Deck 13: Descriptive Research Strategy

Question 1

If a researcher is recording instances of humor during a television show,that researcher is conducting

A)archival research.
B)content analysis.
C)naturalistic observation.
D)participant observation.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In an observational study of children in a day care setting,you select one participant at a time for observation.This is an example of using

A)time sampling.
B)event sampling.
C)individual sampling.
D)interval method.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In an observational study of classroom disruption,you record whether or not each child commits a disruptive act during each 60-second period of a 30-minute classroom observation.For this study,which method is being used to quantify the observations?

A)frequency
B)duration
C)interval
D)individual

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Jane Goodall's research,examining the behavior of chimps in Africa,is an example of

A)participant observation.
B)naturalistic observation.
C)correlational research.
D)case study research.

Question 5

In an observational study of autistic children,you record how much time each child spends playing alone during a 30 minute observation period.This is an example of the ________ method of quantifying behavior.

A)frequency
B)duration
C)interval
D)individual

Question 6

A researcher has pairs of college student participants play a card game in the laboratory.However,the game is rigged to ensure that one participant experiences a long losing streak so that the researcher can observe how the losing students behave when they are frustrated.For this study,what kind of behavioral observation is being used?

A)naturalistic observation
B)participant observation
C)contrived observation
D)unstructured observation

Question 7

When an observer switches recording from one behavior to another during an observation period,it is known as ________ sampling.

A)time
B)individual
C)event
D)frequency

Question 8

The goal of the descriptive research strategy is

A)to describe an individual person or patient in great detail.
B)to describe a variable (or variables)as they exist naturally.
C)to describe the relationship between two variables.
D)to establish the existence of a cause and effect relationship between variables.

Question 9

Rosenham's research investigating the experiences of mental patients and patient-staff interactions in psychiatric hospitals is an example of

A)participant observation.
B)naturalistic observation.
C)correlational research.
D)case study research.

Question 10

Content analysis involves using behavioral observation techniques to record

A)behaviors that occurred in the past.
B)behaviors that occur in institutional settings (such as hospitals or prisons).
C)behaviors that occur in response to the researcher's suggestion.
D)behaviors that occur in movies or television shows.

Question 11

When researchers apply behavioral observation techniques to historical records in order to measure behaviors that occurred in the past,the measurement process is called

A)behavioral observation.
B)event sampling.
C)content analysis.
D)archival research.

Question 12

A researcher who wanted to observe behaviors in a private social club would probably need to use

A)naturalistic observation.
B)participant observation.
C)contrived observation.
D)unstructured observation.

Question 13

To help ensure that observational measurements are objective,which of the following techniques would be used?

A)habituate the participants to the observer's presence
B)prepare a list of behavior categories
C)measure inter-rater reliability
D)prepare a list of behavior categories and measure inter-rater reliability

Question 14

In the observational study of adolescents at the mall,you count the number of social interaction behaviors that occur within a one-hour observation period.This is an example of the ________ method of quantifying behavior.

A)frequency
B)duration
C)interval
D)behavior counting

Question 15

Bird watching is most similar to what type of research?

A)experimental
B)participant observation
C)naturalistic observation
D)quasi-experimental

Question 16

Recording how many hours a week I study,involves using the _______ method,while simply recording whether or not I study in a week,involves using the __________ method.

A)interval; frequency
B)duration; interval
C)frequency; duration
D)interval; duration

Question 17

A researcher lives for two months with a group of Asian nomads to observe their behaviors.For this study,what kind of behavioral observation is being used?

A)naturalistic observation.
B)participant observation.
C)contrived observation.
D)unstructured observation.

Question 18

The _______ method for quantifying observations involves counting the number of times a behavior occurs.

A)duration
B)frequency
C)interval
D)time sample

Question 19

A researcher uses a survey to obtain measurements of students' eating behavior at a local college.The researcher hopes to prepare a report describing where the students eat,what times they eat,and what kinds of food they eat.This researcher is using the

A)descriptive research strategy.
B)correlational research strategy.
C)experimental research strategy.
D)factorial research strategy.

Question 20

In an observational study of children in a daycare center,you alternate 1 minute of observation with 1 minute of recording behavior.This is an example of ________ sampling.

A)time
B)individual
C)event
D)alternating-interval

Question 21

Where in a survey should demographic questions (such as age and gender)be located?

A)at the beginning
B)at the end
C)scattered throughout so participants won't feel that their privacy is being invaded
D)Demographic questions violate confidentiality and should not be used.

Question 22

The multiple-personality study reported in Thigpen and Cleckley's Three Faces of Eve is an example of

A)participant observation.
B)naturalistic observation.
C)correlational research.
D)case study research.

Question 23

A case study is an example of

A)the idiographic approach.
B)the nomothetic approach.
C)the correlational approach.
D)the interview approach.

Question 24

Which of the following identifies a potential problem with Internet surveys?

A)They tend to be costly and inefficient.
B)They limit flexibility in presenting questions and response alternatives.
C)It can be difficult to find a group of participants who share a specific interest.
D)It can be difficult to control or even know the composition of the sample.

Question 25

The idiographic approach to research involves

A)direct observation of individuals without their knowledge.
B)interviewing people in a small group setting.
C)the intensive study of one individual.
D)the study of groups.

Question 26

What is a disadvantage of administering a survey by phone?

A)time consuming
B)interviewer bias
C)time consuming and interviewer bias
D)neither time or interviewer bias is a disadvantage

Question 27

A researcher who brings dating couples into the laboratory to be observed while they are solving a problem is using

A)participant observation.
B)naturalistic observation.
C)contrived observation.
D)case study research.

Question 28

What is an advantage to administering a survey over the Internet?

A)100 percent response rate
B)survey can be individualized based on responses
C)risk of interviewer bias
D)none of the options are advantages.

Question 29

On a questionnaire Dr.Allen asks participants to answer the following questions? "What do you think about the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes?" This is an example of a(n)____________ question.

A)restricted
B)rating scale
C)open-ended
D)partially open-ended

Question 30

One problem with mail surveys is non-response bias.This means

A)usually only a small percentage of the surveys are returned.
B)many questionnaires will be returned with missing answers.
C) individuals who return surveys may not be representative of the general population.
D) attempts to increase the number of people who return the survey may produce a biased sample.

Question 31

What type of question produces a numerical score for each participant?

A)open-ended
B)restricted
C)rating scale
D)physiological

Question 32

Which observational research design has the greatest risk that the observer will influence the behaviors being observed?

A)naturalistic observation
B)participant observation
C)contrived observation
D)nonparticipant observation

Question 33

An advantage of the case study design (compared with group designs)is

A)it can be used to study rare phenomena.
B)it can demonstrate a counterexample to a general principle.
C)it can be emotionally powerful and convincing.
D)the other three choices are all advantages of the case study design.

Question 34

Essay questions on an exam are examples of _______ items.

A)open-ended
B)restricted
C)rating scale
D)physiological

Question 35

The main advantage of contrived observation (compared with other types of observational research)is

A)you can be more confident that the observed behaviors are natural.
B)there is less concern that the researcher is influencing the behaviors being observed.
C) it is more efficient because you do not have to wait for specific behaviors to occur.
D)it is less likely that the researcher will impose subjective interpretations on the data.

Question 36

Which type of question is a Likert-type question?

A)open-ended
B)restricted
C)rating scale
D)physiological

Question 37

A case study typically involves the detailed study of

A)a single disease or psychiatric disorder.
B)a single clinical treatment.
C)a single group such as a fraternity or an athletic team.
D)a single individual.

Question 38

Which of the following methods for administering a survey requires the greatest amount of time from the researcher?

A)mail
B)phone
C)handing out surveys to a group of participants
D)all three methods are equally time consuming

Question 39

The multiple-choice questions on this exam are examples of ________ items.

A)open-ended
B)restricted
C)rating scale
D)physiological

Question 40

A drawback to an open-ended question is that

A)the responses obtained may be difficult to code and analyze.
B)it is more difficult to construct than other types of items.
C)it may place too many restrictions on the participant's response.
D)the other three choices are all drawbacks.

Question 41

One concern with telephone surveys is interviewer bias.

Question 42

Measuring interrater reliability helps ensure that behavioral observations are objective and are not influenced by subjective interpretations of the researcher.

Question 43

The case study design can be useful for studying unusual clinical cases such as rare psychiatric disorders.

Question 44

In contrived observation,the researcher joins the individuals to be observed and engages in activities with them.

Question 45

Observing children's behavior while having them play a game in the laboratory is an example of participant observation.

Question 46

One advantage of Likert-type rating scale questions is that they produce numerical scores that can be evaluated with standard statistical methods such as computing means.

Question 47

One disadvantage of open-ended questions is that the responses can be very difficulty to summarize and analyze.

Question 48

Counting how many times a child exhibits disruptive behavior during a 30-minute observation period is an example of measuring behavior using the duration method.

Question 49

One advantage of administering a survey by mail is that it minimizes the risk of interviewer bias.

Question 50

A limitation of descriptive studies is that they cannot assess the causal relationship between variables.

Question 51

Habituation is a technique used in behavioral observation to minimize the risk that the participants' behavior is influenced by reacting to the presence of an observer.

Question 52

One problem with observational research is that it can be very time consuming.However,this problem is minimized by using participant observation.

Question 53

The case study design can be used to establish causal relationships between variables.

Question 54

Case studies are examples of research using the idiographic approach.

Question 55

The goal of the descriptive research strategy is to describe the relationships that exist between variables.

Question 56

Archival research involves applying the techniques of behavioral observation to record behaviors in books or movies.

Question 57

A political scientist uses a survey to determine whether college students' sleeping habits are related to their grade point averages.This researcher is using the descriptive survey research design.

Question 58

Roshenhan's study where individuals were admitted to mental hospitals to observe patients and patient-staff interactions is an example of contrived observation.

Question 59

Nonresponse bias refers to the fact that the people who return surveys are often a biased sample that is not representative of the general population.

Question 60

Although a case study typically involves a single participant,the results can serve as a counterexample that influences an entire theory.

Question 61

Under what circumstances is a case study the preferred technique for gathering information.

Question 62

Behavioral observation is used in many different types of research.What is the specific characteristic that differentiates the observational research design from other research using behavioral observation?

Question 63

Suppose you are interested in performing an observational study of eating behavior of rats in a laboratory.Describe one method to quantify this behavior: that is explain how you could convert the observations into numerical scores.

Question 64

Outline the major advantages and disadvantages of administering a survey by mail.

Question 65

Describe the three types of behavioral observation and briefly explain the circumstances under which each is used.

Question 66

Describe the three types of survey questions and outline the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Question 67

Describe the primary distinction between descriptive research and other research strategies.