Deck 6: Descriptive Research

Question 1

What is the median of these scores: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 6, 1?

A)3)57
B)4
C)5
D)These data have no median.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

On a histogram, the y-axis represents the

A)individual participants.
B)frequency of each score.
C)scores on the independent variable.
D)class intervals.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is the same as a panel survey design?

A)Successive independent samples design
B)Longitudinal design
C)Cross-sectional design
D)Internet survey design

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A researcher surveyed two groups of Americans about their fears of terrorism-one group in 2005 and the other group in 2015. This is an example of a _______ design.

A)cross-sectional survey
B)panel survey
C)demographic
D)successive independent samples survey

Question 5

A researcher is studying differences in the prevalence of heart disease in two minority groups. This is an example of ________ research.

A)longitudinal
B)epidemiological
C)quasi-experimental
D)demographic

Question 6

On a histogram, the x-axis represents the

A)individual participants.
B)frequency of each score.
C)scores on the independent variable.
D)class intervals.

Question 7

A researcher obtained a sample of adults and interviewed them about their financial concerns. This is an example of a ______ design.

A)cross-sectional survey
B)panel survey
C)demographic study
D)successive independent samples survey

Question 8

Which measure of central tendency is used most often?

A)Mode
B)Variance
C)Median
D)Mean

Question 9

What is the mode of these scores: 2, 4, 5, 5, 1, 5, 1?

A)1
B)5
C)7
D)These data have no mode.

Question 10

Which of the following statements regarding grouped frequency distributions is not true?

A)All class intervals must be the same width.
B)Class intervals should not overlap.
C)There should be no more than seven class intervals.
D)Each score may fall in only one class interval.

Question 11

In a(n)_______ survey design, a single group of participants is questioned more than once.

A)cross-sectional
B)epidemiological
C)panel
D)dependent sample

Question 12

How are data typically collected in survey research?

A)Observation and questionnaires
B)Observation and self-report
C)Questionnaires and interviews
D)Samples and populations

Question 13

A frequency polygon is a

A)bar graph.
B)table.
C)line graph.
D)histogram.

Question 14

What is the mean of these scores: 2, 4, 5, 4, 4, 1, 1?

A)3
B)4
C)7
D)21

Question 15

When describing data, researchers should choose methods that

A)reflect as much of the raw data as possible.
B)are statistically sophisticated.
C)are easily comprehended.
D)best support the researcher's predictions.

Question 16

How would you convert a grouped frequency distribution to a relative frequency distribution?

A)Divide the frequency of each class interval by the mean.
B)Plot it on a graph.
C)Divide the frequency of each class interval by the total number of scores.
D)Sum the frequencies in each class interval.

Question 17

Which of the following is not a measure of central tendency?

A)Mode
B)Standard deviation
C)Median
D)Mean

Question 18

Ten out of 50 participants scored between 65 and 75 on a test. What is the relative frequency of the class interval 65-75?

A))20
B))10
C)10
D))50

Question 19

Extreme scores in a sample are called

A)modes.
B)intervals.
C)outliers.
D)deviations.

Question 20

A researcher is studying patterns of marriage and divorce among Chinese immigrants. This is an example of _______ research.

A)longitudinal
B)epidemiological
C)quasi-experimental
D)demographic

Question 21

Scores on a test range from 12 to 90, with a mean of 60 and a standard deviation of 10. If a particular participant scored 40 on the test, his z-score would be

A))40.
B)-)10.
C)-2.0.
D))70.

Question 22

A distribution in which there are more low scores than high scores is

A)an outlier.
B)normally distributed.
C)negatively skewed.
D)positively skewed.

Question 23

What does a z-score tell us?

A)Where a score falls in a distribution of scores
B)The difference between two participants' scores
C)The standard deviation
D)The percentage of participants who have a particular score

Question 24

What rules regarding class intervals must a researcher keep in mind when constructing a grouped frequency distribution?

Question 25

Name and define the three measures of central tendency.

Question 26

Name and define the three measures of variability.

Question 27

Which measure of variability is most useful? Why?

Question 28

Distinguish between a frequency polygon and a histogram.

Question 29

What is the difference between a positively and negatively skewed distribution?

Question 30

IQ scores are normally distributed, with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Approximately what percentage of people have IQ scores that fall below 70?

A)2%
B)5%
C)34%
D)64%

Question 31

A researcher used a measure of self-esteem that has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. If 1,000 respondents completed the scale, how many would she expect to score above the mean?

A)250
B)340
C)500
D)680

Question 32

Which of the following is not an advantage of Internet surveys?

A)Data can be collected more quickly.
B)Human error in data entry is avoided.
C)Identifying the characteristics of the sample is easy.
D)Researchers can reach people who may not be able to respond during business hours.

Question 33

When choosing ways to describe their data, what three criteria should researchers consider?

Question 34

If the variability in a set of data is small,

A)participants' scores differ a great deal from one another.
B)the mean is a good reflection of the set of scores.
C)the standard deviation will be large.
D)the confidence interval will be large.

Question 35

What is the difference between a grouped frequency distribution and a relative frequency distribution?

Question 36

The sample mean for a set of data is 75, with a 95% confidence interval of 15. What is the best interpretation of these results?

A)There is a 95% probability that the population mean is 75.
B)If we conducted the study many times, the population mean would fall inside 95% of the confidence intervals for those studies.
C)The population mean is between 60 and 90.
D)Ninety-five percent of samples from this population would have a mean between 15 and 75.

Question 37

The square root of the variance is the

A)the standard deviation.
B)confidence interval.
C)class interval.
D)z-score.

Question 38

In a normal distribution, approximately what percentage of scores falls between one standard deviation below the mean and one standard deviation above the mean?

A)16%
B)34%
C)68%
D)95%

Question 39

Describe a simple frequency distribution.

Question 40

John has a z-score of -2.8, whereas Mary has a z-score of +1.9. Whose score is more extreme in the distribution of scores?

A)John's
B)Mary's
C)They are equally extreme.
D)Neither score is extreme.

Question 41

What is a z-score? What would a z-score of -1.5 indicate?

Question 42

What does a confidence interval tell us?

Question 43

Draw a normal distribution. Now show the percentage of scores that fall within various ranges defined by standard deviations from the mean.