Research Literacy Exam 2

The goals of science can be summarized as

describe, predict, and explain

Studies with the goal of _____ help determine if an event or behavior will occur while studies with the goal of ______ will help determine why the event or behavior occurred.

predicting, explaining

The criticisms of _____ methods include overlooking the richness of human behavior and experience and instead answering simple questions

quantitative

Qualitative researchers describe their data using ____

non-statistical techniques

The strength of _______ include being able to generate novel and interesting research questions and providing detailed descriptions of the behavior of particular groups in particular situations.

qualitative

The weakness of ____ research include its inability to provide precise answers to specific research questions and to draw general conclusions about human behavior

qualitative

Most studies conducted in psychology are

quanitative

The criticisms of _____ methods include lacking objectivity, difficulty evaluating reliability and validity, and the inability to generalize to people or situations other then those actually studied

qualitative

Quantitative researchers collect ____ data and analyze it using _____

numerical; statistics

How do quantitative research and qualitative research differ?

they generate different types of data and use different approaches to analysis

The strengths of _____ research include its ability to provide precise answers to specific research questions and to draw general conclusions about human behavior.

quantitative

The weaknesses of _____ include not being as likely to generate novel and interesting research questions and not providing detailed descriptions of the behavior of particular groups in particular situations

quantitative

What types of research design can be used to determine whether there is a casual relationship between two variables

experiment

Experiments allow for cause-and-effect conclusions because they _____ the independent variable by systematically changing its levels and _____ other variables by holding them constant

manipulate; control

What is the definition of the dependent variable in experimental research

the variable the experimenter measures (the presumed effect)

If variable A and variable B are correlated the change in A could cause the change in B or the change in B could cause the change in A. This is called the _______ problem.

directionality

When a researcher conducts this type of study they manipulate one or more variables and measure one or more variables

an experiment

An independent variable is one that

is manipulated

Diego is interested in examining the relationship between a person's attachment style and his or her relationship satisfaction. He finds 65 studies that have examined this topic. He combines the results of all these studies and calculates an effect size. His research is most accurately described as:

a meta-analysis

When all of the variables in a study are measured as they naturally occur the research design is:

non experimental

When a researcher compares participants in naturally occurring groups, looking for differences in measured variables, they are conducting this type of study

non experimental

The goal of the correlational research strategy is to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables

false

a correlational research study

measures two variables

the research design is

the general structure of the research, including the components of the study and how they work together to address the research goal

A researcher reports a positive relationship between sugar consumption and activity level for a group of 7-year-old children. However, the researcher cannot be sure whether the extra sugar is causing the children to be more active or whether the extra activity is causing the children to eat more sugar. This is an example of the

directionality problem

What is the definition of the independent variable in experimental research

the variable the experimenter manipulates (the presumed cause)

A longitudinal research study

follows a group of people over time

This type of research design involves the researcher following a group of people over time

logitudinal

The researcher manipulates the independent variable in an experiment in order to

measure the effects of different levels of the variable

When a researcher ______ a variable, they change its level systematically so that different groups of participants are exposed to different levels or the same group of participants is exposed to different levels at different times

manipulates

Which of the types of goals of research can be achieved with non-experimental studies

describe and predict

according to the findings of one study, people who attend church are more frequently also tend to live longer. which problem should we take into account before saying one of those variables causes a change in the other variable

third-variable

In explaining an antidote to confusing correlation and causation the authors of the "Scientific Literacy" book say "when you learn that some factor is associated with a behavior, make sure you try to figure out what other factors are also involved." that suggestion is related to the

third-variable problem

A dependent variable if one that

is measured

Why is probability sampling rarely used in behavioral science researcher?

it is often not possible to list every individual in a population

When a sample has the same characteristics as the target population, the sample is said to be a(n) ____ sample.

representative

A researcher is invested in the anxiety levels among patients in a nursing home. Patients living in the nursing home is the

population

A researcher recruits participants for an experiment by posting an announcement in the psychology department asking for volunteers. What kind of sampling is being used?

non-probability

To select a sample of 10 employees from a factory workforce of 100, a researcher puts each employee's name on a slip of paper, then shuffles the papers in a hat and randomly picks 10 names. What kind of sampling is being used?

probability

This research method technique randomly placing participants in groups to be compared so that groups do not systematically differ with respect to variables of interest at the start of a study

random assignment

_____ is concerned with how similar the sample is to the population

representativeness

When a sample is made up of individuals who happen to be nearby and willing to participate it is called a _____ or _____ sample

non-probability; convenience

This term is used to describe the large group of people researchers are interested in

population

When every member of a population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample it is called a ____ or _____ sample

simple random; probability

This term is used to describe the group of people who participate in the study

sample

This type of variable creates an alternative explanation for the results because it systematically varies along with the variables under invesigation

confounding

Felipe plans to watch how positively or negatively teachers treat children in their classrooms who have ADHD for his research methods class. This is an example of what type of measurement?

behavioral/observational

How many operational definitions are there for a construct

more than one

Using a PET scan to measure brain activity while participants solve mathematics problems is an example of using what type of measurement?

physiological

Serena plans to interview several teachers about their attitude toward teaching children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for her research methods class. This is an example of what type of measurement?

self-report

In research a ____ is an event, situation, behavior, or characteristic that can differ in quantity or quality

variable

Self report

participants report on their own thoughts, feeling and actions

Behavioral

participants are observed in structured laboratory tasks or in more natural settings

Physiological

involve recording any of a wide variety of biological processes

One reason that ____ cannot be observed directly is because they often involve internal processes

constructs

independent

the variable the experimenter manipulates (the presumed cause)

dependent

the variable the experimenter measures (the presumed effect)

extraneous

anything that varies in a study other than what is manipulated or measured

this type of variable can influence research, but is not of interest to the researcher - and the researcher may not be aware of the influence

extraneous

_____ is the assignment of scores to individuals so that the scores represent some characteristic of the individual

measurement

all of the members of the soccer team shaved their head bald for the first game. would hair length of the players be a variable

no

Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is an operational definition of problem solving ability?

the time spent solving a Sudoku puzzle

A(n) _____ specifies the precise meaning of a variable, including how the variable is measured or manipulated

operational definition

A definition of the variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured or manipulated

operational defintion

One of the most common approaches to gathering data for qualitative studies is

interviews

This term is used to describe the degree of consistency of a measurement tool or of the data collected on more than one occasion

reliability

Using an anonymous questionnaire to determine how many times students send or receive text messages during class is an example of using what type of measurement?

self-report

The validity of a measure is its _____ in measuring the variable it intends to measure

accuracy

Is the shoe size of elementary school students a variable?

yes

a definition of the variable that includes a description of the related behaviors and internal processes

conceptual definition

When this type of measurement is used participants report on their own thoughts, feelings, and actions

self-report

When researchers observe participants in a structure laboratory tasks or in more natural settings they are using this type of measure

behavioral

this type of measurement uses various types of equipment to record biological processes

physiological

Broader operational definitions ____ the count of whatever we are measuring and narrow definitions ____ the count.

increase; reduce

a _____ variable typically uses text or images to represent a variable

qualitative

a _____ variable typically assigns a number to represent the level of the variable for each individual

quantitative

This type of variable creates an alternative explanation for the results because it systematically varies along with the variables under investigation

confounding

This type is concerned with the degree to which the research question is clearly operationalized by the study's methods

construct

which type of research design has the lowest levels of internal validity

non-experimental

Regression to the Mean (or statistical regression) is

the tendency for extreme or outstanding scores or measure to be followed by measure closer to the mean (average)

____ is concerned with how similar it is to the population

representativeness

a _____ measuring instrument is consistent

reliable

this type of validity refer to the degree to which the findings help us understand people and situations in the "real-world"

external

This type of validity relates to the question "does the way the study was conducted support the conclusion that the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable?"

internal

Researchers add to our understanding about what is _____ to happen, not what is ______ to happen.

more or less likely; guaranteed

selection

participants have unique characteristics - learned and inhereted

history

outside events may influence participants

maturation

participants change over time

repeated testing

if participants completed the same measure more than once earlier in measurement it may affect later measurements

instrumentation

the reliability of equipment may change over time

regression to the mean

extreme scores on a first measure may be followed by more average scores

experimental mortality

some participants may drop out before the end of a study

experimenter bias

the researcher's expectations may significantly influence the results

external

generalizing the findings to the real-world

internal

confidently inferring a casual relationship between variables in an experiment

construct

do the methods clearly represent the research questions

Statistics that describe what is typical of a distribution of scores; includes mean, median, and mode

measures of central tendency

The strength and direction of relationship between two traits, behaviors, or events, represented by r

correlation

a statistical estimate of the size or magnitude of the findings; how meaningful the findings are

effect size

the measure of central tendency that is the average of a group of scores

mean