Deck 9: Experimental Research

Question 1

What kinds of questions are appropriate for using an experimental logic? What kinds of limitations do researchers employing experimental methods face? What sorts of research topics are best suited for experiments?

Answer 1

The logic of experiments is that experimenters intervene or induce a change in some focused part of social life and then examine the outcomes that result from the intervention.
The experiment is limited to research questions in which a researcher is able to manipulate,control,or simulate conditions.
The experiment is usually best for issues that have a narrow scope or scale.
The experiment is better suited for micro-level than for macro-level questions.
Experimental research is the strongest for testing causal relationships because the three conditions for causality (temporal order,association,and no alternative explanations)are best met in experimental designs.
Experiments are not good at addressing questions that require looking at conditions across an entire society or across decades.

Question 2

Compare and contrast interrupted and equivalent time series designs.What is common to both of them? What is unique to each of them? How do interrupted and equivalent time series designs differ from pre-experimental designs?

Answer 2

In an interrupted time series design,a researcher uses one group and makes multiple pretest measures before and after the treatment.
An equivalent time series design is a one-group design that extends over a time period so that instead of one treatment,it has a pretest and then a treatment and post-test,followed by another treatment and post-test,followed by yet another treatment and post-test,and so on.
Interrupted and equivalent time series designs differ from pre-experimental designs in that identifying a causal relationship is more certain in these designs than in pre-experimental designs.

Question 3

Identify and describe three practical issues that all experimenters should be aware of.

Answer 3

Planning and pilot tests: During the planning phase of experimental research,a researcher thinks of alternative explanations or threats to internal validity and how to avoid them;the researcher also develops a neat and well-organized system for recording data;and the researcher devotes serious effort to pilot-testing any apparatus.
Instructions to subjects: To ensure reliability a researcher should word instructions carefully and follow a prepared script so that all the subjects hear the same thing.
Post-experiment interview: At the end of an experiment the researcher should explain the True purpose,learn what the subjects thought about the experiment and how their definitions of the situation might have affected their behaviour,and the researcher should also explain the importance of not revealing the True nature of the experiment to other potential participants.

Question 4

What is the name for the experimental design in the following symbolic representation?  
OXOa.One group pretest post-test
B)One shot case study
C)Two group post-test only
D)Static group comparison
E)Factorial design

Question 5

Professor Mike Michaelson just finished a study that used a traditional experimental research design and was based on a sample of students from his introductory psychology class.Despite the fact that his article was published in a leading psychology journal,his colleagues criticized his study as just another example of research termed "science of the sophomore." What specifically was Professor Michaelson apparently guilty of?

A)His research was biased because he used a sample that was known to him.
B)Professor Michaelson used deception in his research.
C)His study lacked generalizability.
D)His study lacked empirical data.
E)Given that he used his psychology class as his sample,his study would have lacked a control group.

Question 6

After the delivery of a baby,new parents at Fraser Valley General Hospital were given a poison knowledge test.Before leaving the hospital they were given literature to read on poison awareness.A week later,they were invited back and took the poison test again to determine whether distributing poison awareness literature enhanced the knowledge of new parents.What kind of design is being used here?

A)One-group pretest-post-test design
B)Two-group post-test-only design
C)Nonequivalent control group
D)Static group comparison design
E)Equivalent time series design

Question 7

The experimental design is divided into seven parts,which are the following: treatment variable,_____,pretest,post-test,experimental group,control group,and _____.a.research question;random assignment
B)dependent variable;random assignment
C)random assignment;sample
D)independent variable;random selection
E)hypothesis;random treatment

Question 8

Compare the classic experimental design with each of the three pre-experimental designs.
What are the problems with each of the pre-experimental designs?

Question 9

In experimental research,what does external validity refer to? Briefly describe two instances where external validity is a threat to the overall findings and conclusions of an experiment.

Question 10

Diagram the design notation for a classical experimental design.What do each of the symbols represent?

Question 11

In experimental research,what does internal validity refer to? Provide and briefly describe three examples where internal validity is an issue.

Question 12

Why is control a necessary and crucial feature in experiments? How is deception a feature of control in experiments? In what circumstances is it ethical to use deception in experiments?

Question 13

Doctoral candidate Stella Sodapop wanted to see whether caffeine intake increased a subject's state of sexual arousal.She randomly assigned 100 high school seniors to either an experimental or control group.The experimental group drank a high caffeine soda,while the control group drank a caffeine-free soda.She then measured and compared arousal states for both groups.What type of design did Stella use?

A)Two-group post-test only
B)Pretest-post-test
C)Classical experimental
D)Static group comparison
E)Interrupted time series

Question 14

Professor Steve Slick used the classical experimental design to test ways to raise self-assurance in stressful situations.At what part of the experiment does Slick measure the level of his dependent variable after introducing the independent variable?

A)Control group
B)Experimental group
C)Pretest
D)Post-test
E)Random assignment

Question 15

Professor Bonnie Bonom said,"I've got to debrief the subjects" and walked into the experimental lab.What is she going to do?

A)Measure the dependent variable
B)Measure the independent variable
C)Randomly distribute subjects into groups
D)Tell the subjects what the experiment is really all about,because he had lied to them earlier
E)Tell the subjects a story to deceive them,so they won’t know the true hypothesis being tested

Question 16

Sorting a collection of cases into two or more groups is referred to as _____,whereas _____ refers to selecting a smaller subset of cases from a larger pool of cases.

A)random sampling;random assignment
B)random assignment;random selection
C)purposive sampling;selective sampling
D)random assignment;random sampling
E)random assignment;purpose sampling

Question 17

In experiments,the treatment variable is simply another term for

A)the independent variable.
B)random assignment.
C)the dependent variable.
D)the control group.
E)the intervening variable.

Question 18

In 1988,the Canadian federal government raised the speed limit to 110 km/h.Then,in 1996,individual provincial governments were given the choice to decide the highway speed limit in their own provinces and thus many raised it to 120 km/h.Proponents and critics of the law have looked at the number of traffic deaths per 1000 kilometres driven on the highways between 1988 and 1998 to see whether the law had any impact on traffic deaths.What type of design is this?

A)One-shot case study
B)Equivalent time series design
C)Pretest-post-test one-group design
D)Interrupted time series design
E)Solomon four-group design

Question 19

Identify the two groups in a simple experiment and specify which one receives the treatment.What determines what the independent and dependent variables are?

Question 20

Distinguish between random assignment and random selection and then describe how the two are connected.How does random assignment work in practice?

Question 21

A local mayoral candidate hired Xavier Xed to test whether the method of distributing campaign literature resulted in more people voting for a candidate.He distributed campaign literature about the mayoral candidate to the Stevenson neighbourhood in a bright blue envelope that a volunteer placed at each person's front door.He distributed the same campaign literature about the candidate to residents of the Fairwinds neighbourhood by mailing it in a plain white envelope.He later learned that Stevenson was a low-income area of the city that was almost entirely Filipino,foreign-born,and 95 percent Catholic.Fairwinds was an upper-income area in the city and its residents were 100 percent white,Canadian-born Protestants.What problem with internal validity might threaten the results of his experiment?

A)Selection bias
B)History effect
C)Experimental mortality
D)Maturation
E)Testing effect

Question 22

An advertising firm hired by Multinational Motors wants to demonstrate that its advertising campaigns improve Canadian public perceptions of Multinational Motors' vehicles.The advertising firm surveys Canadians every year over the course of its 10-year contract with Multinational Motors.Each year,Canadian public perceptions of Multinational Motors increased with the exception of 2009.Just prior to conducting the 2009 survey,Multinational Motors was forced to recall an entire line of vehicles with defective brake systems,which resulted in several,highly-publicized deaths.What threat to internal validity might the results of the 2009 survey reflect?

A)Testing effect
B)Mortality
C)Maturation
D)History effect
E)Instrumentation

Question 23

Professor Ronald Ronaldson conducted an experiment to test changes in sex roles.The experimental group read 15 articles about the achievements of great and wonderful women.The control group read 15 articles about cooking,automobiles,astronomy,and accounting.During the lunch break,subjects from the experimental and control groups met and talked about what they were reading.What internal validity problem may occur?

A)Testing
B)Maturation
C)Diffusion of treatment
D)Experimental mortality
E)Hawthorne effect

Question 24

What term best describes the following experimental design notation?  
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0a.Classical experiment
B)Solomon four-group
C)Interrupted time series
D)Equivalent time series
E)Two-group post-test only

Question 25

Teachers Jack Black and Shannon Shack want to increase the percentage of high school freshmen who pass an algebra exam (dependent variable).They conduct experiments on five sets of classes (named A to E)in Toronto area schools.They randomly assign students and give a pretest in September followed by a post-test the following January.The treatment is teaching method.The experimental groups are taught with special in-class demonstrations and pictorial gamesquizzes on computers,but no homework assignments,textbooks,or tests.The control groups are taught in the traditional manner with a textbook,homework,formulas on the blackboard,and tests. Which set of classes appears to have had serious "selection bias" problems in assignment to the experimental and control groups?a.A
B)B
C)C
D)D
E)E

Question 26

What does the Hawthorne effect refer to?

A)Research that takes place in a natural setting
B)Research that takes place in an artificial setting
C)A treatment that has no effect in an experiment.
D)The effect that occurs when a researcher measures the dependent variable measure such that all the subjects get a perfect,or near perfect score.It means that by random chance alone the scores are likely to be lower the next time the same subjects are measured.
E)A situation in which subjects react to the fact that they are in an experiment more than they react to the treatment

Question 27

Doris Denning wanted to study the relationship between high school students' grades and assessments of their teachers.After teaching her research assistants proper interviewing techniques,Doris provided them with fake transcripts and disciplinary histories,which depicted some students as exceptional and others as trouble-makers.In reality,the 'exceptional' students and 'trouble-makers' were labelled as such randomly.Once the assistants' interviews concluded,the data indicated 'exceptional' students held their teachers in much higher esteem than the 'trouble-makers.' What threat to internal validity does Doris' study most likely have?

A)Testing effect
B)Selection bias
C)Diffusion of treatment
D)Experimenter expectancy
E)Hawthorne effect

Question 28

The Solomon four-group design combines which two other designs?

A)Case study and two-group post-test only
B)Classical experimental and equivalent time series
C)One-group pretest-post-test and static group comparison
D)Classical experimental and two-group post-test only
E)Classical experimental design and static group comparison

Question 29

While studying rates of language acquisition for new Canadians from different countries,Curtis Cunning's research assistants informed him that 7 of the 65 subjects had quit and walked out before the study was completed.What type of threat to internal validity does Curtis' experiment have?

A)Selection bias
B)History effect
C)Experimental mortality
D)Maturation
E)Testing effect

Question 30

Tommy Tackle,the coach at Coastal Mountain High School,is designing a training program for the track team.He knows that exercises A,B,and C are recommended,but is not sure which order he should have his team members train in (i.e.,A,B,C,or C,A,B,etc.).What type of experimental design would he use to test the relative effectiveness of the different training sequences?

A)One-group pretest-post-test
B)Solomon four-group design
C)Latin square design
D)Classical experiment design
E)Post-test only design

Question 31

Teachers Jack Black and Shannon Shack want to increase the percentage of high school freshmen who pass an algebra exam (dependent variable).They conduct experiments on five sets of classes (named A to E)in Toronto area schools.They randomly assign students and give a pretest in September followed by a post-test the following January.The treatment is teaching method.The experimental groups are taught with special in-class demonstrations and pictorial games quizzes on computers,but no homework assignments,textbooks,or tests.The control groups are taught in the traditional manner with a textbook,homework,formulas on the blackboard,and tests. Which set of classes suggests that the new method really helps students learn algebra better?a.A
B)B
C)C
D)D
E)E

Question 32

Teachers Jack Black and Shannon Shack want to increase the percentage of high school freshmen who pass an algebra exam (dependent variable).They conduct experiments on five sets of classes (named A to E)in Toronto area schools.They randomly assign students and give a pretest in September followed by a post-test the following January.The treatment is teaching method.The experimental groups are taught with special in-class demonstrations and pictorial games quizzes on computers,but no homework assignments,textbooks,or tests.The control groups are taught in the traditional manner with a textbook,homework,formulas on the blackboard,and tests. Which results for a set of classes suggest that there might have been a "testing" effect from the pretest?a.A
B)B
C)C
D)D
E)E

Question 33

Graduate student Fanny Feisty designed and produced a 30-second radio commercial for Reliable Randy's Used Cars.Next,she had the three most widely listened to local radio stations air the commercial 15 times a day for two weeks.She waited until the end of the two-week period and then called Randy to check on his recent sales.What experimental design did she use?

A)Classical experiment
B)One-shot case study
C)Time series
D)Static group comparison
E)One-group pretest-post-test

Question 34

Interaction effects occur when

A)there is an imbalance in the experimental and control group at the beginning of an experiment during the pretest.
B)there is experimenter expectancy and there is a diffusion of the treatment at the same time.
C)external validity and reactivity cannot be controlled by a double-blind experimental design.
D)in a factorial design,the impact of two variables operating in combination is greater than each of them added together.
E)instrumental effects cause history effects to get larger and ruin the post-test.

Question 35

If the time between the pretest and the post-test is very short,then

A)the history effect is more likely to occur.
B)the statistical regression effect is less likely to occur.
C)the testing effect is more likely to occur.
D)the maturation effect is less likely to occur.
E)the statistical regression effect is more likely to occur.

Question 36

Which of the following is least suited to providing clear evidence about a causal relationship between two variables?

A)Classical experimental design
B)Solomon four-group design
C)Post-test only control group design
D)One-shot case study
E)All of the above are equally effective.

Question 37

Researcher Zoe Zednick wanted to test the effectiveness of a new anger management treatment session at the Prairie County social work agency.She assembled 24 clients who had been referred for anger management and divided them randomly into two groups of 12.One group was assigned to the new anger management session while the other group went to a traditional anger management session.Each group was given an intake assessment that measured anger management skills.After clients finished the sessions,Zednick measured the level of anger management skills for all subjects in both groups.What experimental design did she use?

A)Classical experiment
B)One-shot case study
C)Time series
D)Static group comparison
E)One-group pretest-post-test

Question 38

Field experiments,compared to laboratory experiments,generally have

A)lower external validity and higher internal validity.
B)higher external validity and lower internal validity.
C)lower external validity and lower internal validity.
D)higher external validity and higher internal validity.
E)equal external and internal validity.

Question 39

An experimenter uses a "2 x 3" design.To what exactly do the numbers refer?

A)A factorial design with two independent variables and three dependent variables
B)A time series design with two dependent variables and three observations
C)A Latin square design with three groups
D)A factorial design with two categories in one treatment and three in the other
E)A static group comparison design with six dependent variables

Question 40

What is a "placebo" in experimental research?

A)When an experimenter deceives subjects about the experiment’s true nature,then later tells them what it is really about
B)When subjects in a control group are treated the same as the subjects receiving the treatment
C)When subjects in the control group receive a false or empty treatment so they do not adjust their behaviour to confirm the experimenter’s hypothesis
D)When neither the subjects nor an assistant helping the experimenter know specifics about the treatment or how hypothesis is being tested
E)When an event outside the experiment’s control occurs during the experiment and affects the dependent variable

Question 41

Define the following:classical experimental design

Question 42

Define the following:double-blind experiment

Question 43

Define the following:equivalent time series

Question 44

Define the following:external validity

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT one of the pragmatic,common sense ideas that accounts for the difference between the successful research projects of an experienced researcher and the difficulties a novice researcher faces?

A)Post-experiment interviews
B)Planning
C)Pre-experiment interviews
D)Pilot tests
E)Post-experiment interviews

Question 46

What does the phrase "science of the sophomore" denote?

A)Research conducted by undergraduate university students,usually as part of regular coursework
B)Research that samples undergraduate university students
C)Research that samples persons who are 24-years-of-age or younger
D)Research premised on simple questions
E)Research that is conducted within a laboratory setting

Question 47

Several people criticized Professor Peggy Pandemonium's experiment on "the effects of density of living conditions on aggression" for its external validity problems.This means her study had problems with

A)randomization to the experimental or control group.
B)generalizability.
C)ethics.
D)post-test effects.
E)selection of subjects into experimental and control groups.

Question 48

Define the following:design notation

Question 49

Define the following:deception

Question 50

Michael Mendelson designed an experiment to test the theory that students with higher levels of cultural capital will have more academic success in high school.Worried that he might compromise internal validity by unconsciously signaling his expectations to participants,Michael hires research assistants who are trained to administer the experiment,but who are unfamiliar with Michael's research questions and hypotheses.What kind of experimental research are Michael and his research assistants conducting?

A)Field
B)Placebo
C)Double-blind
D)Solomon four group
E)Classical

Question 51

Define the following:experimental group

Question 52

Define the following:diffusion of treatment

Question 53

Define the following:experimenter expectancy

Question 54

The Ontario provincial government banned smoking in public places and workplaces in 2004.Dr.Sandy Smokesless used public records to compare the incidence rates of lung cancers before and after 2004 to determine whether the smoking ban helped address the threat smoking poses to the health of Ontarians.What sort of experimental research is this?

A)Factorial design
B)Natural experiment
C)Latin square design
D)Interrupted time series design
E)Field research

Question 55

What is the Solomon four-group design capable of detecting?

A)Sampling error
B)Mortality
C)Maturation
D)Pre-test effects
E)Interaction effects

Question 56

Aaron Anderson studies reaction time by having participants press the space-bar on a keyboard as soon as they notice a specific word flash on a computer screen.Throughout the experiment,Aaron must carry out diagnostics and repairs to keep his equipment in working order because repetitive use makes the keyboard less sensitive and the accumulation of experimental data slows down the computer's processing speed.What threat to internal validity is Aaron contending with?

A)Instrumentation
B)Mortality
C)Maturation
D)Testing effects
E)Diffusion of treatment

Question 57

Define the following:experimental design

Question 58

Define the following:control group

Question 59

Define the following:debrief

Question 60

The __________ receives the treatment;the __________ does not receive the treatment.

A)Treatment;placebo
B)Experimental;quasi-experimental
C)Quasi-experimental;experimental
D)Control;experimental
E)Experimental;control

Question 61

Define the following:Hawthorne effect

Question 62

Define the following:quasi-experimental designs

Question 63

Define the following:placebo

Question 64

Define the following:interrupted time series

Question 65

Define the following:pretest

Question 66

Define the following:one-shot case study

Question 67

Define the following:factorial design

Question 68

Define the following:field experiment

Question 69

Define the following:interaction effects

Question 70

Define the following:maturation effect

Question 71

Define the following:mortality effect

Question 72

Define the following:laboratory experiment

Question 73

Define the following:instrumentation

Question 74

Define the following:pre-experimental designs

Question 75

Define the following:history effects

Question 76

Define the following:random assignment

Question 77

Define the following:natural experiment

Question 78

Define the following:Latin square design

Question 79

Define the following:internal validity

Question 80

Define the following:post-test