Chapter 2: Research Methods

Question 1

Scientific method

Answer 1

1. Identify the problem
2. Gather Information
3. Generate a Research question (or hypothesis in experimental methods)
4. Design and Conduct Experiments
5. Analyse data and formulate Conclusions.
6. Restart the process

Question 2

What is the best definition of a hypothesis?

Answer 2

The predicted outcome of an experiment

Question 3

Which of the following is not a part of the scientific method?

a) Identify the problem
b) Theory
c) Hypothesis
d) Data analysis and conclusion

Answer 3

b) Theory

Question 4

Using the scientific method, in what stage does a scientist ‘test’ their hypothesis?

a) Identify the problem
b) Hypothesis
c) Design and conduct experiments
d) Data analysis and conclusion

Answer 4

c) Design and conduct experiments

Question 5

What does the word ‘Hawthorne’ refer to?

a) A factory called Hawthorne Works Electric Company
b) A researcher with the name Hawthorne
c) An employee at a factory with the name Hawthorne
d) None of the above

Answer 5

a) A factory called Hawthorne Works Electric Company

Question 6

Hawthorne effect

Answer 6

The term “Hawthorne effect” refers to the effect the presence of an observer can have on the behavior on the subjects or a temporary change in behavior due to the novelty of the situation.

Question 7

In the Hawthorne study, what was one change that was mentioned?

a) The number of breaks given to employees
b) How often a foreman would check in with his employees
c) The amount of lighting in the work environment
d) The number of hours employees had to work

Answer 7

c) The amount of lighting in the work environment

Question 8

Damon Brown’s work found that the change in the working environment was not the important factor. Rather, it was simply that they were being observed. Which step in the scientific method does this address?

a) Gathering information
b) Hypothesis
c) Conducting experiments
d) Data analysis

Answer 8

d) Data analysis

Question 9

From the David Rosenhan video, under what diagnosis were his pseudopatients discharged from the hospital?

a) As cured of paranoid schizophrenia
b) Schizophrenia in remission
c) As unlikely to be experiencing paranoid schizophrenia
d) Manic-depressive psychosis

Answer 9

b) Schizophrenia in remission

Question 10

Anecdote

Answer 10

one person’s experience

Question 11

Survey

Answer 11

A researcher pooled students to ask where they were spending spring break.

Question 12

Participant Observation

Answer 12

To better understand the effectiveness of a professor¸ the department chair sat in on a class and asked students about their experiences with the teacher.

Question 13

Naturalistic Observation

observation of behaviour in real world settings

Answer 13

A biologist traveled to the Tanzanian Forest to study the social and family interactions of the wild chimpanzee.

Question 14

When is a case study the most useful?

a) When studying behaviour change
b) When research requires a substantial sample to be worthwhile or effective
c) When a participant has a rare condition
d) When you are studying yourself

Answer 14

c) When a participant has a rare condition

Question 15

T/F: The primary strength of survey research is the ability to determine cause-effect explanations.

Answer 15

False.

Surveys offer a quick way of collecting info and gather an understanding of current state of people’s opinions/attitudes

Question 16

Integrity

Answer 16

A researcher makes every effort to remove factual errors from the study report

Question 17

Propriety

Answer 17

A researcher acts in a professional manner

Question 18

Respect for the Rights and Dignity of People & Peoples

Answer 18

The capacity and rights of all individuals to make their own decisions.

Question 19

The Tuskegee researchers violated this ethical principle when they failed to provide medical treatment to participants. (Select the best that would apply)

a) Integrity
b) Propriety
c) Respect for the Rights and Dignity of People & Peoples

Answer 19

Respect for the Rights and Dignity of People & Peoples

Question 20

Informed consent means that:

a) Researchers can have permission to publish details of participants names.
b) Consent to participate can only be made when all the details and risks of study participation are known.
c) Participants release researchers from all risks and liabilities associated with the experiment.
d) Participants are aware that they agree to be a part of the study.

Answer 20

b) Consent to participate can only be made when all the details and risks of study participation are known.

Question 21

Can you see the possible ethical concerns of the facebook study? Which of the following ethical principles might not have been applied in this study.

a) Integrity
b) Propriety
c) Respect for the Rights and Dignity of People & Peoples

Answer 21

c) Respect for the Rights and Dignity of People & Peoples

Question 22

When a study is over, participants are given further details about the purpose of the experiment, their role in helping to answer the research question, and also informed if deception was used in the experiment. This part of the study is called:

a) Conclusion
b) Debriefing
c) Informed consent
d) Assent
e) Descent

Answer 22

b) Debriefing

Question 23

The Milgram Obedience study has receive considerable criticism for lack of consideration for these ethical principles:
(multiple answers allowed)

a) Integrity
b) Propriety
c) Respect for the Rights and Dignity of People & Peoples

Answer 23

b) Propriety

c) Respect for the Rights and Dignity of People & Peoples

Question 24

Height and weight
Height and shoe size
Absenteeism and grades
Shoe size and intelligence
Attractiveness and popularity
Facial blemishes and self-esteem
Student number and intelligence

Answer 24

\+
\+
-
(0) 
\+

-

(0)

Question 25

Sort the following correlations from lowest to highest strength.

Answer 25

r= 0.05

r= -0.1

r= 0.2

r= -0.4

r= -0.45

r= 0.7

r= 0.95

r= -1

Question 26

If the number of “hours spent studying” is positively correlated with the “test score,” what can conclude?

a) Spending more time studying will result in a higher test score.
b) The score on the test can be perfectly predicted from the hours spent studying.
c) If we plot these variables, they will create a straight line.
d) Higher exam scores are associated with a greater number of hours spent studying.

Answer 26

d) Higher exam scores are associated with a greater number of hours spent studying.

(it is not a. because that suggests causality)

Question 27

What is one major purpose of correlational research?

a) To study the changes in behaviour after exposure to an intervention or treatment
b) To identify relationships between two variables
c) To make people aware of what has happened from past failures or accomplishments
d) To track changes in people’s behaviour over time

Answer 27

b) To identify relationships between two variables

Question 28

A study found a Correlation coefficient of .85 between spatial navigation skills and scores on a driving test. What would this suggest?

a) As spatial navigation scores increase, so do scores on a driving test.
b) As spatial navigation scores increase, scores on a driving test decrease.
c) The correlation between spatial navigation and intelligence is insignificant.
d) Spatial navigation and intelligence are not related.

Answer 28

a) As spatial navigation scores increase, so do scores on a driving test.

Question 29

Based on your knowledge of correlations, which of the following correlation coefficient is the strongest?

a) r = + 0.78
b) r = + 0.66
c) r = + 0.01
d) r = - 0.87
e) r = + 1.25

Answer 29

d) r = - 0.87

Question 30

According to this “The Magic of the Placebo” Ted Talk, which type of placebo is best?

a) A white pill is more effective than a blue pill.
b) A needle is more effective than a capsule.
c) A letter on a white pill is more effective than a capsule.
d) A blue pill is more effective than a capsule.

Answer 30

b) A needle is more effective than a capsule.

Question 31

According to this “The Magic of the Placebo” Ted Talk, what is the main connection between magic and the placebo?

a) Both are real events.
b) Magic is an illusion.
c) The placebo is felt even when you know it’s fake.
d) Magic does not work in the same way as a placebo.

Answer 31

c) The placebo is felt even when you know it’s fake.

Question 32

internal validity

Answer 32

the degree to which results may be attributable to the independent variable rather than some other effect of our experiment.

Basically, was the experiment done “right”? If we control for internal threats to validity, we should be able to repeat the experiment again and again, and come to the same conclusion.

Question 33

external validity

Answer 33

The external validity of a finding speaks towards the degree to which a result can be beyond the scope of the experiment.

Do the results of the experiment apply in the real world?

Question 34

How well the experimenter can generalise to the population of interest is called _________.

Answer 34

External validity

Question 35

Generalisation

Answer 35

Generalisation is the external validity of how the results from an experiment can apply to other settings, other people, and other time periods

Question 36

Complete this sentence. Ideally, if a study concluded that eating ice cream caused violence, it would have to:

a) Assign participants to groups of high and low violence and compare their ice cream eating habits.
b) Measure how ice cream consumption and rates of violence varies over a period of time.
c) Show a correlation between ice cream consumption and violent behaviour in participants.
d) Randomly assign participants to groups eating more and less ice cream and compare rates of violence.

Answer 36

d) Randomly assign participants to groups eating more and less ice cream and compare rates of violence.

Question 37

What is a measure of central tendency?

a) Multiple values to describe how a group of data is clustered around a central value
b) A way of summarising some data with a series of numbers
c) Multiple values that describe the distribution of data
d) A single point to describe the centre of data

Answer 37

d)A single point to describe the centre of data

Question 38

Which measure represents the most frequently observed score in a data set?

Answer 38

Mode

Question 39

What is variability?

a) A difference in the measure of the spread of data
b) A difference in the measure of the center of data
c) A similarity between data
d) A measure of central tendency

Answer 39

a) A difference in the measure of the spread of data

Question 40

What is variance?

a) The difference between the highest and lowest score
b) The most commonly used measure of variability
c) If added together, the total would equal zero
d) The average sum of squared deviations

Answer 40

d) The average sum of squared deviations

Question 41

statistically significant

Answer 41

If the probability (p) of an event is less than 5% (represented as p < 0.05), it is typically called a statistically significant event that is unlikely to happen by chance alone.