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Research Methods final
final practice questions
184
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Graduate
12/03/2012

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Term
A correlation is a single number ____________ that describes the degree of relationship between two variables.
Definition
ranging from -1 to + 1
Term
A post-positivist would be most likely to hold which of the following positions?
Definition
Scientific truth is a goal that we seek, even if we never achieve it perfectly.
Term
A selection bias would be evident if two group pre-test means in a quasi-experiment are analyzed and determined to be ____________.
Definition
significantly different
Term
Bottom-up reasoning is formally known as:
Definition
Inductive reasoning
Term
For which of the following reasons are samples typically used?
Definition
A. Collecting information from a population may be prohibitively expensive in terms of time and money.

B. In many cases, it is impossible to collect information on all people in a population.

C. The sample accurately reflects the characteristics of the population. D. All of the above
Term
How many levels are there in a 2 x 2 x 3 factorial design?
Definition
7
Term
If we know that a score is two standard deviations above the mean, we know that the score lies in what part of the distribution (assuming that it is a normal distribution).
Definition
The score is likely to be at the 95th percentile.
Term
In a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial study including program (behavior modification vs. psychotherapy), time in program (30 minutes vs. 60 minutes per session) and setting (group vs. individual) what is "time in program"?
Definition
A factor name
Term
Inferential statistics:
Definition
Are explicitly constructed to address a hypothesis or research question
Term
In the pretest-posttest control group design the____ group receives the independent variable and the ____ group does not.
Definition
Experimental; control
Term
Multiple measures of the same variables (e.g., observation, paper and pencil test, interview, etc.) are used primarily to improve:
Definition
Construct Validity
Term
Random assignment is the best procedure to use in order to achieve in your study:
Definition
probabilistic equivalence of participants
Term
Researchers were interested in obtaining a non-survey estimate of popularity of various musical genres in different locations so they counted the number of customers who visited each section of several music stores. They were using a/an:
Definition
indirect measure
Term
The _______________ in a t-test is a function of the number of participants (the N) :
Definition
degrees of freedom
Term
The _________ scaling method typically includes a step in which the items are rated with a scale with extremes defined as “strongly unfavorable” and “strongly favorable” to the concept
Definition
Likert or summative
Term
The formula x=t+e is the basic equation in:
Definition
True score theory
Term
The key feature of ______________ is that every case in the sampling frame has the same chance of being selected.
Definition
simple random sampling
Term
The right of a research participant to not have his/her name revealed to others is called:
Definition
Confidentiality
Term
The statistic that is typically used to describe sampling error is termed the:
Definition
Standard error
Term
To assess the adequacy of a sample:
Definition
One must be able to identify the total population
Term
_______ validity is most related to establishing a cause-effect relationship in a study.
Definition
internal
Term
What is the most important reason for establishing the validity of measurement?
Definition
So we can interpret the results as meaningful indicators of what we are trying to measure.
Term
Which of the following is not one of the four basic elements of research design?
Definition
data
Term
Which of the following is the most effective way to rule out threats to external validity?
Definition
Use multiple sites.
Term
Which of the following is the most effective way to rule out threats to external validity?
Definition
Use multiple sites.
Term
Which type of validity is primarily concerned with determining whether there is a relationship between two measures?
Definition
Conclusion validity
Term
Which of the following ethical practices gives participants the greatest degree of privacy when participating in a study?
Definition
Anonymity
Term
When evaluating whether the activities of a political campaign influenced voter behavior, the research is interested in which of the following kinds of relationships?
Definition
causal
Term
When researchers consider the resources needed to conduct a study, the availability of participants, or the amount of time needed for a study, they are evaluating what aspect of the study?
Definition
feasibility
Term
Researchers investigating the effects of math anxiety on the performance of students in statistics have found that very low and very high anxiety are associated with poor test performance, but medium levels of anxiety are associated with better test performance. This is an example of what kind of pattern of relationship if we are measuring math anxiety and test performance in a statistics class
Definition
a curvilinear relationship
Term
Gender is an example of what kind of variable
Definition
qualitative variable
Term
In a study of whether members of fraternities drink more than other students, what would the null hypothesis be?
Definition
There is no difference in amount of alcohol consumed by fraternity members vs. students who are not fraternity members.
Term
Deductive reasoning is also known as:
Definition
Top-down reasoning
Term
The type of analysis that involves examination of more than one unit of analysis is called:
Definition
Hierarchical modeling
Term
If you observe a young person driving faster than the speed limit and think "Kids are all lousy drivers....they should raise the driving age!" your thinking may be subject to an:
Definition
exception fallacy
Term
The hourglass model of research suggests that:
Definition
Research generally begins with broad questions, and then narrows to a very specific hypothesis before generalizing back to the larger issue.
Term
Which kind of validity is sampling most related to?
Definition
External validity
Term
Which of the following strategies would probably not strengthen the external validity of a study?
Definition
using qualitative methods
Term
If we look at the average college entrance exam score for a random sample of first year college students in one particular school, we'd be recording what is referred to as a:
Definition
statistic of that population
Term
The greater your sample size, the _______ your standard error:
Definition
the smaller
Term
If we know that a score is three standard deviations above the mean, we know that the score lies in what part of the distribution (assuming that it is a normal distribution).
Definition
The score is likely to be in the highest 1% of the distribution.
Term
The key feature of simple random sampling is that:
Definition
Every case in the sampling frame has the same chance of being selected
Term
A college counseling center is interested in finding out about the attitudes toward counseling of the students who live in the dormitories. The total number of students in the dorms is 1200, and the counseling center decides to pick a 25% sample, meaning that there is a one in four chance of any particular student being selected to receive the survey. This sample could be considered a:
Definition
simple random sampling
Term
A student was planning to conduct a dissertation on the topic of cultural competence in high school counselors. She wanted to be sure that she had a proportionate stratified random sample that would allow her to examine the relationship of race and gender on opinions about cultural competence in counseling. What steps should she take to be sure that she would have the best chance of obtaining such a sample?
Definition
Divide the groups into homogenous subgroups according to race and gender, then randomly draw a sample population with the same percent in each subgroup.
Term
A researcher obtains a list of all possible participants in a study (the sampling frame). If she begins her sampling by selecting a single random number and then selects every xth person on the list, which of the following sampling procedures would she be using?
Definition
systematic random sampling
Term
If a researcher needs to study a wide geographic area, which sampling strategy might be the best option?
Definition
cluster random sampling
Term
Which of the following refers to the degree to which inferences can be made from the operationalizations of programs, treatments or theoretical ideas in a study?
Definition
construct validity
Term
A researcher wanted to test the effectiveness of a new program. As part of her preparations, she developed a checklist of all of the things that her literature review suggested should be included in the program. Then she had a panel of experts review her study plan and complete the checklist to indicate if they thought each of the items was included in the program. What kind of validity was this researcher addressing with this procedure?
Definition
content validity
Term
What type of validity involves assessment of the accuracy of predictions made by your theory?
Definition
criterion-related validity
Term
Testing the degree to which a measure can accurately differentiate between groups (e.g., diagnostic groups) involves examination of which kind of validity evidence?
Definition
concurrent validity
Term
One way of thinking about construct validity suggests that concepts are considered in a strict dichotomized fashion. This perspective suggests that a measure of a construct either measures the construct or it does not. This is an example of what kind of perspective?
Definition
definitionalist
Term
Discriminant correlation coefficients should be as ___ as possible and convergent correlation coefficients should be as ___ as possible.
Definition
low, high
Term
Over-reliance on a single self-report measure of a construct sets the stage for which type of threat to construct validity?
Definition
mono-method bias
Term
If a single researcher conducts all of the data collection for a study that involves interviewing participants, and if the study has great personal meaning for the researcher (as in a thesis or dissertation), what type of construct validity threat might exist in the study?
Definition
experimenter or researcher expectancy
Term
Cronbach and Meehl developed a model that attempted to tie together constructs and observables in a meaningful way called the:
Definition
Nomological Network
Term
A multitrait-multimethod matrix is a special kind of ________ matrix:
Definition
correlation
Term
Which of the following is not a type of survey technique?
Definition
All of the above are useful survey techniques
Term
Sometimes researchers are interested in learning about specific topics that not everyone could be assumed to have experience with. In order to establish that your respondent is able to validly respond to your survey, you should:
Definition
ask a filter question
Term
In face to face interviews, there is frequently a tendency for a respondent to want to please the interviewer or "look good". This issue is known as:
Definition
social desirability bias
Term
A survey question that includes a "Yes/No" response format would be considered:
Definition
dichotomous
Term
A filter question is also known as a:
Definition
contingency question
Term
"What do you think of proposed changes in benefits and hours?" is an example of a:
Definition
double-barreled question
Term
Which of the following strategies is likely to increase the probability of an honest response?
Definition
All of the above are potentially effective alternatives.
Term
Which of the following survey methods would generally be considered the poorest choice if maintaining privacy of respondents was a priority?
Definition
focus group
Term
Which of the following would constitute good practice in question sequencing:
Definition
Put more difficult, threatening questions near the end
Term
At the end of surveys quite often it is good to add a question that allows respondents to add comments on the survey itself or any additional thoughts about the topic covered in the survey. What kind of question format does this represent?
Definition
unstructured or open-ended
Term
A quantitative composite score based on a rule-based combination of other variables is a/an:
Definition
index
Term
Construction of an index begins with:
Definition
Carefully defining the construct to be represented by the index
Term
Which of the following is not a good example of an index?
Definition
Your score on a final examination
Term
When we figure out how to turn a construct that we want to include in an index into some sort of quantitative score, we are ___________ the construct.
Definition
operationalizing
Term
Which of the following best represents the final step in developing an index?
Definition
Validating the index over time to be sure it accurately represents what it is intended to.
Term
The Thurstone, Likert & Guttman scaling methods all apply to which kind of scale?
Definition
unidimensional scales
Term
Scales and indexes both offer which of the following benefits?
Definition
they both allow you to use a single score to represent a complex construct
Term
If you have a set of statements that describe an attitude and ask some raters to rate or rank them in order of favorableness toward to the object (e.g., toward immigrants) your procedure would resemble which scaling method?
Definition
all of the above
Term
Which scaling method typically includes a step in which the items are rated with a scale like this one: 1=Strongly unfavorable to the concept, 2 = Somewhat unfavorable to the concept, 3 = Undecided, 4 = Somewhat favorable to the concept, 5 =Strongly favorable to the concept
Definition
Likert or summative scaling
Term
Which of the following statements are accurate?
Definition
Quantitative methods excel at summarizing large amounts of data
Term
Which of the following is not an approach to qualitative research?
Definition
secondary analysis of large national datasets like the Census
Term
Which of the following would not be a sensible use of qualitative measures?
Definition
to obtain a general estimate of the incidence of a particular problem across a relatively large geographic area
Term
Which of the following case study methods can be considered both a form of measurement and a form of intervention?
Definition
Most Significant Change technique
Term
Which of the following is an accurate statement about mixed methods research?
Definition
In mixed methods research, we simultaneously conduct both qualitative and quantitative research to achieve the advantages of each and mitigate their weaknesses.
Term
Which of the following characteristics of qualitative research might be thought of as corresponding to internal validity?
Definition
credibility
Term
_______ in qualitative research is comparable to objectivity in quantitative research.
Definition
confirmability
Term
Possible strategies for assessing the confirmability of a qualitative study research results include:
Definition
a) have an independent researcher critique the results of the study and report the comments with your results
b) do a data audit after the fact to make judgments about potential bias
c) see if it is possible to identify data that contradicts prior observations
d) All of the above will increase the confirmability of qualitative research results.
Term
Researchers were interested in obtaining a non-survey estimate of political candidate popularity prior to an election so they counted all of the bumper stickers in a mall parking lot. They were using a/an:
Definition
indirect measure
Term
A researcher collected all of the case reports she could find about a particular health condition. Then she systematically read each one and coded it for the presence of certain kinds of comments and observations about the patient. What kind of qualitative research strategy was she using?
Definition
content analysis
Term
Which of the following forms of validity is most related to establishing a cause-effect relationship in a study?
Definition
internal validity
Term
A design that allows you to control alternative plausible explanations of a causal relationship would be said to be strong in:
Definition
internal validity
Term
A researcher examined a new intervention in an experimental design. The results of the study showed that the intervention was effective, but the apparent cause of the result was not the one that the program theory suggested. This study can be said to have internal validity, but not _________ validity.
Definition
construct
Term
When considering a "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" question in an attempt to establish cause and effect, which of the following considerations for establishing causality is relevant:
Definition
Temporal precedence
Term
Of all of the following factors in establishing causality, which is the most difficult to establish?
Definition
determine that no other possible explanations exist for the relationship
Term
When conducting longitudinal (e.g., pre-post) research on learning, it is helpful to have alternative forms of assessments available in order to control _________ threats.
Definition
testing
Term
A research group was preparing a study that would be conducted at several sites. At each site, they were using a physiological measure that had to be calibrated (reset and checked to make sure it was measuring accurately) each time a new data collection occurred. If the study personnel were not careful about doing this, which threat would probably be operating in the study?
Definition
instrumentation threat
Term
"Regression toward the mean" in a single group study can be interpreted as:
Definition
the "you can only go up (or down) from here" phenomenon
Term
Which of the following is a true statement about regression toward the mean?
Definition
The more extreme the sample group, the greater the regression to the mean
Term
When participant dropout occurs in a pre-post design, it is a good idea to check potential bias in the results by:
Definition
see whether the dropouts differ from those who completed the study on the pretest measure
Term
Which of the following statements is not a good reason to do a qualitative study?
Definition
when you are anxious about statistical analysis
Term
___________ involves an analysis of the meaning of documents?
Definition
content analysis
Term
Which of the following is not one of Morse's criteria for evaluating qualitative research?
Definition
validity
Term
_________ begins with a general focus, identifies core concepts as data are gathered, uses then a process of memoing and comparison between concepts and the data?
Definition
Grounded theory
Term
Which of the following is not one of Eisner's six features that "make a study qualitative"?
Definition
The study employs the reliable measures as instruments.
Term
Maintaining a "hands off" attitude would not be part of which of the following study designs?
Definition
a) Participant Observation
b) Ethnography
c) Phenomenology
d) None of these study designs would have a "hands off" attitude.
Term
_____________ means that the story is told in detail, communicating the essence of what it is like for the participants.
Definition
Thick description
Term
In _____________ content analysis the researcher examines a model by counting occurrences of particular terms or phrases according to a coding scheme derived from a model.
Definition
summative
Term
The most common ___________ approach is participant observation as a part of field research. The __________ becomes immersed in the culture as an active participant and records extensive field notes.
Definition
ethnographic, ethnographer
Term
Indirect measures, content analysis and secondary analysis all share the characteristic of _____________.
Definition
unobtrusiveness
Term
The randomized experiment is considered a very ________ design when you're interested in internal validity.
Definition
strong
Term
In order to achieve probabilistic equivalence of participants in your design, the best procedure to use is:
Definition
random assignment
Term
_________ validity can be increased by the use of a an "artificial" laboratory experimental setting, but at the expense of _______ validity.
Definition
Internal, external
Term
If you set the alpha level to .05 in a randomized two group experiment, what are the chances that your groups will be statistically equivalent on a pre-test measure (e.g., if you compare them with a t-test)?
Definition
They will be equivalent 95 times out of 100
Term
Random assignment is to __________ validity as random selection is to ______ validity.
Definition
internal, external
Term
Random assignment involves ___________ while random selection is most related to _____________.
Definition
research design, sampling
Term
A ___________ is considered a "signal enhancing" design.
Definition
factorial design
Term
______________ design can improve research by "reducing the noise" that surrounds treatment effects
Definition
Either covariance or blocking
Term
How many factors are in a 3 x 4 factorial design?
Definition
2
Term
A ________ effect is an outcome that is a consistent difference between levels of a factor.
Definition
main
Term
A design that involves two existing groups (like two classrooms in a school) is employing a kind of quasi-experimental design known as the __________ groups design.
Definition
nonequivalent
Term
The reason that nonequivalent groups are not as strong in internal validity as randomly assigned groups is that:
Definition
Pre-existing differences between groups may account for at least some part of the observed outcomes
Term
"Nonequivalent" in quasi-experimental design means:
Definition
random assignment was not used
Term
A ________ bias would be evident if two group pre-test means in a quasi-experiment are analyzed and determined to be significantly different
Definition
selection
Term
The _________________ design is generally considered comparable the randomized experiment internal validity?
Definition
regression-discontinuity design
Term
One of the advantages of the regression-discontinuity design is that:
Definition
It has a moral/ethical advantage over other designs in that the use of a cutoff score allows members of the population most in need to receive the treatment
Term
In the regression-discontinuity design, "discontinuity" means:
Definition
the regression lines of the groups are not equal
Term
The retrospective or archived pretest design is best when:
Definition
you want to study change but no pretest data was collected
Term
The _____________ design is particularly useful in providing information about selection-maturation threats?
Definition
double pretest
Term
Which of the following is not a condition that must be met in order to assume a cause-effect relationship between a treatment and an outcome?
Definition
Statistical significance
Term
Which of the following is the generally the weakest way to minimize threats to the validity of research?
Definition
Establish a convincing argument against alternative explanations.
Term
Which of the following is not one of the four basic elements of research design?
Definition
statistics
Term
Which of the following strategies would help rule out history threats to internal validity?
Definition
expanding across time
Term
Expanding across observations is especially helpful in:
Definition
establishing convergent and discriminant validity
Term
Which of the following would generally not be considered a characteristic good design:
Definition
atheoretical
Term
Overall, the most efficient, powerful, and valid strategy for assigning participants to conditions is
Definition
random assignment
Term
If you know that in a two-group design, the probability of assignment to either group is exactly .5, the design is a:
Definition
randomized experiment
Term
Which of the following is not one of the more recent developments in research design?
Definition
Decreased importance of theory in design
Term
Theory has become ________ in contemporary research design
Definition
more important
Term
The first step in data analysis is usually:
Definition
data preparation
Term
Which kind of analysis allows you to test hypothese about a population based on probabilities associated with sample data?
Definition
inferential statistics
Term
__________ validity is the degree to which the judgments you reach about relationships in your data are reasonable.
Definition
Conclusion
Term
Conclusion and internal validity are both concerned with the issue of whether a relationship exists, but internal validity is also related to the ________ nature of the relationship:
Definition
causal
Term
"Fishing" in data analysis is problematic because:
Definition
Type I errors are more likely
Term
The problem of not seeing a relationship in the data when it is in fact there (missing the needle in the haystack) is called:
Definition
Type II error
Term
All of the following are elements of statistical power, except:
Definition
the confidence interval
Term
Type I error rate is the same as:
Definition
the significance level
Term
If a researcher concludes that missing data is "nonignorable", the researcher has determined that:
Definition
the pattern of missing data is not random
Term
A _______ is a single number ranging from -1 to + 1 that describes the degree of relationship between two variables.
Definition
correlation
Term
__________ means translation of raw data into a form that represents the original data in summary, indexed, graphic, or other coded form
Definition
Data reduction
Term
The method of constant comparative analysis is typical of:
Definition
Grounded theory
Term
Grounded theory makes use of __________ in data analysis.
Definition
Open coding
Term
In content analysis, the step in which the researcher usually identifies and apply the rules that are used to divide each text into segments or ''chunks'' is called:
Definition
unitizing
Term
Which of the following is an accurate statement about content analysis?
Definition
Content analysis is subject to certain limits, including publication bias.
Term
The best program for computer-assisted qualitative data analysis is:
Definition
It is not possible to choose one program as superior.
Term
Patton's model:
Definition
Provides an overall way of thinking about the integration of qualitative and quantitative analysis
Term
Which of the following would not be considered appropriate data for qualitative analysis?
Definition
a) Documents
b) Films
c) Poems
d) All of these might be considered appropriate for qualitative analysis.
Term
Theoretical saturation is a step in:
Definition
Grounded Theory
Term
"Memoing" is used in:
Definition
Constant comparison
Term
Most inferential statistics come from a general family of statistical models known as the____________:
Definition
General Linear Model
Term
In regression analysis, we can use a ________ variable to represent categorical variables like subgroups.
Definition
dummy
Term
A ___ t-test is employed when we want to examine the differences in _______ between _________ groups.
Definition
means, two
Term
The formula for the t-test includes the mean difference between groups in the numerator and the ____________ in the denominator.
Definition
standard error of the difference
Term
The number of degrees of freedom in a t-test is a function of:
Definition
the number of participants (the N)
Term
The __________ of the regression line shows the magnitude or difference or relationship between variables.
Definition
slope
Term
In analysis of variance terms, a/an _________ effect suggests that differences between groups are consistent (or linear), while a/an ________ effect means that the differences between groups are not consistent (not linear).
Definition
main, interaction
Term
The least squares criterion means:
Definition
the difference between the observations and the best fitting regression line is minimized
Term
An _________ specified model provides the most accurate and efficient estimate of a treatment effect.
Definition
exactly specified
Term
Propensity score analysis:
Definition
a) Is useful in quasi-experimental designs to increase the strength of causal inference
b) Includes information about the nature of pre-existing groups in nonequivalent groups designs
c) Can be used to produce more accurate estimates of treatment effects
d) All of the above are true of propensity score analysis
Term
The guide to writing and publishing in the social and behavioral sciences education is:
Definition
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition
Term
Glaser, the well known qualitative methodologist, advised that good writing has which of the following qualities?
Definition
Grab
Term
The graphic display that shows the overall design and flow of a study is called:
Definition
The study schema
Term
Among distribution media, an example of a digital repository for research is:
Definition
DSpace
Term
One of the key elements of the schema model developed by the CONSORT group is:
Definition
The number and reasons that participants did not complete the study
Term
Which of the following is an accurate statement about an abstract?
Definition
The abstract concisely summarizes the entire study
Term
The Methods section of a research report should include:
Definition
The sample, measures, design and procedures
Term
What would be wrong with the following sentence in the introduction to a research report: "I feel very strongly about this topic because I have been affected personally."
Definition
It is an emotional statement rather than a scientific statement
Term
Which of the following would be a good idea before submitting a manuscript for publication?
Definition
a) Spell-checking the document
b) Have a colleague or two review the paper
c) Utilize a checklist to be sure that the report is complete
d) All of the above would be good ideas
Term
________ writing is more typical of _________-oriented journals.
Definition
a) Objective, qualitatively and quantitatively
Term
Evolutionary epistemology is the idea that our _______________ evolve(s) according to the same principles that describe the evolution of all life
Definition
Knowledge about the world
Term
The ________ model is an example of the link between research and practice.
Definition
Scientist-Practitioner
Term
Evidence-based practice evolved from several early roots in the United States, including:
Definition
The US Department of Agriculture
Term
_________ evaluations strengthen or improve the object being evaluated; they help form it by examining the delivery of the program or technology, the quality of its implementation, and the assessment of the organizational context, personnel, procedures, inputs, and so on.
Definition
Formative
Term
Which of the following would typically not be considered a form of summative evaluation?
Definition
Needs assessment
Term
Which of the following practices have been recommended to help improve on the reporting of statistical results?
Definition
a) Report effect sizes
b) Report confidence intervals
c) Include consideration of practical and clinical significance
d) All of the above
Term
___________is a signal-to-noise ratio that expresses the size of a relationship or a difference in a standardized way.
Definition
The effect size
Term
The ____________ allows the reader to know the likely upper and lower bounds of the estimated effect.
Definition
Confidence interval
Term
What are some of the ways that researchers can get an idea of clinical or practical significance when planning a study?
Definition
a) pilot data
b) prior published studies
c) expert judgment
d) all of the above
Term
Sackett's model was developed to do what in the field of medicine?
Definition
Provide systematic steps for conduct of evidence-based practice
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