sends the manuscript to three experts for their comments before deciding whether to publish it.
D) The manuscript is published and the journal editor then publishes comments from readers.

Question 46

Which of the following is true of a review article?

A) It presents the results of several new studies.
B) It summarizes all the research on a particular question.
C) It presents a critical review of a new book.
D) It presents a one-page summary of a research topic.

Question 47

Give an example of each of the two types of statistical relationships discussed in the chapter.

Question 48

The most common source of research ideas in psychology is which of the following?

A) previous research
B) informal observations
C) government regulations
D) suggestions from friends

Question 49

What makes a research question interesting?

A) it solves a practical problem
B) the answer is not obvious
C) the answer will fill a gap in the research literature
D) all of the above

Question 50

What makes a research question in psychology "interesting?"

Question 51

What is the primary database for the research literature in psychology?

A) JSTOR
B) Social Science Citation Index
C) PsycINFO
D) Psychological Abstracts

Question 52

The research literature in psychology consists primarily of which of the following?

A) articles in professional journals and edited books
B) Web sites and encyclopedia entries
C) magazine articles and newspaper articles
D) academic books and popular books

Question 53

Milgram's (1962) obedience study was inspired by which of the following?

A) his experience as a soldier during World War II
B) the trials of accused Nazi war criminals
C) the brutal attack of Kitty Genovese
D) his experience working in a psychological research lab

Question 54

An empirical study of published research articles in psychology found that they include how many references on average?

A) 3
B) 10
C) 20
D) 50

Question 55

Which of the following is true of a monograph?

A) It contains only speculation and no scientific data.
B) It is a type of article published in a professional journal.
C) It is written by several authors who each contribute one chapter.
D) It is written by a single author or small group of authors.

Question 56

Give an example showing clearly that two variables can be statistically related without it being the case that one of them is the cause of the other.