Deck 10: Nonexperimental Research, part 2: Survey Research

Question 1

The survey question,"Rate your agreement: College students should receive grades in their courses because this prepares them for the competitive world outside of college" is not particularly well-written because

A) It addresses more than one issue in a single item
B) It is not exhaustive
C) It shows poor grammar
D) None of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A Likert scale is a(n)

A) open ended rating scale
B) rating scale, often with seven or nine categories
C) rating scale with verbal categories rather than numerical
D) questionnaire that uses branching of items

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A disadvantage of closed-ended questions is that

A) The issue being studied may be too complex to reduce to a small number of answers
B) Answers can be too simplistic to reflect the problem
C) You may suggest alternatives that the respondent would have never thought of
D) All of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which one of the following is a major function of survey research?

A) To dispel myths
B) To collect as much data as possible in the shortest period of time
C) To collect only information that will prove to be significant
D) To acquire qualitative data

Question 5

A verification key checks for

A) recording errors
B) careless responses
C) influence of social desirability
D) poor command of language

Question 6

The categories of "apples" and "oranges" are

A) Mutually exclusive
B) Mutually exhaustive
C) Biased
D) Subject to social desirability effect

Question 7

Open-ended questions are more appropriate for

A) preliminary studies
B) large-scale studies
C) follow-up studies
D) studies in which you don't want respondents to have to think too hard

Question 8

For an item on a survey to be clear,the alternatives must be

A) mutually exclusive
B) exhaustive
C) mutually exclusive and exhaustive
D) either mutually exclusive or exhaustive

Question 9

The Mental Measurement Yearbook series

A) Is the official publication of MENSA
B) Reviews many standardized tests, including questionnaires
C) Is used to survey outgoing college seniors
D) Contains information about famous psychologists

Question 10

A visual analogue scale is a(n)

A) open ended rating scale
B) rating scale, often with seven or nine categories
C) rating scale that consists of a single line, labeled at each end
D) questionnaire that uses branching of items

Question 11

Some participants have a tendency to agree with any statement on an inventory.This tendency is called

A) The social desirability tendency
B) The Stroop effect
C) Acquiescence
D) The good subject tendency

Question 12

Closed-ended questions are useful because

A) They are easily standardized and coded
B) Often all the possible responses are not needed
C) Participants can formulate their own responses
D) It's easy to anticipate the range of response alternatives for most questions

Question 13

Branching items are useful when

A) When surveying the public about botany
B) Some participants need to skip inappropriate items
C) Attempting to avoid the social desirability tendency
D) Rating stimulus intensity

Question 14

A major advantage of open ended questions is that

A) answers are easier to code
B) respondents do not have to think as hard
C) they allow respondents to expand on their answers
D) they lessen the chances that a clerical error will be made when coding the data

Question 15

The survey question,"Do you believe that for every dollar of tax increase there should be $2 in spending cuts with the savings earmarked for deficit and debt reduction" is not a particularly well-written item because

A) It addresses more than one issue in a single item
B) It is not exhaustive
C) It shows poor grammar
D) It shows bias

Question 16

Before you ask survey respondents how often they smoke,you should first ask

A) Their name
B) Whether they drink
C) How often they drink
D) Whether they smoke at all

Question 17

One way to detect dishonest responses on a questionnaire is to use

A) a Likert scale
B) closed ended questions
C) the randomized response method
D) a verification key

Question 18

Rating scales are

A) Measurement instruments
B) Always open-ended
C) Used to detect dishonesty
D) Used to detect acquiescence

Question 19

The first step in conducting a questionnaire survey is to

A) select the sample
B) define the population from which the sample is to be taken
C) list specific objectives to be achieved by questionnaire
D) construct questionnaire items

Question 20

If I answer a question differently on a questionnaire because I am afraid of what other people will think of me,I am showing

A) The social desirability tendency
B) The Stroop effect
C) Acquiescence
D) The good subject tendency

Question 21

The randomized response technique permits the investigator to

A) randomly select subjects
B) code the data in such a way as to recover the true response of each participant
C) estimate the rate of a behavior in the population without knowing an individual's true response
D) identify participants who are lying

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a problem in face to face interviewing?

A) Safety
B) Expense
C) Difficult to supervise interviewers
D) Problems in answering questions in the intended order

Question 23

One of the major problems facing Web-based surveys is

A) Slippage can occur
B) A difficulty in finding a truly random sample
C) Social desirability is increased
D) The good subject tendency is increased

Question 24

Probability sampling: ____: nonprobability sampling: ____.

A) simple random sampling, purposive sampling
B) stratified random sampling, cluster sampling
C) purposive sampling, haphazard sampling
D) purposive sampling, stratified random sampling

Question 25

Which one of the following sampling methods is an example of a nonprobability sample?

A) cluster sampling
B) simple random sampling
C) purposive sampling
D) stratified random sampling

Question 26

A researcher is interested in how individuals in a certain city feel about the chance of their becoming victims of a crime.To investigate this question,she randomly selects 12 city blocks and then randomly selects a certain number of people from each block.This method of sampling is known as

A) stratified random sampling
B) cluster sampling
C) purposive sampling
D) nonprobability sampling

Question 27

The main advantage of telephone survey administration is

A) Low cost
B) No social desirability tendency
C) Quick administration
D) Easy access to participants

Question 28

The reliability of the data from survey studies depends mainly on

A) the response rate
B) the experience of the researcher
C) the randomness of the sample
D) the format of the questions (e.g., open ended versus closed ended questions)

Question 29

Dropoff administration of a survey would be most likely done with a group whose members are likely to be

A) at the same place at the same time
B) at the same place at different times
C) located in several different places
D) without fixed addresses

Question 30

The major advantage of cluster sampling over simple random sampling is that it

A) saves time and money
B) yields more reliable research findings
C) yields a higher degree of randomness in heterogenous populations
D) yields a higher degree of randomness in homogeneous populations

Question 31

A major advantage of using a computer for survey administration is

A) social desirability is reduced
B) the good subject tendency is increased
C) The questions are never asked in the same order twice
D) acquiescence is increased

Question 32

Researchers typically hope that a survey have a response rate of at least ____%.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 100

Question 33

The British magazine New Scientist based conclusions about the acceptance of ESP among scientists on a survey with a return rate of ____%

A) 2
B) 10
C) 25
D) 67

Question 34

A disadvantage of computerized survey administration is that

A) Slippage can occur
B) Social desirability is increased
C) Not everyone has access to computers
D) It cannot check for invalid responses

Question 35

A stratified random sample should be used when

A) the population has identifiable subgroups that are of interest to the researcher
B) the sample constitutes the population.
C) the population is very small
D) there is no way of estimating the probability that a particular subgroup will be included in the sample

Question 36

The first step in sampling is to

A) determine the desired size of the sample
B) identify the population from which the sample is to be drawn
C) identify all subgroups, or strata
D) identify desired attributes of the sample

Question 37

The sampling frame is the

A) entire population
B) population as defined for the purposes of the survey
C) time during which the survey will be conducted
D) population to which you wish your results to generalize

Question 38

Oversampling happens when

A) too many of one subpopulation is selected by chance
B) a subpopulation is intentionally over represented in a sample
C) sampling is conducted in two waves on the same population
D) extra individuals are selected in case of incomplete data

Question 39

A random sample is one in which

A) each group of the population is represented equally
B) the unit of sampling is a naturally occurring group of individuals
C) every member of the population has an equal and independent chance of being selected
D) the research results are statistically significant

Question 40

Which of the following is a simple random sample of people at a party?

A) People count off by 4's. All of the 1's are chosen for the sample.
B) Each couple puts their names on one slip of paper, which is then well shaken in a hat. Select the first one quarter of the slips drawn.
C) Each person puts his or her name on a slip of paper, which is then well shaken in a hat. Select the first one quarter of the slips drawn.
D) Give each person a number as they come to the party. Every fourth number is chosen for the sample.

Question 41

You would like to include a question on your survey that asks about opinions on marriage and homosexuality.How could you write the question to avoid bias,such as social desirability?

Question 42

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using open-ended questions on a survey

Question 43

Look in an introductory psychology text for examples of studies that employed surveys and questionnaires.Discuss the considerations that led to this type of study,rather than an experiment.

Question 44

Define random sample,stratified random sample,cluster sample,and describe situations in which each is preferred.

Question 45

A researcher is interested in the effects of type of university,year in school,and gender have on attitudes toward gender roles.Discuss ways of selecting schools,and students within schools.

Question 46

Which of the following is advisable in conducting an open ended interview?

A) Putting the questions in your own words
B) Using probe questions to encourage the respondent to give a more complete answer
C) Suggesting alternatives to a respondent who draws a blank
D) Giving your own opinion