Question 1

1) A student wishes to carry out a project in which the same participants will first be tested on general knowledge with no prior social interaction and then a week later after a fifteen minute chat with experimenter confederates who will praise the real participant's extent of knowledge. The two most important issues to take into consideration are:

A) That all participants have roughly the same level of general knowledge skill and that they will all be able to come back the following week
B) That all participants will be able to come back the following week and that they are of the same gender
C) That all participants will be able to come back the following week and that the two general knowledge tests are equivalent in difficulty
D) That the two general knowledge tests are equivalent in difficulty and that all participants have roughly the same level of general knowledge skill

C

Accepted Answer

The two most important issues are ensuring participants can return for the second part of the study and that the two tests are equivalent in difficulty to accurately measure any change in performance.

Question 2

2) In her project a student wishes to correlate level of self-esteem with number of siblings, hypothesising that only children have lower self-esteem. She administers the self-esteem scale and asks each participant whether they are an only child or have more than one sibling. Which of the following is most appropriate?

A) She can use correlation because the sibling variable is categorical and dichotomous
B) She cannot correlate since the sibling variable is categorical and not dichotomous
C) She can use correlation to prove that only children have higher self-esteem
D) A strong negative correlation would support the theory that more siblings create higher self-esteem

B

Accepted Answer

Correlation is not appropriate for categorical variables, regardless of whether they are dichotomous or not. A better approach would be to use a t-test or ANOVA to compare the means of self-esteem scores between only children and those with siblings.

Question 3

3) A report should always be written in the:&#10;A) First person singular&#10;B) Second person singular&#10;C) Third person passive&#10;D) First person passive

Accepted Answer

A report should always be written in the third person passive voice to maintain objectivity and professionalism. The use of first or second person can introduce bias and detract from the credibility of the report. First person passive can be used in some cases, but it is not as commonly used or recommended as third person passive.

Question 4

4) When writing a report:&#10;A) It is acceptable to copy without reference wording found on the Internet where there is no stated author&#10;B) It is acceptable to copy wording found in books or on the Internet so long as at least the author's name is given&#10;C) It is acceptable to copy wording found in books so long as at least the author's name and date of publication are given&#10;D) It is acceptable to copy wording found in books so long as at least the author's name, date of publication and page number are given

Accepted Answer

When writing a report, it is important to avoid plagiarism by giving proper credit to sources. It is not acceptable to copy without reference wording found on the internet where there is no stated author, as this is still considered plagiarism. It is also not sufficient to simply give the author's name when copying wording found in books or on the internet. The correct choice is to give the author's name, date of publication, and page number when copying wording found in books to ensure proper referencing.

Question 5

5) At the very end of the discussion section in a quantitative report:&#10;A) The null hypothesis should be included&#10;B) The alternative hypothesis should be included&#10;C) The research predictions should be included&#10;D) The general theory under test should be explained

Accepted Answer

The discussion section typically includes the research predictions to interpret the results and discuss their implications in the context of the study.

Question 6

6) The 'Materials' section should contain:&#10;A) A list of the materials used&#10;B) A full description in text of the materials used, including references for any scales administered&#10;C) A full description in text of the materials used, including the makes of computers, calculators, pencils and so on&#10;D) A full description in text of the materials and exactly how they were used with participants

Accepted Answer

The 'Materials' section should contain a full description in text of the materials used, including references for any scales administered. This will allow other researchers to replicate the study if they wish to do so. Including information about the make of computers, calculators, pencils and so on is unnecessary and irrelevant. Additionally, providing a full description of how the materials were used with participants would be more appropriate in the 'Methods' section.

Question 7

7) In the results section of a report:&#10;A) Main findings must be presented in a table&#10;B) Main findings can be presented in a table only&#10;C) Main findings must be presented in text and may be accompanied by a table&#10;D) Main findings must be presented in text and raw data in a table

Accepted Answer

The main findings should be presented in text as well as any relevant tables or figures to support the findings. While tables can be helpful in presenting data, they should not be the only method of presenting results as they may not provide enough context or explanation. Therefore, presenting the main findings in text with an accompanying table is the best choice. Raw data can be provided in an appendix or supplementary materials.

Question 8

8) What is missing from the following statement: &#34;This difference was significant t = 2.34, p <.05, two-tailed&#34;:&#10;A) Number in the sample&#10;B) Significance level&#10;C) Degrees of freedom for t&#10;D) Direction of the test

Accepted Answer

The degrees of freedom for the t-test are missing, which are necessary to interpret the t-value correctly in the context of the sample size.

Question 9

9) In the discussion one should include discussion of:&#10;A) Every flaw in the design and procedure that could possibly have occurred&#10;B) Flaws in the design and procedure that could have made a significant difference to the results&#10;C) Flaws in the design and procedure that will fill out the section to a reasonable length&#10;D) Only those flaws in the design and procedure that will not make the project appear incompetently managed

Accepted Answer

It is important to discuss the flaws in the design and procedure that could have made a significant difference to the results. This helps to ensure that the study is accurate and reliable. Including every possible flaw and those that only fill out the section or make the project appear incompetently managed is not necessary and may detract from the main findings of the study.

Question 10

10) The reference list at the end of a report should contain:&#10;A) All sources that have been consulted whist preparing the report&#10;B) All major sources that have been cited in the main body of the report&#10;C) All sources that have been cited in the main body of the report&#10;D) All sources that have been cited in the main body of the report and appendices

Accepted Answer

The reference list at the end of a report should contain all sources that have been cited in the main body of the report. This is important for giving credit to sources and allowing readers to verify information if needed. Including all sources consulted while preparing the report (A) or sources cited in appendices (D) may not be necessary unless specifically requested by the instructor or publisher. Including all major sources cited (B) may be helpful but not essential; the important thing is to include all sources that have been cited in the main body of the report.

Deck 26: Planning Your Practical and Writing up Your Report