Deck 2: Identifying a Research Question and Study Purposes

Question 1

As part of a research study, you are asked to collect sedentary and physical activity levels among university students in Toronto. What type of research problem does this question represent?

A) Predictive research
B) Explanatory research
C) It does not represent a research problem
D) Descriptive research

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In what kind of scientific reasoning approach does theory guide the research questions and hypotheses?

A) Observation
B) Inductive reasoning
C) Deductive reasoning
D) Theory application

Answer 2

C

Question 3

It is hypothesized that students' class attendance will influence performance on exams and that performance will be influenced by physical activity levels. What types of variables are represented (listed in order) by class attendance, performance on exams, and physical activity levels?

A) Independent, dependent, moderator
B) Dependent, independent, control
C) Dependent, independent, mediator
D) Independent, dependent, mediator

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A literature review summarizes current literature based on studies that are relevant and similar. To summarize these papers, your literature review should do which of the following?

A) Be exhaustive and include all, if not most, of the relevant papers
B) Include papers that are up to date and justify the research topic
C) Include papers that are up to date, justify the research problem, and provide complementary and contrasting views
D) Be clear, focused and unique

Question 5

What is a mediator variable?

A) A variable of interest that cannot be manipulated but may influence the relationship between the independent and dependent variable
B) An unmeasured variables that is not controlled for
C) A measured variable that may influence results but is not a focus of the study
D) A variables that is hypothesized to partially explain the relationship between the independent and dependent variable

Question 6

Which statement below is false about the use of theory in research?

A) A research theory provides a framework to guide research problems and questions
B) Theories can provide foundations for connecting other frameworks
C) Theories are verifiable and testable statements
D) Research theories are not used to explain research outcomes

Question 7

The central phenomenon is a characteristic of which kind of study design?

A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Mixed-methods
D) Both a and c

Question 8

ERIC, PsychInfo, and Web of Science are which of the following?

A) Computerized databases
B) Online search engines
C) Used to identify sources for the literature review
D) Both a and c

Question 9

You are completing a mixed methods design, and the qualitative and quantitative portions of the study occur at the same time. What kind of mixed methods design is this?

A) Concurrent mixed methods research design
B) Qualitative and quantitative mixed methods design
C) Sequential mixed methods research design
D) None of the above

Question 10

Which of the following is true about the research hypothesis?

A) In general, the research hypothesis is also called the alternative hypothesis
B) In general, the research hypothesis is the same as the scientific hypothesis
C) In general, the research hypothesis is a statement about the strength and the direction of hypothesized effects
D) Both a and c

Question 11

According to Creswell (2014), what is the most important section in the literature review?

A) The introduction
B) The purpose statement
C) The discussion
D) The hypothesis

Question 12

The research topic is usually identified using which of the following?

A) Researcher's interest
B) Gaps in literature
C) Academic background
D) Both a and c

Question 13

Answering the question "What has not been done?" is key when trying to identify which if the following?

A) Research problem
B) A theory
C) Research topic
D) Hypothesis

Question 14

You are asked to determine the relationship and the direction of the relationship between two variables. What type of research problem is this?

A) Explanation research problem
B) Predictive research problem
C) Descriptive research problem
D) Cause-and-effect research problem

Question 15

Which type of reasoning approach relies on observations to make predictions about general principles?

A) Inductive reasoning
B) Logical reasoning
C) Deductive reasoning
D) Descriptive reasoning

Question 16

What kind of study design typically identifies both a philosophical worldview and research approach in the problem statement?

A) Qualitative research study
B) Quantitative research study
C) Mixed methods
D) Qualitative and mixed methods

Question 17

Generating a list of key words for your literature review is helpful for which stage of the process?

A) Identifying sources for the literature
B) Identifying a research problem
C) Identifying a research topic
D) Reading the literature

Question 18

Of the following options, why is reading review papers helpful when completing a literature review?

A) They provide a summary of what has been done to date on the topic
B) They summarize a group of similar relevant studies
C) They are a useful tool to help identify future directions and limitations
D) All of the above

Question 19

In terms of organizing literature, which tool gives a visual representation of the identified studies?

A) Literature map
B) A histogram
C) Annotated bibliography
D) Literature diagram

Question 20

Key variables are the main focus in a ___ study, while central phenomenon are the main interest in a __ study.

A) Quantitative, qualitative
B) Qualitative, quantitative
C) All research studies focus on key variables
D) All research studies focus on central phenomenon

Question 21

In which part of the literature review should you identify what is and what is not known about the research problem?

A) The conclusion
B) The body
C) The introduction
D) Purpose statement

Question 22

Discrepancies in research findings are associated with deductive reasoning approaches.

Question 23

A moderator variable can also be called an effect moderator and can be manipulated.

Question 24

Predictive research problems allow researchers to make claims about cause and effect relationships.

Question 25

Research focusing on a central phenomenon does not focus on specific variables; rather, the focus is on broad inquiry statements.

Question 26

The independent variable is the manipulated variable.

Question 27

Reading discussions and future directions in a research paper are helpful when trying to identify a central phenomenon.

Question 28

Unmeasured variables that are not controlled for are called extraneous variables.

Question 29

Writing a mixed methods purpose statement involves following the guidelines for qualitative and quantitative purpose statements.

Question 30

The hypotheses or research questions are presented within the research statement purpose.

Question 31

The research topic represents the need for the study and describes the context for the study.

Question 32

Qualitative research approaches generally use questions as opposed to hypotheses.

Question 33

A hypothesis can be derived from theory, literature, or speculation.

Question 34

In a quantitative research purpose statement it is not necessary to identify the targeted participants for the study.

Question 35

Define what is meant by the research problem and describe three key characteristics that make up a good research problem.

Question 36

The use of theory in developing a research problem differ depending on whether quantitative or qualitative approaches are used. Describe the difference between the uses of theory in these two research approaches.

Question 37

Define a descriptive problem and give an example of a descriptive research question.

Question 38

Describe two methods to help you organize literature.

Question 39

When completing a literature review, why is it beneficial to be familiar with the existing literature in a topic? State three benefits.

Question 40

Define the hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis.

Question 41

In your research methods course, you are asked to identify a research topic and a related research problem. Discuss tools that will help you choose a research topic and tools to help identify a research problem.

Question 42

Reading and understanding research literature takes time and can be stressful. Discuss five suggestions that Thomas, Nelson, and Silverman (2011) provide for reading the literature.

Question 43

You are asked to develop a quantitative research purpose statement. List five strategies that help in developing an effective purpose statement. (i.e., what information should you be including in a quantitative research purpose statement?)

Question 44

You are asked to complete a literature review. Discuss how you would gain sources for the literature review and discuss the three main parts to a literature review.