Terms
What does confounded mean in an experiment?
That undesirable variables are not kept out of the experiment.
On a test where the top score was 93 and the lowest was a 33 out of 100, the range would be
a. 61
b. 77
c. 59
d. more information is necessary
a. 61
The variable you manipulate/control in an experiment is the
a. DV or dependent variable
b. IV or independent variable
c. the variable you will measure to determine the outcome
b. IV or independent variable
What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative research?
Quantitative - look for cause and effect, studies samples/populations, tends to use instruments
Qualitative - goal to try to describe nature of things, studies individuals, researchers observations/impressions may be used
From a statistical standpoint, in order to compare a control group to the experimental group the researcher will need
a. a correlation coeffecient
b. descriptive statistics
c. percentile rank
d. a test of significance
d. a test of significance
Define a Type I (alpha) error.
When a researcher rejects the null hypothesis when it is true.
Brooke is teaching two separate classes in individual inventory. In the morning class, Brooke has 53 students and in the afternoon class, she has 177 students. A statistician would expect that the range of scores on a test would be
a. greater in the afternoon class than the morning class
b. smaller in the afternoon class
c. impossible to determine without more data
d. nearly the same in either class
a. greater in the afternoon class than the morning class
A professor of counselor education hypothesized that biofeedback training could reduce anxiety and improve the average score on written board exams. If this professor decides to conduct a formal experiment the IV will be the _______ and the DV will be the _______.
a. professor; anxiety level
b. anxiety level; board exam score
c. biofeedback; board exam score
d. board exam score; biofeedback
c. biofeedback; board exam score
What are the four steps in the research process?
1. problem or issue identification
2. hypothesis formulation
3. operationalization (creating measurable variables that fully address the hypothesis)
4. study design selection
The standard deviation (SD) is the square root of the variance. A z-score of +1 would be the same as
a. 1 SD above the mean
b. 1 SD below the mean
c. the same as a so-called t-score
d. the median score if the population is normal
a. 1 SD above the mean
Explain the difference between internal and external validity.
Internal validity - extraneous variables have been controlled, whether the DVs were truly influenced by the IVs or whether other factors had an impact
External validity - whether the results can be generalized to people and situations
Kellie believes that clients who receive assertiveness training will ask more questions in counseling classes. An experimental group receives assertiveness training while a control group does not. In order to test for significant differences between the groups Kellie should utilize
a. the student's t test
b. a correlation coefficient
c. a survey
d. an analysis of variance (ANOVA)
a. the student's t test
Name the axis used to plot IV scores and the axis used to plot DV scores.
IV scores: x-axis
DV scores: y-axis
Maddie discovered that the correlation between therapists who hold NCC status and therapists who practice systematic desensitization is 0.90. A student who perused Maddie's research told his fellow students that Maddie had discovered that attaining NCC status causes therapists to become behaviorally oriented. The student is incorrect because
a. systematic desensitization is clearly not a behavioral strategy
b. this can only be determined via a histogram
c. the student suffers from longitudinal and maturational effects
d. correlation does not imply causal
d. correlation does not imply causal
A researcher notes that a group of clients who are not receiving counseling, but are observed in a research study, are improving. Her hypothesis is that the attention she has given them has been curative. The best explanation of their improvement would be
a. the Hawthorn effect
b. the Halo effect
c. the Rosenthal effect
d. A type II error in the research
a. the Hawthorn effect
Explain the difference between a parametric and nonparametric test.
In a parametric test, the assumption is that the scores are normally distributed. Used with interval and ratio data.
In nonparametric testing the curve is not a normal distribution. Used with nominal and ordinal data.
If one group receives no assertiveness training, a second group receives four assertiveness training sessions, and a third receives six sessions, what would be the statistic of choice?
a. mean
b. t test
c. two-way ANOVA
d. ANOVA
d. ANOVA
Regardless of the shape, the _____ will always be the high point when a distribution is displayed graphically.
a. degrees of freedom
b. mean
c. median
d. mode
d. mode
In a random sample each individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected. Selection is by chance. In a new study, however, it will be important to include 20% African Americans. What type of sampling procedure will be necessary?
a. standard random sampling
b. cluster sampling
c. stratified sampling
d. horizontal sampling
c. stratified sampling
If a researcher changes the significant level from .05 to .001, then
a. alpha and beta errors will increase
b. alpha errors increase but beta errors decrease
c. alpha errors decrease; however, beta errors increase
d. this will have no impact on Type I and Type II errors
c. alpha errors decrease; however, beta errors increase
Name and explain the four basic measurement scales.
Nominal - numbers represent categories of the variable (i.e., male and female), classifies, names, labels, or identifies by group
Ordinal - orders the data (top to bottom or low to high) but the distance between the ranks is not always equal
Interval - numbers representing the variable have the same quantities (distance between 1 and 2 and 24 and 25), numbers are scaled at equal distances but no true zero
Ratio - numbers are on a scale which has a true zero
A t-score is different from a z-score. A z-score is the same as the SD. A t-score, however, has a different mean and SD. What is the mean and SD of a t-score?
mean = 50
SD = 10
Brooke, Kellie, Maddie, and Ev and five other randos (the world's finest counselor educators) are given an exam on counseling theory. All of them scored extremely high. The distribution of scores would most likely be
a. a bell-shaped curve
b. positively skewed
c. negatively skewed
d. indicate that more information would be necessary
c. negatively skewed
Name four sampling techniques.
1. simple random sampling
2. stratified random sampling
3. cluster sampling
4. systematic sampling
Name two examples of nonparametric statistical measures.
Chi-square
Mann-Whitney U test
Wilcoxen signed-rank test
Kruskal-Wallis test