Professor Newberg decided to study the social activity level of senior citizens, so he visited a local retirement village and invited residents to participate in a lengthy survey. Professor Newberg's survey results are probably invalid because he did not use:
A) a valid hypothesis.
B) an operational definition.
C) independent and dependent variables.
D) random selection of participants.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Random selection of participants is necessary to ensure that the sample is representative of the population of interest. Without this, the survey results may not accurately reflect the social activity levels of senior citizens as a whole, and thus the survey results may be invalid. The other options (A, B, and C) are also important for designing a valid study, but random selection of participants is critical for generalizability.

Professor Newberg Decided to Study the Social Activity Level of Senior