Research Methods
A RESEARCHER WATCHES HOW CHILDREN INTERACT ON A PLAYGROUND WITHOUT INTERVENING IN ANY WAY. WHAT RESEARCH METHOD IS THIS?
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
THE MOST FREQUENTLY OCCURRING SCORE IN A DATA SET IS WHAT MEASURE OF CENTRAL TENDENCY?
MODE
IN AN EXPERIMENT TESTING WHETHER CAFFEINE IMPROVES REACTION TIME, THE GROUP THAT RECEIVES A PLACEBO IS CALLED THE _______ GROUP.
CONTROL
BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN A STUDY, PARTICIPANTS MUST BE TOLD ABOUT THE STUDY’S PURPOSE AND PROCEDURES AND AGREE TO TAKE PART. THIS IS CALLED _______.
INFORMED CONSENT
A RESEARCHER WANTS TO STUDY THE EXERCISE HABITS OF AMERICAN ADULTS. TO GET RESULTS THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO ALL AMERICAN ADULTS, SHE NEEDS A _______ SAMPLE.
RANDOM SAMPLE
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE
A PSYCHOLOGIST SENDS A QUESTIONNAIRE TO 2,000 PEOPLE ASKING ABOUT THEIR SLEEP HABITS AND STRESS LEVELS. WHAT METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION IS THIS?
A RESEARCHER REPORTS THAT THE AVERAGE TEST SCORE IN HER STUDY WAS 78. SHE IS REPORTING WHAT STATISTIC?
MEAN
A RESEARCHER RANDOMLY ASSIGNS PARTICIPANTS TO EITHER A MEDITATION GROUP OR A NO-MEDITATION GROUP AND MEASURES THEIR ANXIETY LEVELS AFTER FOUR WEEKS. WHAT IS THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE?
MEDITATION VS. NO MEDITATION
AFTER A STUDY INVOLVING DECEPTION, THE RESEARCHER EXPLAINS THE TRUE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY TO PARTICIPANTS. THIS PROCESS IS CALLED ___?
DEBRIEFING
A PERSONALITY TEST PRODUCES THE SAME RESULTS WHEN THE SAME PERSON TAKES IT TWO WEEKS APART. THIS TEST HAS HIGH _______.
RELIABILITY
A RESEARCHER CONDUCTS AN IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION OF A PATIENT WITH A RARE BRAIN INJURY, DOCUMENTING HIS BEHAVIOR AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES OVER SEVERAL YEARS. WHAT RESEARCH METHOD IS THIS?
TWO CLASSROOMS BOTH HAVE A MEAN TEST SCORE OF 80, BUT CLASSROOM A HAS A STANDARD DEVIATION OF 2 WHILE CLASSROOM B HAS A STANDARD DEVIATION OF 12. WHICH CLASSROOM HAS MORE VARIATION?
CLASSROOM B
IN A STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF A NEW DRUG, NEITHER THE PARTICIPANTS NOR THE RESEARCHERS ADMINISTERING THE DRUG KNOW WHO IS RECEIVING THE REAL MEDICATION AND WHO IS RECEIVING THE PLACEBO. WHAT IS THIS PROCEDURE CALLED?
DOUBLE-BLIND
IN A STUDY ON MEMORY, AN INDIVIDUAL'S NAME AND INFORMATION IS PUBLISHED IN THE RESEARCH PAPER. THIS VIOLATES WHAT ETHICAL PRINCIPLE?
CONFIDENTIALITY
ANONYMITY
A RESEARCHER RECRUITS PARTICIPANTS BY ASKING STUDENTS IN HER PSYCHOLOGY CLASS TO VOLUNTEER. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF _______ SAMPLING.
CONVENIENCE
A RESEARCHER COLLECTS DATA SHOWING THAT AS SOCIAL MEDIA USE INCREASES, SELF-ESTEEM TENDS TO DECREASE. WHAT TYPE OF STUDY IS THIS?
CORRELATIONAL
A RESEARCHER FINDS THAT HER EXPERIMENT HAS A P-VALUE OF .03. WHAT DOES THIS TELL HER ABOUT HER RESULTS?
IT IS LIKELY NOT DUE TO CHANCE
DR. PATEL WANTS TO ENSURE THAT EACH PARTICIPANT HAS AN EQUAL CHANCE OF BEING PLACED IN EITHER THE EXPERIMENTAL OR CONTROL GROUP. WHAT TECHNIQUE SHOULD SHE USE?
RANDOM ASSIGNMENT
DURING RESEARCH ON SLEEP, RESEARCHERS ARE CAREFUL TO NOT DEPRIVE PARTICIPANTS OF TOO MUCH SLEEP OVER THE COURSE OF THE STUDY. THEY ARE TRYING TO FOLLOW WHICH ETHICAL GUIDELINE?
PROTECTION FROM HARM
A PUBLISHED STUDY’S FINDINGS WERE NEVER VALIDATED BY OTHERS. THIS FAILURE OF _______ RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORIGINAL FINDINGS.
PEER REVIEW
A RESEARCHER COMBINES THE RESULTS OF 15 DIFFERENT PUBLISHED STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON ANXIETY TO IDENTIFY AN OVERALL PATTERN. WHAT RESEARCH METHOD IS THIS?
META-ANALYSIS
A RESEARCHER FINDS A CORRELATION OF r = -0.85 BETWEEN HOURS OF SLEEP AND NUMBER OF MISTAKES ON A TASK. WHAT IS THE STRENGTH AND DIRECTION OF THIS RELATIONSHIP?
STRONG NEGATIVE CORRELATION
A STUDY FINDS THAT STUDENTS WHO CHEW GUM DURING A TEST SCORE HIGHER, BUT THE RESEARCHERS LATER DISCOVER THAT THE GUM-CHEWING STUDENTS WERE ALSO BETTER PREPARED. THE LEVEL OF PREPARATION IS A _______ VARIABLE.
CONFOUNDING
IRB
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
A RESEARCHER DESIGNS A TEST TO MEASURE ANXIETY, BUT THE TEST ACTUALLY MEASURES DEPRESSION INSTEAD. THIS TEST LACKS _______.
VALIDITY