Question 1

Survey questions that are ordered from the most general to the most specific are

Accepted Answer

Funnel questions start with broad, open-ended questions, and narrow down to more specific questions. This approach allows respondents to gradually focus on the topic or issue being studied, and minimizes confusion or bias that can arise from more specific questions being asked first.

Question 2

When a questionnaire item implies a preferred response within the wording the question,it is called a

Accepted Answer

A leading question is one that suggests or implies a particular answer, thereby influencing the respondent's reply.

Question 3

A researcher develops a measure of the "self-esteem" construct.One item on the questionnaire states,"I generally feel good about myself." Another item states,"I think I'm not a very good person." The researcher likely uses these two items to protect against possible problems associated with

Accepted Answer

The two items function as a double-barreled question, with one item positively phrased and the other negatively phrased. This can create response bias, where participants consistently respond in one direction (e.g. always agree or always disagree) without paying attention to the specific content of each item. Using both positively and negatively phrased items (known as reverse coding) helps to control for this bias.

Question 4

One way to minimize the likelihood that respondents might view questions as "loaded" for a survey on controversial topics is to

Accepted Answer

Asking a diverse group of people to review and edit the questions for potentially offensive wording can help minimize the likelihood that respondents will view questions as loaded. This approach can help ensure that the questions are fair and neutral, regardless of the topic's controversial nature. Using funnel questions, leading questions, or emotional words could potentially bias the results of the survey.

Question 5

An important initial step when developing a questionnaire is to

Accepted Answer

Pretesting the questionnaire using a sample similar to the planned survey is an important step to ensure that the questions are clear, relevant, and unbiased. This allows for revisions and improvements to be made before the actual survey is conducted, increasing the reliability and validity of the results. Option A may lead to a biased set of questions, option C may neglect important factors, and option D is not a thorough approach to questionnaire development.

Question 6

The principle advantage of free-response or open-ended questions is that they

Accepted Answer

Free-response or open-ended questions offer respondents greater flexibility in their answers. They are not restricted to choosing from pre-defined options or categories, giving them the opportunity to express themselves in their own words. This can lead to more detailed and personalized responses, providing valuable insights for the researcher. However, scoring and coding these types of questions can be more time-consuming and subjective compared to closed-ended questions. Comparability of answers across respondents may also be limited due to differences in writing styles and levels of detail provided. Expressiveness and spontaneity may not be seen as a problem but as a benefit of these types of questions.

Question 7

A student is asked in a survey question about whether he would help another person who is in trouble.The student thinks that he probably would not help because he would be hesitant to get involved in a potential dangerous situation.The student decides,however,to respond that he would help.The student is likely responding to the pressure of

Accepted Answer

The student is adjusting his response to appear socially desirable and avoid negative judgment or criticism from others. This is known as social desirability bias.

Question 8

A respondent completes items on a closed-response survey by agreeing with each statement on the survey.This might represent a problem of

Accepted Answer

This represents a problem of response bias because the respondent is not considering each statement and is simply agreeing with all of them without any thought or consideration.

Question 9

A researcher wants to assess the construct validity of a measure of life satisfaction.Which of the following dimensions would likely be most useful in determining the discriminant validity of the measure?

Accepted Answer

Discriminant validity refers to the ability of a measure to not be associated with constructs that are theoretically unrelated. In this case, artistic ability is a construct that is not directly related to life satisfaction, making it the most appropriate dimension to use in assessing discriminant validity. A and B are both closely related to life satisfaction, while self-esteem may be partially related but not completely unrelated.

Question 10

Which of the following standards is typically applied when judging the truthfulness of the responses people make to survey questions?

Accepted Answer

Generally, survey researchers accept people's responses as truthful unless there is reason to do otherwise. This is because most people want to provide honest answers and researchers typically design studies to encourage truthful responses. However, there are some situations where researchers may have reason to doubt the honesty of responses, such as when questions are sensitive or when participants may feel social pressure to respond in a certain way. In these cases, researchers may use techniques to encourage more truthful responses or adjust for potential biases in their data analysis.

Question 11

The primary disadvantage of closed-response questions is that

Accepted Answer

Closed-response questions limit the range of possible responses, which may not fully capture the respondent's true opinion or experience. This can lead to respondents feeling forced to choose among response alternatives that don't describe their true opinion. However, options A and B are incorrect as closed-response questions are designed to limit respondents' flexibility in their responses, and responses are actually easier to code and summarize compared to open-ended questions.

Question 12

Correlational research is potentially limited when it comes to

Accepted Answer

Correlational research cannot establish causation between variables, as it only shows a relationship between them. Therefore, interpreting causal relationships based on correlational studies alone can be limited.

Question 13

A survey on consumer products has questions regarding automobile repair,home electronics,and travel destinations.The method for allowing respondents to skip the section on automobile repair if they don't own a car is to use

Accepted Answer

A filter question is used to skip a question or section of the survey based on a specific condition, such as not owning a car in this case. This allows respondents to skip unnecessary questions and save time while providing accurate responses to the questions that apply to them. Leading questions steer respondents in a certain direction, funnel questions narrow down responses to a specific topic, and loaded questions have a hidden agenda to influence responses.

Question 14

A survey question that asks,"Are you worried about global climate change and nuclear weapons?" is an example of a

Accepted Answer

The question is asking about two separate issues, global climate change and nuclear weapons, which is a double-barreled question. It is best to ask separate questions about each issue to avoid confusion and ensure accurate answers.

Question 15

There is a reliable correlation between being outgoing and being satisfied with one's life.One possible way to account for this relationship is that a third variable (number of friends)leads people to be more outgoing and more satisfied with their lives.A correlation that can be accounted for by a third variable such as number of friends is called a

Accepted Answer

A correlation that can be accounted for by a third variable is called a spurious relationship. In this case, the number of friends is the third variable that could explain the correlation between being outgoing and being satisfied with one's life. Therefore, the best choice is C.

Question 16

If the relationships between measures of poverty,chaos,and psychological distress differed depending on whether families lived in rural or urban areas,this variable of population density (rural vs.urban)would be considered a

Accepted Answer

A moderator variable is one that affects the strength or direction of the relationship between two other variables. In this scenario, population density (rural vs. urban) is moderating the relationship between poverty, chaos, and psychological distress, by influencing how the measures are related to each other in different settings.

Question 17

When individuals report on a questionnaire that their behavior is more favorable than it actually is,researchers need to be concerned about the _____ of the questions.

Accepted Answer

Social desirability bias refers to the tendency of individuals to present themselves in a favorable light, often exaggerating or distorting their behavior. This can lead to over-reporting of positive behaviors and under-reporting of negative behaviors. Therefore, researchers need to be concerned about the social desirability of the questions when individuals report more favorable behavior than is actually true.

Question 18

Research findings indicate that people's verbal reports of their behavior and observations of their actual behavior do not always match.These findings provide a good rationale for a(n)__________ approach to psychological research.

Accepted Answer

A multimethod approach would use multiple methods, such as surveys and observations, to gather data and compare the results. This would allow researchers to address discrepancies between verbal reports and actual behavior and obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon being studied. Choices B, C, and D all utilize a single method and would not necessarily address the issue of mismatch between verbal reports and actual behavior.

Question 19

Using path analysis,the correlation between poverty and psychological distress can be partially explained by the level of chaos in the home.The chaos variable in this example represents a(n)

Accepted Answer

A mediating variable explains the relationship between two variables. In this case, the level of chaos in the home partially explains the correlation between poverty and psychological distress, making it a mediating variable. The other options do not fit the description of the variable in this example.

Quiz 5: Survey Research