Deck 2: Research Methods: Tools for Discovery

Question 1

Which of the following is not a construct:

A)aggression
B)love
C)parenting
D)number of instances a person hits another person

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is a reasonable dependent variable:

A)child age
B)child biologicalsex
C)child aggression
D)all of the above

Answer 2

C

Question 3

An effect size can represent:

A)the magnitude of the difference between treatment and control groups
B)the strength of association between factors in a correlational study
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The use of intensive observations and interviews to gather data about the beliefs, practices, and behaviors of individuals in a particular context or culture is:

A)experience sampling method
B)naturalistic observation
C)ethnography
D)structured observation

Question 5

An estimate of the magnitude of the difference between groups or the strength of the association between the factors is:

A)an effect size
B)meta-analysis
C)quantitative study
D)dependent variable

Question 6

Investigators record participants' behavior only when a behavior of particular interest occurs in:

A)experience sampling method
B)event sampling
C)participant observation
D)structured observation

Question 7

A research design in which researchers compare groups of individuals of different age levels at approximately the same point in time is:

A)event sampling
B)a longitudinal design
C)a cross-sequential design
D)a cross-sectional design

Question 8

Advantages of the cross-sectional design over the longitudinal design include:

A)comparatively low monetary cost
B)comparatively fast data collection
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Question 9

Which of the following is not a characteristic of cortisol:

A)hormone involved in vigilance
B)hormone involved in the control of arousal
C)a natural steroid
D)secreted in response to psychological stress alone

Question 10

The data offered by the ethnographic approach is frequently:

A)subjective
B)in-depth
C)biased/of limited generalizability
D)all of the above

Question 11

A form of research in which investigators study an individual person or group intensely is:

A)a specimen record
B)ethnography
C)participant observation
D)a case study

Question 12

An idea or concept, especially a complex one such as aggression or love, is:

A)a hypothesis
B)a construct
C)an operationalization
D)an independent variable

Question 13

Which of the following is not a type of direct observation:

A)naturalistic observation
B)structured observation
C)participant observation
D)all of the above are examples of direct observation

Question 14

Which of the following is not an advantage of case studies? Case studies:

A)allow the study of rare phenomena
B)facilitate intensive investigation and details about the process under study
C)are easily generalizable to other individuals
D)are useful as a precursor or follow-up to studies using other methods

Question 15

When researchers go into settings in the real world or bring participants into the laboratory to observe behaviors of interest, it is called:

A)direct observation
B)participant observation
C)a focus group
D)a field experiment

Question 16

The factor that researchers expect to change as a function of change in the independent variable is the:

A)operationalization
B)substitute variable
C)construct
D)dependent variable

Question 17

The degree to which a research study accurately represents events or processes that occur in the real world is:

A)observer bias
B)reactivity
C)effect size
D)ecological validity

Question 18

Researchers interested in studying the way a child responds to a parent's directions would most likely use:

A)a specimen record
B)time sampling
C)ethnography
D)event sampling

Question 19

Which of the following is not supported by research on cortisol in children?

A)children in child care exhibit lower amounts of cortisol as the day wears on
B)children who have poorer relationships with other children at school have relatively higher levels of cortisol
C)children raised in physically abusive homes have higher levels of cortisol
D)children raised in crime-ridden neighborhoods have higher levels of cortisol

Question 20

Ecological validity is principally concerned with:

A)measurement accuracy
B)sample size
C)repeated observations across time
D)real-life applicability

Question 21

A study in which investigators follow the same people over a period of time (often years), observing them repeatedly is:

A)a cross-sectional design
B)time sampling
C)a quantitative study
D)a longitudinal design

Question 22

An experiment in which researchers deliberately create a change in a real-world setting and then measure the outcome of their manipulation is called:

A)an intervention
B)a natural experiment
C)a quantitative study
D)a field experiment

Question 23

Which of the following is an advantage of field experiments:

A)strict control over extraneous variables
B)some degree of ecological validity
C)high degree of control over the assessment of the dependent variable
D)low expense and low effort

Question 24

Which of the following is true regarding hormones:

A)hormones are powerful
B)hormones have a regulatory effect
C)hormones are highly specialized
D)all of the above

Question 25

A type of experiment in which researchers try to duplicate in the laboratory features or events that occur naturally in everyday life in order to increase the ecological validity of their results is:

A)a field experiment
B)a natural experiment
C)a laboratory analogue experiment
D)an intervention

Question 26

A program provided to improve a situation or relieve psychological illness or distress is:

A)a field experiment
B)a natural experiment
C)a focus group
D)an intervention

Question 27

An individual reacts with less and less intensity to a repeatedly presented stimulus until he or she responds only faintly or not at all. This is called:

A)observer bias
B)habituation
C)participant observation
D)reactivity

Question 28

To secure a child's participation in a study, it may be necessary to obtain informed consent from:

A)the child
B)the child's parent or legal guardian
C)teachers or school administrators
D)all of the above

Question 29

A type of group interview in which an interviewer poses a set of questions that are answered by the participants of the group is called:

A)a representative sample
B)a structured observation
C)a focus group
D)a field experiment

Question 30

Laboratory analogue experiments typically differ from regular experiments in that:

A)they have no control group
B)participants are not randomly assigned to groups
C)they have lower ecological validity
D)none of the above

Question 31

A question less likely to be used with the experience sampling method would be:

A)Where are you?
B)Who are you with?
C)Do you consider yourself religious?
D)What are you doing right now?

Question 32

Habituation is found as early as:

A)infancy
B)toddlerhood
C)kindergarten
D)adolescence

Question 33

Advantages of longitudinal designs over cross-sectional designs include allowing researchers to:

A)follow children's development over time
B)study whether individual children's patterns are stable
C)analyze links between early events and later behaviors while controlling for early behaviors
D)all of the above

Question 34

The assessment of hormone levels in the body is an example of a:

A)neurological technique
B)self-report
C)meta-analysis
D)psychophysiological technique

Question 35

Focus groups can increase the validity of a study by:

A)making sure researchers ask the right questions
B)helping researchers identify cultural preferences in interviewing styles
C)making sure researchers include all the relevant factors
D)all of the above

Question 36

An intervention:

A)deliberately introduces change in the normal environment
B)seeks to change behavior
C)can be broader in focus than a field experiment
D)all of the above

Question 37

A data collection strategy in which participants are signaled at random times throughout the day and record answers to researchers' questions is called:

A)the experience sampling method
B)event sampling
C)participant observation
D)structured observation

Question 38

Agreement to participate in a study based on a full understanding of its purposes and procedures is:

A)informed consent
B)specimen record
C)case study
D)ethnography

Question 39

Whether or not a participant is part of the experimental treatment or a control group is an example of:

A)an operationalization
B)random assignment
C)an intervention
D)a quantitative study

Question 40

What is the factor that researchers deliberately manipulate in an experiment?

A)operationalization
B)independent variable
C)construct
D)dependent variable

Question 41

Quantitative studies:

A)interpret responses to lengthy interviews or narratives
B)are often based solely on a researchers' field notes
C)are less concerned with generalizability than in-depth understanding of a specific target
D)turn observations, interviews, and test results into numbers to analyze

Question 42

Natural experiments:

A)are different from quasi-experiments
B)cannot be done when researchers are unable to introduce changes into the natural environment
C)incorporate random assignment to experimental conditions
D)involve comparing children who are naturally exposed to a set of conditions to those not exposed to those conditions

Question 43

A research strategy used to gain familiarity with a group of individuals by means of intensive involvement in their activities, usually over an extended period of time, is:

A)participant observation
B)focus group
C)structured observation
D)qualitative study

Question 44

An quasi-experiment in which researchers measure the results of events that occur naturally in the real world is:

A)a naturalistic observation
B)a natural experiment
C)a meta-analysis
D)a laboratory analogue experiment

Question 45

Distortions in naturalistic observations can be reduced by:

A)conducting repeated observations
B)using less obtrusive observational methods
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Question 46

Meta-analysis:

A)yields an overall estimate of effect size across studies
B)permits researchers to draw conclusions about the consistency of observed differences across studies
C)is only as valid as the studies from which it is based
D)all of the above

Question 47

Information collected in the child's natural settings, at home, in child care, or in school without interfering with the child's activities is:

A)a naturalistic observation
B)a natural experiment
C)a meta-analysis
D)a laboratory analogue experiment

Question 48

Research using nonstatistical analysis of materials gathered from a relatively small number of participants to gain an in-depth understanding of behavior and contexts:

A)ethnography
B)quantitative approach
C)meta-analysis
D)qualitative study

Question 49

The change in a person's behavior because he or she is being observed is:

A)habituation
B)observer bias
C)event sampling
D)reactivity

Question 50

An observer's tendency to be influenced by knowledge about the research design or hypothesis is:

A)a naturalistic observation
B)participant observation
C)observer bias
D)reactivity

Question 51

A statistical technique that allows the researcher to summarize the results of many studies on a particular topic and to draw conclusions about the size and replicability of observed differences or associations is:

A)a narrative review of quantitative studies
B)a sequential design
C)a meta-analysis
D)a regression analysis

Question 52

Physiological correlates of psychological processes measured by brain activity, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate" \o "Heart rate" heart rate, and so on are best described as

A)event sampling
B)specimen record
C)experience sampling method
D)psychophysiological methods

Question 53

An element that distinguishes participant observation from other ethnographic approaches is:

A)living as a member of the community
B)increased time spent in data collection
C)focusing exclusively on field notes
D)none of these distinguish participant observation from other ethnographic approaches

Question 54

Research involving statistical analysis of numerical data is:

A)a quantitative study
B)an ethnographic study
C)a lab analogue study
D)a qualitative study

Question 55

Observer bias is most frequently a problem with:

A)self reports
B)naturalistic observations
C)psychophysiological approaches
D)the experience sampling method

Question 56

Psychophysiological research may focus on measuring:

A)respiration
B)brain activity
C)hormone levels
D)all of the above

Question 57

Turning a theory into hypotheses involves:

A)meta-analysis
B)qualitative study
C)operationalization
D)quantitative study

Question 58

Qualitative studies:

A)are ideal for establishing causal effects
B)aid in generate hypotheses
C)can help interpret findings from more objective research
D)b and c

Question 59

The process of defining a concept so that it is observable and measurable is:

A)ethnography
B)focus group
C)structured observation
D)operationalization

Question 60

Disadvantages of longitudinal designs over cross-sectional designs include the following:

A)they take a long time
B)participants drop out
C)they are not flexible to changing conditions or to new assessments
D)all of the above

Question 61

In an ABAB design, the B represents:

A)the control group
B)the normal condition that exists without the experimental treatment
C)the post-treatment measurement
D)none of the above

Question 62

A way of studying change over time that combines features of both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs is:

A)a cross-sequential design
B)event sampling
C)time sampling
D)meta-analysis

Question 63

Specimen records are described as most useful:

A)if researchers are interested in a broad range of behaviors
B)when researchers want to record a set of predetermined behaviors
C)when researchers want to examine a continuous stream of predetermined behaviors
D)when researchers want to record behaviors in a particular time interval

Question 64

Correlational studies do not allow us to determine whether a factor is actually causing a child's behavior, yet researchers conduct them because:

A)we cannot always design a suitable experiment to study our research question
B)ethical concerns prevent random assignment into some conditions we want to study
C)some correlational methods can help maximize our causal inferences when experimentation is not possible
D)all of the above

Question 65

A form of observation in which researchers structure a situation so that behaviors they wish to study are more likely to occur is called:

A)a structured observation
B)event sampling
C)time sampling
D)specimen record

Question 66

Which of the following is a reason to review prior literature before conducting a study?

A)to know if the research question has already been answered in prior studies
B)to know how the constructs were measured in prior studies
C)to know how to situate your findings (whatever they end up being)into the existing literature
D)all of the above

Question 67

Reactivity:

A)is never a problem with naturalistic observation
B)is always a problem with structured observation
C)becomes less a problem with repeated observations
D)is usually worse when researchers fade into the background as compared with being in close proximity to the participants

Question 68

One limitation of structured interactions is:

A)researchers cannot address a broad range of behaviors
B)researchers cannot know if the observed behavior is similar to behavior in everyday situations
C)researchers cannot examine a continuous stream of behaviors
D)researchers cannot look at child reactions to particular behaviors

Question 69

Research on the consequences of adoption without random assignment for children from Romanian orphanages is an example of:

A)a lab experiment
B)a natural experiment
C)a lab analogue study
D)a field experiment

Question 70

The following illustrate why self-report data are thought of as problematic for children:

A)compared with adults, children are less attentive
B)compared with adults, children lie more
C)compared with adults, children are less likely to understand the questions
D)both a and c

Question 71

Information that people provide about themselves either in a direct interview or in some written form, such as a questionnaire is best described as a:

A)case study
B)informed consent
C)self-report
D)participant observation

Question 72

Which of the following is not an advantage of a cross-sequential design:

A)the ability to examine age-related changes
B)the ability to determine cause-effect relations
C)the ability to look at cohort effects
D)the ability to look at practice effects

Question 73

For a study to be a true experiment requires:

A)random assignment
B)a control group
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Question 74

A researcher who wants to maximize control over the independent variable and maximize ecological validity on the dependent variable can collect the independent variable in the ____ and the dependent variable in the ____:

A)lab, field
B)field, lab
C)lab, lab
D)field, field

Question 75

Researchers record everything a person does within a given period of time in:

A)a naturalistic observation
B)event sampling
C)time sampling
D)specimen record

Question 76

A technique by which researchers record any of a set of predetermined behaviors that occur within a specified period of time is referred to as:

A)structured observation
B)event sampling
C)time sampling
D)specimen record

Question 77

A research sample in which participants are drawn from strata or categories in the same proportions as they are found in the larger population is:

A)cross-sectional
B)representative
C)ecological
D)experiential

Question 78

Limitations of time sampling include:

A)researchers cannot address the sequential order in which behaviors occur
B)researchers are restricted to a set of predetermined behaviors
C)researchers cannot assess the duration of a particular behavior
D)all of the above

Question 79

If two variables are correlated +1.00:

A)for every increase in one variable, there is a comparable increase in the other
B)for every increase in one variable, there is a comparable decrease in the other
C)there is no systematic association between the two variables
D)correlations cannot go as high as 1.00

Question 80

The following elements are thought of as important for making a sample representative:

A)participant sex
B)participant social class
C)geographic location of participants
D)all of the above