Deck 2: Research Ideas

Question 1

While shopping,you observe the behavior of adolescents at the mall and get some ideas about what may be causing the behavior.This is an example of getting research ideas from

A)theory.
B)casual observation.
C)systematic observation.
D)second-hand information.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Finding out why clients diagnosed with schizophrenia do not consistently take their medication,would be an example of

A)basic research.
B)applied research.
C)pseudoresearch.
D)commonsense research.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Research studies that are intended to answer practical problems would be classified as

A)basic.
B)applied.
C)systematic.
D)necessary.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A researcher is intrigued by an explanation of children's problem-solving strategies found in a journal article,and develops a research study to determine whether the article's ideas are correct.This study can be classified as _______ research.

A)basic
B)applied
C)systematic
D)necessary

Question 5

Although __________ sources can be good starting points for a literature search,you must rely on ___________ sources for the details of the original research.

A)primary,secondary
B)secondary,primary
C)textbook,journal
D)journal,textbook

Question 6

A researcher notices that her children eat a good nutritious breakfast on some mornings but on other days they eat doughnuts.The researcher then observes that the children seem to have less energy at mid-morning on the days they eat doughnuts.This is an example of getting research ideas from

A)theory.
B)casual observation.
C)systematic observation.
D)second-hand information.

Question 7

Which of the following would be a danger of relying upon a primary source?

A)The author of the primary source may describe or interpret research results incorrectly.
B)Primary sources typically do not contain the details of methodology that are required for critical evaluation.
C)The author may describe results incorrectly and the source does not contain details of methodology.
D)There is no danger because you can rely on primary sources for accurate information.

Question 8

Which of the following would be a danger of relying upon a secondary source?

A)The author of the secondary source may describe or interpret research results incorrectly.
B)Secondary sources typically do not contain the details of methodology that are required for critical evaluation.
C)The author may describe results incorrectly and the source does not contain details of methodology.
D)There is no danger because you can rely on secondary sources for accurate information.

Question 9

A researcher designs a study to determine whether the number of syllables per word influences people's ability to recall a list of 20 words.This study can be classified as _______ research.

A)basic
B)applied
C)systematic
D)necessary

Question 10

The database that contains brief summaries of psychology articles and information on where to find the original publication is
A)Social Citation Index.

A)MedLine.
B)PsycInfo.
C)ERIC.

Question 11

Common mistakes in choosing a research topic include

A)topic is too broad.
B)staying with your first topic.
C)topic is too broad and staying with your first idea.
D)being willing to switch ideas.

Question 12

A ________ source contains original research reports.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)premier
D)germinal

Question 13

A researcher initiates a study to determine whether there is a significant decrease in student stress if class quizzes are announced rather than given on a "pop" basis.This study can be classified as

A)basic.
B)applied.
C)systematic.
D)necessary.

Question 14

The review of the literature in the introduction section of a research report is an example of a ________ source.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)premier
D)germinal

Question 15

Adolescents occasionally develop eating disorders.You wonder what is the best way to treat eating disorders.This is an example of getting research ideas from

A)theory.
B)vague thoughts.
C)practical problems.
D)systematic observation.

Question 16

Research studies that are intended to provide new knowledge would be classified as

A)basic.
B)applied.
C)systematic.
D)necessary.

Question 17

An empirical journal article is an example of a ________ source.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)premier
D)germinal

Question 18

A ________ source summarizes information from sources of original research reports.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)premier
D)germinal

Question 19

A newspaper article discussing someone's research is an example of a ________ source.

A)primary
B)secondary
C)premier
D)germinal

Question 20

The goal in conducting a literature search is to

A)learn of the existing knowledge in an area.
B)identify a gap in that knowledge.
C)learn of existing knowledge and identify a gap in that knowledge.
D)find the most recently published article in the area.

Question 21

In the discussion section of a research article,you can expect to find

A)details of the results.
B)details of the methodology.
C)an introduction to the topic area.
D)conclusions and applications of the research.

Question 22

One way to find a research idea is

A)to look for it as an explicit statement in a journal article.
B)to ask yourself how a study might be modified.
C)to combine two or more existing results.
D)the other three choices are all ways to find a research idea.

Question 23

A(n)________ is a brief summary of a psychology article.

A)abstract
B)synopsis
C)key word
D)author name

Question 24

The introduction section of a research article typically

A)provides interpretation of the findings.
B)describes the overall purpose and rationale of the research.
C)includes the results of statistical analyses.
D)provides the details of the methodology used in the study.

Question 25

You can limit your PsycInfo search by

A)limiting the publication type to peer reviewed journal.
B)limiting the methodology to empirical study.
C)limiting the age group or population.
D)the other three choices are all ways to limit your PsycInfo search.

Question 26

Which section of a research article is most likely to provide suggestions for the interpretation and applications of research results?
A)introduction

A)results
B)method
B)discussion

Question 27

Questions you should ask when reading an introduction include which of the following?

A)Is the literature review up to date?
B)Is the hypothesis related to the literature reviewed?
C)Does the prediction logically follow the hypothesis?
D)The other three choices are all questions to ask.

Question 28

Which section of a research article is most likely to help you develop ideas for selecting participants and measuring the variables for your own study?

A)introduction
B)method
C)results
D)abstract

Question 29

Which of the following items is not provided in a detailed record for item in PsycInfo?

A)title
B)abstract
C)details of research methodology
D)all of the other items are provided

Question 30

After a research idea is found,the next step is to

A)design the study.
B)choose the participants.
C)interpret the results of the study.
D)convert the idea into a hypothesis and specific prediction.

Question 31

Using which of the following databases will result in quality psychological information being found about a keyword?

A)Yahoo
B)World Wide Web
C)PsycInfo
D)AOL

Question 32

When you identify a gap in the literature,you

A)have found a poor study.
B)have found a research idea.
C)are dealing with a poorly researched area.
D)are wise to switch topics.

Question 33

Which section of a research article is most likely to provide suggestions for additional research?

A)introduction
B)method
C)results
D)discussion

Question 34

The method section of a research article typically

A)provides interpretation of the findings.
B)describes the overall purpose and rationale of the research.
C)includes the results of statistical analyses.
D)provides the details of how the research was conducted.

Question 35

When using PsycInfo for a literature search,it is common to enter a(n)________ into the database.

A)subject word
B)description of the article
C)journal name
D)article title

Question 36

Which section of a research article is most likely to provide a complete list of all the publications cited in the article?

A)bibliography
B)citation list
C)reference
D)discussion

Question 37

The danger of full-text databases is that

A)they contain non-refereed publications.
B)they contain too many publications to be useful.
C)they contain secondary sources only.
D)they contain only a fraction of the publications in an area.

Question 38

The discussion section of a research article typically

A)provides interpretation of the findings.
B)describes the overall purpose and rationale of the research.
C)includes the results of statistical analyses.
D)provides the details of the methodology used in the study.

Question 39

Which of the following is usually the initial factor for determining whether a specific article is relevant to your research question?

A)title
B)abstract
C)discussion section
D)results section

Question 40

The results section of a research article typically

A)provides interpretation of the findings.
B)describes the overall purpose and rationale of the research.
C)includes the outcome of statistical analyses.
D)provides the details of the methodology used in the study.

Question 41

If a prediction in a study is confirmed by the results,the researcher has supported the hypothesis.

Question 42

A problem with primary sources is that they may provide an incomplete or misinterpreted description of a research study or a research result.

Question 43

Applied research is intended to answer theoretical questions.

Question 44

One goal of your background reading is to find an unanswered research question.

Question 45

It is best to let the background literature lead you to a new research idea.

Question 46

The best strategy for finding a research idea is to begin with a general topic area.

Question 47

All journal articles are primary sources.

Question 48

Many predictions can come from one hypothesis.

Question 49

All books are secondary sources.

Question 50

A common mistake in choosing a research topic is to pick a topic that is too easy.

Question 51

Before searching in PsycINFO,it is wise to identify the official subject terms for the list of terms you have identified.

Question 52

A textbook is a primary source.

Question 53

Ideas for research can come from reading a magazine.

Question 54

Although it is best to start with a specific research idea in mind,it also is possible to find ideas by reading other research reports.

Question 55

The most complete coverage of existing journals is provided by full-text databases.

Question 56

Ideas for research can come from casual observation of the people around you.

Question 57

A common mistake in searching for a research topic is to switch from your original idea during your search.

Question 58

Magazine articles that report on previous research are primary sources.

Question 59

Many hypotheses can come from one prediction.

Question 60

Ideas for research can come from a theory.

Question 61

What is the difference between a primary and a secondary source?

Question 62

Describe two mistakes that are commonly made in choosing a research topic.

Question 63

Describe what you can expect to see in each of the five sections of a research article.

Question 64

Describe the steps involved in conducting a literature search.

Question 65

Describe how developing a research idea is largely a weeding out process.

Question 66

Describe why the best strategy for finding a research idea is to begin with a general topic area.

Question 67

Describe the difference between conducting a keyword search on the Web and PsycINFO.

Question 68

Describe two common sources of research topics.