MBB1 - Research Methods

Which of the following can lead to scientific evidence?

a. Good intentions

b. Belief that what you are doing is helpful

c. Conducting research

d. All of the above

c. Conducting research

Psychology is:

a. An evidence-based discipline.

b. A theory-based discipline.

c. An experience-based discipline

d. A clinically-based discipline

a. An evidence-based discipline.

Why is scientific evidence important for psychology work in a clinical setting (e.g., the work of a clinical psychologist)?

a. It's not strictly necessary, only optional.

b. To determine the effectiveness of treatment options that could be provided by the practitioner.

c. To complement the practitioner's clinical experience.

d. To give the practitioner a sense of authority.

b. To determine the effectiveness of treatment options that could be provided by the practitioner.

The research process always begins with:

a.

Sampling

b.

Analysing data

c.

Collecting data

d.

A research question

d.

A research question

You are conducting a clinical trial to determine whether a certain medication ("Groot tablets") will reduce levels of anxiety in the population of undergraduate psychology students. Which of the following aspects would you need to consider?

a.

The design of your study.

b.

How you will recruit your sample from the population.

c.

How you will analyse your study data.

d.

All of the above.

d.

All of the above.

Which of the following is a construct?

a.

A total score on a questionnaire measuring symptoms of anxiety.

b.

A person who is experiencing anxiety.

c.

Anxiety.

d.

Increased heart rate.

c.

Anxiety.

Which of the following could be an operational definition of mental well-being?

a.

The total score on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (i.e., a scale measuring mental well-being).

b.

Happiness.

c.

Number of "mental health days" taken off from work in a given year.

d.

A or C

d.

A or C

a.

A comprehensive psychological model or theory.

b.

Observable behaviour that we theorise underlies a hypothetical or intangible attribute.

c.

A hypothetical or intangible attribute that we theorise underlies observable behaviour.

d.

Directly measurable.

c.

A hypothetical or intangible attribute that we theorise underlies observable behaviour.

Which of the following statements is true?

a.

There may be a number of ways to operationalise a given construct.

b.

There is only ever one way to operationalise a given construct.

c.

An operational definition can replace a construct.

d.

A construct allows us to measure our operational definition.

a.

There may be a number of ways to operationalise a given construct.

A set of bathroom scales is:

a. An operational definition of weight.

b. A measure of weight.

c. A construct.

d. A score.

b. A measure of weight.

Which if the following statements is true?

a.

A research question is informed by a hypothesis.

b.

A research question is specific and testable

c.

A hypothesis is broad.

d.

A hypothesis is informed by a research question.

d.

A hypothesis is informed by a research question.

Take the following research question: "Is state anxiety related to mentalisation capacity?" Which of the following forms is this question taking?

a.

Difference

b.

Prediction

c.

Association

d.

Correlation

c.

Association

A research hypothesis should be:

a.

Falsifiable.

b.

Provable.

c.

General.

d.

Correct.

a.

Falsifiable.

You are developing a research project in the area of happiness, inspired by your interest in this topic. You develop a research question, then a research hypothesis, and conduct a study looking at the relationship between happiness and sunshine. During the research process, however, you stumble across a study previously conducted by another researcher looking at a very similar research question and research hypothesis to you! This throws into question whether the research project you are doing is indeed the next logical step in the research area. What could you have done from the outset to avoid finding yourself in this situation?

a.

Develop a different research question and research hypothesis.

b.

Nothing - it's just bad luck.

c.

A thorough literature review to inform your research question and research hypothesis.

d.

Taken a well-established approach to defining variables, study design, sampling method, and data analysis.

c.

A thorough literature review to inform your research question and research hypothesis.

Take the research question from a previous question: "Is state anxiety related to mentalisation capacity?". What would be an appropriate research hypothesis developed from this research question (assuming that it follows from the literature review)?

a.

"Is state anxiety positively associated with mentalisation capacity?"

b.

"State anxiety is negatively associated with mentalisation capacity."

c.

"Is state anxiety not associated with mentalisation capacity?"

d.

"State anxiety is not associated with mentalisation capacity."

b.

"State anxiety is negatively associated with mentalisation capacity."

You have a variable called "Amount of Coffee Consumed" where 1 = "Never Drink Coffee", 2 = "Drink Coffee Irregularly", and 3 = "Drink Coffee Daily", where participants can select one of the three options. What scale is this variable on?

a.

Nominal.

b.

Ordinal.

c.

Interval.

d.

Ratio.

b.

Ordinal.

In your research project, you have a variable called "Amount of Coffee Consumed" measured in millilitres per day. What scale is this variable on?

a.

Nominal.

b.

Ordinal.

c.

Interval.

d.

Ratio.

d.

Ratio.

A variable:

a.

Must be a construct.

b.

Has a fixed value.

c.

Can take on different values for different people.

d.

Is always continuous.

c.

Can take on different values for different people.

You have a variable called "Age" where you can indicate current membership to one of: 1 = "0-17", 2 = "18-29", 2 = "30-54" and 3 = "55+". This variable could be classified as:

a.

A discrete and interval variable.

b.

A discrete and ordinal variable.

c.

A continuous and interval variable.

d.

A continuous and ordinal variable.

b.

A discrete and ordinal variable.

If you are manipulating coffee drinking behaviour to see whether it has an impact on hours of sleep, then you could classify these variable as:

a.

Dependent variable = coffee drinking behaviour; Independent variable = hours of sleep.

b.

Independent variable = coffee drinking behaviour; Dependent variable = hours of sleep.

c.

Independent variable = coffee drinking behaviour; Independent variable = hours of sleep.

d.

Dependent variable = coffee drinking behaviour; Dependent variable = hours of sleep.

b.

Independent variable = coffee drinking behaviour; Dependent variable = hours of sleep.

Which of the following research designs would typically be most appropriate to establish if a new therapy works?

a.Quasi-experimental

b.Experimental

c.Correlational

d. Descriptive

b.Experimental

magine that you are a research psychologist and that you are starting a new series of research projects. Your aim for the first project is to establish if there is a relationship between anxiety and amount of sleep. Which of the following research designs would be most appropriate?

Quasi-experimental

Non-experimental

Correlational

Descriptive

correlation

Having established in your first study that there was a relationship between anxiety and amount of sleep, you now move on to design your second study. You hypothesise that anxiety causes people to sleep less. To test this possibility, you recruit a sample of people who have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, and a group of people who have no diagnosed disorder. You have also controlled for a number of extraneous variables. You have ensured that you have equal numbers of male- and female-sexed participants in each group. You have also ensured that participants in each group are matched in terms of age. Members of each group complete a survey that measures their total amount of sleep in the last week. When the data is collected, you compare the group mean scores to test your hypothesis. Which of the following research designs are being used in this example?

Quasi-experimental

Experimental

Non-experimental

Descriptive

Quasi-experimental

Correlational designs are similar to non-experimental designs in that ______?

They both seek to establish cause and effect.

They both involve naturalistic observation.

They both seek to investigate a potential relationship between variables.

Both B and C are correct

Both B and C are correct

How are correlational and non-experimental designs different?

Correlational designs involve data analysis and non-experimental designs do not.

Correlational designs compare one group of people and two variables, while non-experimental designs compare two or more groups of people and one variable.

Correlational designs compare two or more groups of people and one variable, while non-experimental designs compare one group of people and two variables.

Both A and C are correct

Correlational designs compare one group of people and two variables, while non-experimental designs compare two or more groups of people and one variable.

In psychological research, we typically make inferences:

From samples to samples.

From populations to populations.

From populations to samples.

From samples to populations

From samples to populations

Imagine that you are interested in knowing whether a particular treatment is effective for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. You take a sample from this population, and find that it is predominantly comprised of men. Why might this be an issue?

It's only an issue if you are interested in investigating sex differences in schizophrenia.

Your sample should always have equal numbers of men and women.

Your sample might not be representative of sex differences in schizophrenia at the population level.

All of the above.

Your sample might not be representative of sex differences in schizophrenia at the population level

Quotas:

Guarantee that sampling bias is controlled for.

May help to control for sampling bias.

Are unrelated to the issue of sampling bias.

Are always used in convenience sampling

May help to control for sampling bias.

If you don't know the probability of sampling a given individual from a population, then you:

Should not proceed with your research. You can't make reasonable inferences from sample to population in this instance.

Should use some form of probability sampling.

Can use convenience sampling, while attempting to control for factors that may introduce sampling bias.

Can use convenience sampling, and must use quotas.

Can use convenience sampling, while attempting to control for factors that may introduce sampling bias.

Imagine that you employ convenience sampling for your Honours research project (via the Research Experience Program), and later realise that there may be sampling bias in your sample. What would be the best approach to take?

Be transparent in reporting on your sampling strategy, and take this into account when making inferences.

Abandon the research altogether.

It doesn't warrant serious consideration. After all, many other projects use convenience sampling as well.

Delete participants from your sample until you reach desired quotas of individuals, then present this modified sample as your original sample.

Be transparent in reporting on your sampling strategy, and take this into account when making inferences.

The concept of research merit refers to ______?

a.

research that is justified by its potential benefit to knowledge and understanding about a given topic.

b.

research that is justified by its potential benefit in tangible terms, such as improved social welfare or wellbeing for individuals.

c.

research that is justified and ancient, and bound for Mu Mu Land.

d.

both (a) and (b) are correct.

d.

both (a) and (b) are correct.

Consider the following situation and choose the best answer below. A researcher is is running a 15 minute survey that collects sensitive personal information about participants. Participants are offered $300 to complete this survey. All of these details are described in advance in a Plain Language Statement, which is read before the provision of consent.

a.

The research process is ethically sound given that consent was obtained.

b.

The research process is not ethically sound. It is never appropriate to ask people about sensitive personal information.

c.

The research process is not ethically sound. The remuneration offered is disproportionate to the effort and time required of participants.

d.

The research process is ethically sound given that the details have been explained in a plain language statement in advance of obtaining consent.

c.

The research process is not ethically sound. The remuneration offered is disproportionate to the effort and time required of participants.

a.

The research process is ethically sound.

b.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of beneficence.

c.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of integrity.

d.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of justice.

c.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of integrity.

Consider the following situation and choose the best answer below. A researcher recruits participants for a study. Prior to involvement in the study, the researcher provides potential participants with a plain language statement, which provides a description of the study and outlines the benefits of participation. No further information is provided. Participants then are asked to sign a consent form before commencing the study.

a.

The research process is ethically sound.

b.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of beneficence.

c.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of integrity.

d.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of justice.

b.

The research process suffers from ethical issues in the area of beneficence.

What does the formula below show how to calculate? M= EX/n

The mean. The formula tells us to add up all the raw scores and then divide that sum by the number of observations forthcoming from the sample.

The median. The formula tells us to arrange our data in rank order and then calculate the middle number.

The mode. The formula tells us how to find the most frequently occurring score.

The standard deviation. The formula tells us how to find the average deviation score in a distribution of data.

The mean. The formula tells us to add up all the raw scores and then divide that sum by the number of observations forthcoming from the sample.

Which measure of typicality is most appropriate to use with nominal data?

Mean

Median

Mode

There is no appropriate choice for use with nominal data.

Mode

Imagine that you are a research psychologist. You measure the IQ of students in a tutorial group. You observe that most people have similar IQs around 100; however, you discover that 3 students have IQs of approximately 140. What would be the most appropriate measure of central tendency to use with the distribution of data?

Mean

Median

Mode

Either a or b would be appropriate.

Median

To calculate the median score of a distribution, one would?

Add up all the raw scores and then divide that sum by the number of observations forthcoming from the sample.

Arrange data in rank order and then find the middle number.

Identify the 50thpercentile of a distribution of data

Both B and C are correct.

Both B and C are correct.

When should the mean be used as a measure of central tendency?

When data is normal and collected on either a ratio or interval scale.

When data is normal and collected on either an ordinal, ratio, or interval scale.

When data is collected on either a ratio or interval scale, regardless of whether or not the data is normally distributed.

When data is collected on either a ratio or interval scale, regardless of whether or not the data is normally distributed.

When data is normal and collected on either a ratio or interval scale.

The range of data in a distribution refers to?

The distance from quartile 1 to quartile 3

The distance from the 25thpercentile to the 75thpercentile

The distance from the highest score to the lowest score

Both A and B are correct.

The distance from the highest score to the lowest score

What is a deviation score?

A measure of the distance from quartile 1 to quartile 3

A measure of a raw score's distance from the mean

The sum of squared scores in a distribution

The squared standard deviation

A measure of a raw score's distance from the mean

Standard deviation is?

The average deviation score in a distribution.

The median deviation score in a distribution.

The average amount that scores spread out away from the mean in a distribution.

Both A and C are correct.

Both A and C are correct.

How does variance relate to standard deviation?

Variance is the sum of squared deviation scores in a distribution

Variance is the square root of standard deviation

Variance is the squared standard deviation

Variance is the standard deviation divided by n-1

Variance is the squared standard deviation

When using the median as a measure of central tendency, one would typically use the _____ as a measure of variability. Alternatively, when using the mean to describe central tendency, one would typically use the _____ to measure variability.

Interquartile range, standard deviation

Range, standard deviation

Standard deviation, range

Standard deviation, Interquartile range

Interquartile range, standard deviation

Critical thinking about psychological research involves?

Active consideration of deductive logical arguments underpinning hypotheses to be tested in a study

Active consideration of inductive logical arguments underpinning conclusions based on data analysis forthcoming from a study

Active consideration of the research methodology used in a study, including study design, sampling, operational definitions of constructs, choice of statistical measures, and so forth.

All of the above are correct.

All of the above are correct.

QUESTION 2

Deductive arguments _______

Involve premises which in conjunction are intended to provide absolute support for a conclusion.

Are commonly found in the introduction section of research reports, where premises are drawn from general theory and a conclusion is offered in terms of a narrow hypothesis.

Have potential to be valid or invalid.

All of the above are correct.

All of the above are correct.

Classify the following argument.

Premise: In a current sample of 5 people diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety was associated with hearing voices.

Premise: In a previous single case study, a person diagnosed with schizophrenia reported experiencing anxiety.

Conclusion: Hearing voices is likely to cause anxiety in people who have schizophrenia.

Valid, deductive

Invalid, deductive

Weak, inductive

Strong, inductive

Weak, inductive

Classify the following argument.

Premise: Sunlight exposure leads to happiness.

Premise: All people who sleep during the day get no sunlight exposure.

Conclusion: If surveyed, a group of night-shift workers will report being unhappy.

Valid, deductive

Invalid, deductive

Weak, inductive

Strong, inductive

Invalid, deductive