Deck 8: Experiments

Question 1

The use of an experimental group allows the researcher to control for the effects of the experiment itself.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

What is the biggest weakness of the use of laboratory experiments in social research?

A)You cannot isolate the experimental variable's impact over time.
B)The laboratory setting is artificial, so social processes may not work the same outside it.
C)You cannot replicate the findings.
D)The laboratory setting is natural, so you can't control for other variables.
E)Individual experiments may cost relatively little.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following would constitute a "natural" experiment?

A)Conducting a survey of city park workers regarding their job satisfaction
B)Doing a comparative analysis of families that choose to stay and those that choose to move out of a racially changing neighborhood
C)Evaluating a drug courts program on drug user relapses
D)Presenting half of a classroom with a documentary on discrimination, then measuring student opinions on race
E)Soliciting teenagers at a mall to view a pickup commercial and discuss their impressions

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Jimmy's experiment requires him to tell subjects that they will be working in pairs to solve a problem when in reality he does not care about problem-solving. Jimmy is really observing the nonverbal communication between two people who do not know each other. Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning Jimmy's research?

A)Jimmy is deceiving his subjects.
B)Jimmy needs to determine whether deception is essential to the experiment.
C)Jimmy must tell the subjects that he plans to observe their nonverbal communications.
D)Jimmy is intruding into the lives of his subjects.
E)Jimmy must balance the potential harm to his subjects against the value of the research.

Question 5

In Professor John's three-week experiment, the control group has realized that the experimental group is being exposed to lavish lunches as part of the experiment, while they are stuck with plain microwaved meals. In protest, they have decided to stop full participation. Which form of internal invalidity does Professor John have to worry about?

A)Maturation
B)Demoralization
C)Selection biases
D)Experimental mortality
E)Statistical regression

Question 6

It has been suggested that within a large enough experiment and with truly randomized assignment to experimental and control groups, a pretest is unnecessary.

Question 7

Without randomly assigning subjects, a researcher administers the experimental stimulus to the experimental group and then measures the dependent variable in both the experimental and control groups. This design is known as the:

A)one-group pretest-posttest design.
B)one-shot case study.
C)static-group comparison.
D)classical experimental design.
E)posttest-only control group design.

Question 8

Among the requirements for the classical experimental design is a posttest measurement of the:

A)dependent variable for both the experimental and control groups.
B)independent variable for both the experimental and control groups.
C)independent variable for the control group only.
D)dependent variable for the experimental group only.
E)independent variable for the experimental group only.

Question 9

Kyo is looking to perform a quick research study to determine the effects of a documentary about domestic violence on people's perceptions of violence. His experiment consists of administering a brief survey to a group, having them watch a movie, then surveying them as they leave to determine if any change occurred. What kind of design is Kyo utilizing?

A)one-shot case study
B)classical experiment
C)static group comparison
D)natural experiment
E)one-group pretest-posttest

Question 10

The question of internal invalidity refers to:

A)the comparison of the results obtained for the experimental group with those obtained for the control group.
B)whether the experimental stimulus really affected the dependent variable.
C)the determination of the proper time to do the posttest.
D)the determination of the proper time to do the pretest.
E)generalizability.

Question 11

Many university-based social science researchers use students in their classes as research subjects when they conduct experiments. How does this affect the generalizability of the results of the research?

A)College students are representative of the population as a whole, so using this sample increases the generalizability of the results.
B)It depends on the size of the college student sample.
C)College students aren't representative of the population as a whole, so using this sample decreases the generalizability of the results.
D)Using college students as a sample affects the replicability of the results.
E)Using college students as a sample has no effect on the generalizability of the results.

Question 12

The Solomon four-group design utilizes how many control groups?

A)1
B)2
C)3
D)4
E)0

Question 13

In a natural experiment, the researcher does NOT manipulate the independent variable.

Question 14

Preexperimental designs:

A)are the weakest experimental designs.
B)control for most sources of internal invalidity.
C)control for most sources of external invalidity.
D)are excellent for drawing causal inferences.
E)are highly recommended by Campbell and Stanley.

Question 15

The difference between the experimental and control group should be:

A)that the experimental group receives the dependent variable and the control group does not.
B)that the experimental group receives the independent variable and the control group does not.
C)that the control group receives the dependent variable and the experimental group does not.
D)that the control group receives the independent variable and the experimental group does not.
E)nothing since both receive the independent variable.

Question 16

Maria conducted an experiment to determine whether showing college students a video about the origins of racial prejudice decreases their level of prejudice. She gave the experimental group a pretest to measure their level of prejudice, showed them the film, and then gave them a posttest to again measure their level of prejudice. The control group saw a wildlife film and took the pretest and posttest. The results of the study showed that watching the video about the origins of racial prejudice decreased the prejudice of the experimental group compared to the control group. What might be a source of external invalidity for Maria's study?

A)The pretest might have sensitized the students to their prejudice, so they changed their answers for the posttest.
B)An event might have occurred during the course of the experiment that affected the experimental group's views of racial prejudice.
C)Statistical regression may have affected the experimental group.
D)There may have been selection biases that affected the control group.
E)The pretest might have sensitized the experimental group members to their bias, so they were more impacted by the film.

Question 17

You were asked to participate in an experiment to test the effectiveness of review sessions on exam grades. As a research methods student, you concluded that you had been assigned to the control group because you simply took the scheduled exams. Since you were in the control group you simply gave up and quit studying. This exemplifies:

A)compensation.
B)the testing effect.
C)demoralization.
D)maturation.
E)experimental mortality.

Question 18

The Solomon four-group design:

A)combines the classical experimental design with the posttest-only control group design.
B)combines the classical experimental design with the pretest-only control group design.
C)combines the classical experimental design with the static group comparison design.
D)combines the static group comparison design with the one-group pretest-posttest design.
E)combines the static group comparison design with the posttest-only control group design.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a type of preexperimental research design?

A)one-shot case study
B)one-group pretest-posttest design
C)static group comparison
D)classical experimental design
E)posttest-only control group design

Question 20

An experiment examines the effect of the:

A)dependent variable on the independent variable.
B)posttest on the pretest.
C)control group on the experimental group.
D)independent variable on the dependent variable.
E)independent variable on the stimulus.

Question 21

Explain how a natural experiment differs from a traditional one. What are the advantages and shortcomings of using them?

Question 22

For the most part, preexperimental designs are simplified forms of the traditional experiment.

Question 23

The double-blind experiment attempts to guard against experimenter bias.

Question 24

Researchers tend to use probability sampling to recruit subjects for the experimental and control groups.

Question 25

A fully representative sample is not as essential in experimental research, because we are measuring effects on the individual, not the individual themselves.

Question 26

In order to ensure that experimental and control groups are similar before the experiment begins, social scientists do all of the following EXCEPT:

A)pair subjects who are identical on relevant variables and assign one to the control group and one to the experimental group.
B)create groups that are equivalent in terms of their averages on some relevant variables.
C)randomly assign subjects to the experimental and control groups.
D)create groups that match subjects on relevant variables.
E)put all subjects who are similar on relevant variables in the same group.

Question 27

The experimental and control groups should be comparable on:

A)variables that are likely to be related to the independent variable under study.
B)variables that are likely to be related to the dependent variable under study.
C)age, education, and ethnicity.
D)all demographic variables.
E)variables that are unlikely to be related to the independent variable under study.

Question 28

Typically, research on the World Wide Web involves representative samples.

Question 29

Identify and explain two advantages and two disadvantages of Web-based experiments. What kinds of topics are Web-based experiments best used for?

Question 30

Experiments are especially appropriate for research projects involving all of the following EXCEPT:

A)small-group interaction.
B)hypothesis testing.
C)the testing of relatively limited and well-defined concepts and propositions.
D)descriptive research.
E)explanatory research.

Question 31

Which of the following experimental designs has the least explanatory power compared with the others?

A)Classical experimental design
B)Solomon four-group design
C)Posttest-only control group design
D)One-shot case study
E)All experimental designs have equal explanatory power

Question 32

The effectiveness of randomization in experimentation is affected by the number of subjects involved.

Question 33

A friend of yours, a senior, took the Graduate Record Exam in September and scored in the 99th percentile. In February, your friend took the same exam over again. This time your friend scored in the 90th percentile. As a research methods student, you told your friend that his/her lowered score was most likely due to:

A)testing.
B)differential selection.
C)statistical regression.
D)demoralization.
E)compensation rivalry.

Question 34

Because experiments focus on determining causation, they are better suited to descriptive purposes rather than explanatory purposes.

Question 35

Provide an example of a topic that would be well suited to an experimental study and an example of a topic that would not be well suited to an experimental study. What makes a study appropriate for experimental research?

Question 36

The double-blind experiment is one in which:

A)the experimenters do not know which is the experimental group and which is the control group.
B)the experimental group subjects do not know that they are in the experimental group, and the control group subjects know that they are in the control group.
C)neither the subjects in the experimental or control groups nor the experimenters know which are the experimental and control groups.
D)the control group subjects do not know that they are in the control group, and the experimental group subjects know that they are in the experimental group.
E)the experimental and control groups are given placebos.

Question 37

An instrumentation effect occurs when:

A)the instrument employed for the pretest has an effect that shows up on the posttest.
B)the measurement instrument is changed from the pretest to the posttest.
C)there is a change on the dependent variable from the pretest score to the posttest score.
D)the stimulus is changed from the pretest to the posttest.
E)there is a change on the independent variable from the pretest score to the posttest score.

Question 38

Professor Rose was asked to design an experiment to test whether obese people would lose weight on a Pickup diet plan. Professor Rose was not a methodologist. Rose asked for your help. You immediately told Rose that the selected design would have to be sensitive to the issues of statistical regression, mortality, and demoralization. Rose said, "I don't understand." Explain these issues to Rose. Suggest and explain a design that would control for these problems.

Question 39

The classical experimental design:

A)helps guard against the sources of internal and external validity.
B)helps guard against the sources of internal invalidity.
C)helps guard against the sources of external invalidity.
D)cannot guard against the sources of either internal or external invalidity.
E)what it helps guard against depends upon the particular experiment.

Question 40

Deception is often an important part of experimental research design. What are the ethical implications of using deception in your experiment? How do researchers decide whether to use deception?