Deck 4: Planning Your Research Project

Question 1

Marcy is concerned that her findings may be due to an extraneous uncontrolled variable and not her treatment.Marcy is most concerned with:

A)triangulation.
B)respondent validation.
C)external validity.
D)internal validity.

Answer 1

internal validity.

Question 2

An interval scale of measurement:

A)assigns a name to a category.
B)communicates rank-order information.
C)incorporates equal units of measurement.
D)is tied to an absolute zero.

Answer 2

incorporates equal units of measurement.

Question 3

Dr.Davenport wants to conduct a study of whether high-school students learn more efficiently while seated at a desk compared to in an easy chair.She knows there is a large research literature regarding similar influences on learning,and she wants to see if the findings hold true with a group of high school history students.Moreover,as a researcher she is uneasy with a lack of structure.You recommend that Dr.Davenport conduct a ________ study.

A)quantitative
B)qualitative

Answer 3

quantitative

Question 4

Charlotte,an anthropologist,has been living in an Incan village for three years.During that time Charlotte has become expert in Incan weaving by observing and imitating the master weavers in the community.When Charlotte was observing,she was collecting:

A)primary data.
B)secondary data.
C)informal data.
D)nonempirical data.

Question 5

Replications in experimental research are generally conducted to facilitate:

A)internal validity.
B)external validity.
C)internal reliability.
D)external reliability.

Question 6

Dick and Jane are studying aggression among preschool children.Separately,they each watch a videotape of four children interacting in a playroom and then rate each child on the level of aggression displayed during the play session.They compare their completed ratings and are pleased to note they are highly similar.This is an example of ________ reliability.

A)interrater
B)internal consistency
C)equivalent form
D)test-retest

Question 7

Dr.Greenhill wants to know how it is that some early adolescents come to make a connection between their personal lifestyle and environmental problems,while others don't.Furthermore,among those who see the connection,why do some become committed to environmentalism while others do not? Dr.Greenwald looks forward to probing the thoughts of young teens on these issues and trying to see the questions and issues through "14-year-old eyes." You recommend that Dr.Greenhill conduct a ________ study.

A)quantitative
B)qualitative

Question 8

Professor Wellman is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project.One question asks students to report whether they are currently living in an "urban," "suburban," or "rural" setting.This is an example of a/an:

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

Question 9

Professor Harris is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project.One question asks students to report their highest level of education by choosing from these options: "some high school," "completed high school," "some college," or "completed 4-year college degree." This is an example of a/an:

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

Question 10

The main difference between an interval and a ratio scale is that only one of them:

A)includes an absolute zero.
B)uses equal units of measurement.
C)supports the use of statistical analyses.
D)is used in research with human subjects.

Question 11

Professor Pickle is studying civic-mindedness among senior citizens.She administers a survey of civic mindedness to a senior citizens group in early April,then again in early May.By comparing the two sets of scores,the professor can assess the ________ reliability of her measure of civic-mindedness.

A)interrater
B)internal consistency
C)equivalent form
D)test-retest

Question 12

An ordinal scale of measurement:

A)assigns a name to a category.
B)is tied to an absolute zero.
C)incorporates equal units of measurement.
D)communicates greater than and less than relationships.

Question 13

Dr.Drive is testing a 10-question measure of achievement motivation.He notes that if his respondents agree with the first question,they tend to also agree with the other nine.Likewise,if his respondents disagree with the first question,they tend of disagree with the other nine.This is an indication of good ________ reliability.

A)interrater
B)internal consistency
C)equivalent form
D)test-retest

Question 14

Three of the following accurately characterize data.Which one does NOT necessarily characterize data?

A)Data may be elusive.
B)Data can be volatile.
C)Data are ever changing.
D)Data reveal truth.

Question 15

Professor Harris is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project.One question asks students to report how politically conservative they are.It includes a 7-point scale where 1 is "not at all conservative" and 7 is "extremely conservative." This is an example of a/an:

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

Question 16

Charlotte wrote a book about her experience as an anthropologist living in an Incan village for three years and becoming an expert weaver.Her book was widely read by other anthropologists,including Mira,who is an expert in Navaho weaving.For Mira,Charlotte's book constitutes:

A)hearsay data.
B)secondary data.
C)informal data.
D)primary data.

Question 17

A researcher decides to use a high school sample to test the relationship between her new measure of empathy and a well-established measure of interpersonal sensitivity.She finds that the two instruments are highly related,which supports the ________ of the new instrument.

A)predictive validity
B)content validity
C)criterion validity
D)face validity

Question 18

When a qualitative researcher asks the participants,"Do the conclusions I've drawn make sense to you" the researcher is evaluating:

A)the trustworthiness of the study.
B)the reliability of the study.
C)the external validity of the study.
D)the Hawthorne effect.

Question 19

A researcher designed a new questionnaire to measure political conservatism.To test out his new instrument,he asks people leaving their polling place on election day to report their degree of political conservatism on a scale of 1 (low)to 10 (high)and then complete his questionnaire.Results show that people who identified themselves as political conservatives also had the highest scores on his questionnaire.This is an indication of the ________ of the new instrument.

A)criterion validity
B)content validity
C)face validity
D)predictive validity

Question 20

Sean,a high school wrestler,has agreed to participate in a study of cardiovascular conditioning.He is left somewhat confused when,at the first research session,he is asked to complete a questionnaire about commonly purchased grocery items.Sean's confusion indicates a lack of ________ regarding the task.

A)construct validity
B)content validity
C)criterion validity
D)face validity

Question 21

Professor Parsnip wants to know more about the mental process students go through as they learn about research methods.She also wants to know which instructional methods are most effective for teaching research methods to her students.Assume that Professor Parsnip decides to take a quantitative approach to studying these questions.State a specific research question related to her general research problem that lends itself well to a quantitative research approach.Then explain why your question is better addressed using a quantitative,rather than a qualitative,methodology.

Question 22

Three of the following are techniques for strengthening the credibility of a qualitative study.Which one is NOT?

A)Spend extensive time in the field studying the phenomenon of interest.
B)Acquire detailed descriptions of the phenomena being studied.
C)Exclude participants who have experiences or opinions that are very different from those of others in the study.
D)Ask participants to comment on the conclusions being drawn from the study.

Question 23

Three of the following are techniques for strengthening the external validity of a study.Which one is NOT?

A)Conduct the study in a real-life setting.
B)Assure that you have a representative sample.
C)Replicate the study under a variety of relevant conditions.
D)Allow flexibility in procedures and instruments.

Question 24

Three of the following are techniques for strengthening the internal validity of a study.Which one is NOT?

A)Conduct the study in a controlled laboratory setting.
B)Conduct a double-blind experiment.
C)Make participants fully aware of your expected findings.
D)Build in opportunities for triangulation.

Question 25

The primary role of the IRB is to

A)ensure researchers are aware of federal and state laws regarding the handling of data.
B)ensure that research participants are protected from harm and invasion of privacy.
C)provide institution-specific ethical guidelines for research involving humans.
D)evaluate whether the researchers are qualified and the research will be meaningful.

Question 26

Sara conducted a study in her sixth grade classroom.The study focused on students' interests in science classes.Sara shared what individual students said about their interest in science with the seventh-grade teachers to help place students in next years' classes.Was Sara's sharing this information in accordance with ethical research practices?

A)In this case it was ethical to share students' data since it will help them in their education.
B)In this case it was ethical to share students' data since the study was conducted in school.
C)In this case,it was unethical to share students' data since that information was confidential.
D)In this case,it was unethical to share students' data since the information was anonymous.

Question 27

Professor Parsnip wants to know more about the mental process students go through as they learn about research methods.She also wants to know which instructional methods are most effective for teaching research methods to her students.Assume that Professor Parsnip decides to take a qualitative approach to studying these questions.State a specific research question related to her general research problem that lends itself well to a qualitative research approach.Then explain why your question is better addressed using a qualitative,rather than a quantitative,methodology.

Question 28

The requirement to keep information provided by research participants confidential applies:

A)to legal minors (children under the age of 18),but not adults.
B)only in cases where it is specifically requested by the participant.
C)to all persons under almost all conditions.
D)only in cases where participants divulge information that is potentially illegal.