Deck 6: Research Design: Making Causal Inferences

Question 1

A ____________ is a stimulus given to a treatment group in an experiment.

A) Prompt
B) Test factor
C) Pre-test
D) Cohort

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The group that receives the treatment or test stimulus or factor under study is called the

A) Comparative group
B) Control group
C) Simulation group
D) Experimental group

Answer 2

D

Question 3

One difficulty with panel studies is that individuals may die, move away, or decide to drop out of the study-what researchers refer to as ____________.

A) Mortality

Answer 3

A

Question 4

How can you distinguish between causal relationships and spurious relationships?

Question 5

The initial measurement of variables in an experimental design is called a _________.

A) Pre-test
B) Post-test
C) Operationalization
D) Conceptualization

Question 6

A _________ assertion suggests that a change in one thing brings about a change in another.

A) Correlation
B) Spurious
C) Causal
D) Research

Question 7

Which of the following research designs uses treatment and control groups, but the experimenter does not randomly assigned individual units to these groups?

A) Case study
B) Multiple group
C) Quasi-experimental
D) Simulation

Question 8

What is the difference between causation and correlation? In your answer, please give an example.

Question 9

The most basic experiment, the _________ design, involves two groups and two variables, one independent and one dependent, as before.

A) Simple pre-test
B) Simple post-test
C) Complex pre-test
D) Complex post-test

Question 10

Which of the following experimental designs contains several pre-treatment and post-treatment measures, because it is not certain exactly how quickly the effect of the independent variable should be observed or when the most reliable pre-test measurement of the dependent variable should be taken?

A) Multiple group
B) Repeated measures
C) Simple post-test
D) Nonrandomized

Question 11

In a ____________ design, measurements of the independent and dependent variables are taken at approximately the same time, and the researcher does not control or manipulate the independent variable, the assignment of subjects to treatment or control groups, or the conditions under which the independent variable is experienced.

A) Cross-sectional

Question 12

____________ means that the research procedure demonstrated a true cause-and-effect relationship that was not created by spurious factors.

A) Internal reliability
B) External reliability
C) Internal validity
D) External validity

Question 13

Please identify the most important potential problem with an experimental research design that measures post-test responses one week after pre-test responses.

Question 14

All of the following are true of a causal relationship except

A) It demonstrates covariation
B) It demonstrates spuriousness
C) The cause precedes the effect
D) Elimination of confounding factors

Question 15

________ designs are characterized by the availability of measures of variables at different points in time.

Question 16

A ________________ is a plan that shows how a researcher intends to study an empirical question.

A) Theory
B) Unit of analysis
C) Summation index
D) Research design

Question 17

What causes a spurious relationship?

Question 18

_______________ is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized across populations, times, and settings, is the touchstone for natural and social scientists alike.

A) External validity
B) External reliability
C) Internal validity
D) Internal reliability

Question 19

A ______________ is a cross-sectional design that introduces a time element.

A) Panel study

Question 20

_____________ can creep into a study if subjects are picked (intentionally or not) according to some criterion and not randomly.

A) Demand characteristic
B) Experimental mortality
C) Covariation
D) Selection bias

Question 21

Please explain how an intervention analysis works. In your answer make sure to address when the dependent variable is measured and how the independent variable is introduced.

Question 22

What are the key differences between a multiple group experiment and a classical randomized experiment with only two groups?

Question 23

Why are experimental designs generally better for making causal inference than nonexperimental designs?

Question 24

Please discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an experimental design with respect to internal and external validity.

Question 25

How would you design an experimental research design? Please use a substantive example in our answer.