Scientific Method
& Hypotheses
& Hypotheses
Which is not a known element of a good hypothesis?
A) Concise
B) Testable
C) Positive
D) Refutable
A) Concise!
A systematic sample does not qualify as a true random sample because:
A) The selection of the first individual is not random
B) The selections are not independent of one another
C) It does not use sampling with replacement
D) The entire population is not known
B!
Kai is conducting a study to determine if females or males have a higher pain tolerance when it comes to the cold. He has a group of males stick their hands in ice water for as long as possible while he times it. He then repeats the same procedure with a group of females. Identify the variables in this study.
Participant variable- gender (cannot randomly assign people to a gender)
Dependent variable - pain tolerance (operationally defined by how long they're able to tolerate the ice water)
List the seven threats to internal validity that were practiced in class
AHERMIT
A- Assignment Bias
H- History
E- Environment
R- Regression to Mean
M- Maturation
I- Instrumentation
T- Testing Effects
Emma is taking an exam and gets to a question she doesn't know. She decides to pick option B, simply because it feels right. What methods of acquiring knowledge is Emma using?
Method of Intuition (gut feeling about something that just feels right
Despite being the gold standard among the ways of knowing, explain why the scientific method is unlikely to be the final answer
While we may receive an answer using the scientific method, science is an iterative process and there are always more questions to be asked
To select a sample of 5 children from a class of 30, a researcher puts each child’s name on a
slip of paper, the shuffles the papers in a hat and randomly picks five names. What kind of
sampling is being used?
a) Quota
b) Non-quota
c) Probability
d) Non-probability
C) Probability!
Each person has a known and specific probability of being selected, and a random process is used to sample based on these probabilities
What is the importance of having an operational definition for each variable in a study?
Ensures your variables are studying what they are intended to; ensures researchers all have the same definition for a variable
Explain the differences between measurement, internal, and external validity
Internal: assessing our ability to make a cause-effect conclusion based on study design
External: assessing the extent to which we can generalize the findings of our study
Measurement: assessing the accuracy of the operational definition in measuring the construct
Which of the following Belmont Principles refers to keeping all of an individual's information confidential?
A) Autonomy
B) Beneficence
C) Justice
B) Beneficence
Refers to minimizing possible harm to participants, confidentiality, record keeping, & debriefing
Evan is conducting research that he hopes will further the general understanding on the topic of gun control. Based on this, what type of research is Evan conducting?
Basic Research
He is gathering knowledge simply for the sake of gathering knowledge
Why is probability sampling rarely used in behavioral science research?
A) It does not truly use random selection
B) It's too difficult to get a representative sample
C) It's typically not possible to list all individuals in a population
D) It is often biased
C)!
To do nonprobability sampling, the specific probability of selecting an individual is known
A researcher decides to measure extraversion by recording how high participants are able to jump. The researcher has participants jump onto blocks of increasing height until they are no longer able to do so. They then record which block number (numbered 1 through 10 by height) participants made their last successful jump on. Is this likely a valid measure? How about reliable?
Likely a reliable study because individuals will get consistent results with themselves. They will likely be able to consistently jump as high as they previously did. This is not a valid operational definition of “extraversion,” however. How high an individual can jump does not accurately depict extraversion.
A lab group is conducting a study on how a specific medicine helps keep dog's eyes from being dry. The lab wants to generalize their findings and assume the medicine must also help human's eyes. What is the main threat to external validity here?
Cross-species concerns (generalizing animal research to humans)
True or False: The Nuremburg Guidelines were effective in stopping ethical dilemmas?
False!
They lacked legal enforcement, updates, and clarity
What kind of reasoning uses a few specific observations to produce a statement about a larger
possible set of observations.
a) Inductive
b) Deductive
c) Scientific
d) Predictive
A!
Inductive reasoning uses a few limited observations to create a general hypothesis
State the differences between the target population, accessible population, and sample using the Strayer & Drews (2007) study to demonstrate the differences.
Target Population: all drivers
Accessible Population: participants on the campus in which the study was conducted
Sample: the individuals who actually took part in the study
Identify the modalities of measurement and provide an example of how we might measure aggression using each.
Self-Report: asking participants to rate how aggressive they are feeling on a 1 (not at all
aggressive to 7 (very aggressive) scale.
Physiological: Measuring a spike in blood pressure as an indicator of aggression
Behavioral: Assessing aggression based on number of hits/kicks the participant engages in.
Which question can be addressed with a descriptive research strategy strategy?
a) What is the average number of text messages that a typical adolescent sends in a month?
b) Is there a relationship between the number of text messages that adolescents send each month and the number of pages of leisure reading done by adolescents?
c) Does decreasing the number of text messages sent by adolescents cause an increase in number of pages read for leisure?
d) Will restricting access to portable devices increase the number of pages read for leisure?
A!
Descriptive research reports averages or distributions of variables; the goal is to provide descriptions of specific characteristics about certain groups of individuals
Under which of the following circumstances is an informed consent not necessary?
a) A drug study where the participants receive experimental medication
b) When participants are unlikely to be able to understand the consent form
c) A public opinion survey where participants complete anonymous questionnaires
d) Informed consent is always necessary
C!
If absolutely no identifying or personal information is being collected from an individual and it is purely just an anonymous survey, a consent form is not needed
What are the three important elements of the scientific method not present in the other ways of knowing?
Empirical: answers obtained through making observations
Public: Observations available for evaluation/replication
Objective: structured so bias doesn't impact the experiment
In the Strayer and Drews study, researchers examined cell phone use and distracted driving. Explain one way divergent validity could be established for the in this study.
Adding a construct that may overlap with distraction, but is not the same and should produce some different results (ex. driving anxiety)
Name the four types of scales measurement and how they differ from each other
N- Nominal (categories, indicate qualitative differences in variables)
O- Ordinal (rank ordering w/ numeric values; levels indicate difference in QUANTITY)
I- Interval (reflects sequential order but all levels are the same size; no true 0)
R- Ratio (has a "true zero" point
Which of the 5 research strategies is likely to have the highest internal validity? Why?
Experimental
It involves random assignment and manipulation of the IV which helps to minimize potential confounds which could impact internal validity
Name two possible issues with using the empirical method to acquire knowledge
- Time consuming
- Not always safe
- Can be limited ("I won't believe it until I see it")