Statistics Expert Answers / Study Resources

  16.A researcher decides to use a high school sample to test the relationship between her new measure of empathy and a well-established measure of interpersonal sensitivity. She finds that the two instruments are highly related, which supports the ______ of the new instrument. a.predictive validity b.content validity c.criterion validity d.face validity 17.A researcher designed a.

  19.In general, research is evaluated based on whether it’s well done, valid and reliable, and useful. Why, then, are open-mindedness and explicitness of assumptions and biases hallmarks of well-done qualitative research?     .

  6.In this type of study design, a particular individual, program, or event is studied in depth over a defined period of time. a.case study b.ethnography c.phenomenology d.grounded theory 7.Carl Compost has been living and working on a communal organic farm for the past six months. He wants to understand the political, environmental, and social perspectives.

THE PROBLEM: THE HEART OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS Multiple-Choice Questions 1.Basic research is: a.research intended to enhance basic knowledge about the physical, biological, psychological, or social world or to shed light on historical, cultural, or aesthetic phenomena. b.large scale research performed under contract with a governmental agency such as the National Science Foundation (NSF),.

PLANNING YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT Multiple-Choice Questions 1.Three of the following accurately characterize data. Which one does NOT necessarily characterize data? a.Data may be elusive. b.Data can be volatile. c.Data are ever changing. d.Data reveal truth. 2.Charlotte, an anthropologist, has been living in an Incan village for three years. During that time Charlotte has become expert in Incan.

28.Note several steps researchers can take to optimize the power of their statistical tests.     .

  16.Simon Cinema wants to know what the audience thought of tonight’s advanced screening of a heralded psychological thriller called “I Can’t Sleep.” He and his research assistants stand outside the theatre exit and ask every fifth person leaving the theatre to answer several questions about their impression of the movie..

  21.Seamus has determined that there is a 95% chance that the number of people visiting the Blarney Stone in the month of June will be between 1,760 and 2,025. This is: a.a point estimate. b.an interval estimate. c.a high percentile rank. d.a strong correlation. 22.Statistical hypothesis testing involves testing the: a.research hypothesis. b.probability level. c.significance level. d.null hypothesis. 23.On the.

15.Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies a multiple-baseline design? a.Bryce is an occupational therapist working with Sandy, a brain-injured patient. Bryce has decided to test the effects of a graphing strategy with Sandy. He starts the graphing technique, while collecting data in the form of minutes of strength training per.

Essay Questions 22.In writing the cover letter to accompany a survey, novice researchers often stress the immediacy of their need for the data. Is this the best approach to take in the cover letter? If not, what do you recommend instead?     .

13.You are reading a literature review written by a novice researcher in your field. You notice that the researcher seems to have relied heavily on an Internet search while conducting the literature review. Your hunch is supported when you glance at the reference page and find a long list of.

  6.Three of the following are characteristics of a well-written research problem. Which one is NOT? a.The problem statementincludes the researcher’s hypothesis. b.The problem statement clearly delimits the object(s) of study. c.The problem statement identifies the important factors to be investigated in the study. d.The problem statement explicitly identifies assumptions. 7.“What proportion of workers hired by.

Essay Questions 17.A fundamental pitfall in qualitative research is to confuse the actual observations with the interpretation of the observations. Why is it important that these two things remain distinctly separate?     .

Essay Questions 18.Why is it important that the researcher articulate, as clearly as possible, all assumptions that affect the research problem?     .

  6.Replications in experimental research are generally conducted to facilitate a.internal validity. b.external validity. c.internal reliability. d.external reliability. 7.Marcy is concerned that her findings may be due to an extraneous uncontrolled variable and not her treatment. Marcy is most concerned with: a.triangulation. b.respondent validation. c.external validity. d.internal validity. 8.When a qualitative researcher asks the participants, “Do the conclusions I’ve drawn make.

Essay Questions 27.A medical researcher is concerned about mistakenly concluding that a new medication is effective when it really is not. What type of error is the researcher concerned about making (Type I or Type II)? Describe what the researcher might do to decrease the likelihood of making that type of.

18.Do recent technological advances (e.g., the World Wide Web, electronic databases) assure that future research will be of higher quality, or of greater utility, than past research? Support your answer.     .

  11.Dr. Robbins wants to know if there are different opinions regarding the value of public school education between Native Americans who have at least one relative who attended Indian Boarding School and Native Americans who have no family experience with Indian Boarding School. Dr. Robbins contacts 35 Native American participants.

29.Concepts, ideas, opinions, feelings, and other intangible entities are often labeled as “insubstantial phenomena.” Select one of the following 3 phenomena that would be considered insubstantial, and explain two different ways — one qualitative and one quantitative — that you might measure it: a) the closeness of undergraduates’ social network.

  6.Typically, the literature review should: a.include few or no works more than five years old to avoid having the work become prematurely obsolete. b.be limited to work coming out of the very best labs and universities in the country. c.give a broad overview of the area, without getting bogged down in the details.

24.Under what circumstances would a researcher choose a longitudinal study over a cross-sectional study? Give a specific example of a question that could be addressed with a longitudinal study and explain why that developmental design is preferred.     .

  11.The measure(s) of central tendency that is/are appropriate for use with nominal data is/are: a.the median only. b.the mode only. c.the median and the mean. d.the median and the mode. 12.When summarizing ordinal data, the most useful measure of central tendency is the: a.arithmetic mean b.mode c.median d.geometric mean 13.When reporting growth data, the most useful measure of central tendency.

  6.Amida recognizes that there are limitations to her proposed research study that explores students’ opinions about campus mental health resources. As she writes her plan where will she share these limitations? a.The first section where she describes the problem and setting b.The review of related literature c.The section where she discusses treatment of.

  6.In a normal distribution, approximately what percentage of scores falls between one standard deviation below the mean and one standard deviation above the mean? a.16% b.50% c.68% d.90% 7.A distribution of scores that is positively skewed will have a small number of scores that a.are very high. b.are very low. c.are clustered around the midpoint. d.are all the same. 8.Here.

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE Multiple-Choice Questions 1.The primary purpose for completing a thoroughliterature review as part of a research study is to: a.become an expert inyour area of interest. b.provide evidence that your hypothesis is correct. c.help you interpret your own findings. d.point you toward the proper method to use. 2.Jane wants to search for information.

EXPERIMENTAL, Quasi-Experimental, AND EX POST FACTO DESIGNS Multiple-Choice Questions 1.In experimental design, the variable that is manipulated is the: a.dependent variable. b.independent variable. c.confounding variable. d.constant. 2.“There will be gender differences in degree of mood elevation seen in depressed clients after receiving cognitive-behavioral therapy.”In this hypothesis, gender is the: a.dependent variable. b.independent variable. c.confounding variable. d.constant. 3.“There will be differences in degree.

28.Professor Parsnip wants to know more about the mental process students go through as they learn about research methods. She also wants to know which instructional methods are most effective for teaching research methods to her students. Assume that Professor Parsnip decides to take a quantitative approach to studying these.

Essay Questions 11.Describe three benefits of conducting a thorough review of existing literature before writing a research proposal.     .

  16.The z-score, or standard score, allows the research to determine: a.how far a target individual’s score is from the group mean. b.what percentage of individuals in the sample scored above the target individual. c.the mean for the population based on the mean for the sample. d.what percentage of individuals in the sample scored below.

12.Kirby is conducting a literature review in preparation for his study of “expectations regarding the sharing of financial and practical responsibilities among married and cohabiting couples in which both partners are between the ages of 20 and 29.” Conducting a keyword search on “couples” and “responsibility,” Kirby has generated a.

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH Multiple-Choice Questions 1.Of the following research topics, which is most likely to be an observational study? a.The relationship between hours of exercise and sleep. b.The difference in minutes a day exercising between boys and girls. c.The types of exercise students engage in after school. d.Students’ feelings about after-school track practice. 2.Correlational research allows the researcher.

Essay Questions 19.A researcher is studying the effectiveness of two different resident adolescent drug treatment programs. Program A is used at Summerhill adolescent facility. Program B is used at Winterdale adolescent facility. Because random assignment to treatments is not possible in this situation, what can the researcher do to minimize possible.

Essay Questions 12.In regard to quantitative research proposals, novice researchers often find it very challenging and tedious to explain in detail how the data will be analyzed and interpreted in their study. Explain why it is essential that the researcher not cut corners in this section of the proposal.     .

  11.The main difference between an interval and a ratio scale is that only one of them: a.includes an absolute zero. b.uses equal units of measurement. c.supports the use of statistical analyses. d.is used in research with human subjects. 12.Professor Harris is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project. One question asks students.

  11.Which of the following represents a null hypothesis? a.Class A high school basketball teams who employ a sports psychologist will have a higher proportion of wins over the course of the season than comparable teams who do not employ a sports psychologist. b.There will be no difference in rate of skill improvement.

  11.The typical return rate for a survey mailed to strangers is about: a.80% b.65% c.50% d.35% 12.Angeline is conducting an observational study of aggression on the playground. She is especially interested in whether boys are reprimanded more than girls for aggressive actions. The best instrument for her to use to collect her data would be: a.A.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS Multiple-Choice Questions 1.Qualitative research often involves what’s known as an iterative process for data collection and analysis. This terminology refers to the fact that, in qualitative research: a.researchers focus more on narrative data than on statistics and numbers. b.researchers typically do not begin by stating a hypothesis. c.researchers may collect and analyze.

17.Graduate professors like to insist that the completion of thesis or dissertation research is not merely an “academic exercise” or final hurdle to obtaining the desired degree. Explain at least one personal benefit that the individual derives from completing a high- quality thesis or dissertation. Then explain at least one.

  21.Three of the following are techniques for strengthening the internal validity of a study. Which one is NOT? a.Conduct the study in a controlled laboratory setting. b.Conduct a double-blind experiment. c.Make participants fully aware of your expected findings. d.Build in opportunities for triangulation. 22.Three of the following are techniques for strengthening the external validity of.

WRITING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL Multiple-Choice Questions 1.According to the textbook, the most effective research proposals: a.are a brief outline of the study you intend to conduct without an excess of detail. b.justify the study to be conducted by explaining how it will contribute to the professional literature. c.are detailed and straightforward explanations of the research.

29.After completing planned analyses, the researcher must interpret the results of statistical tests. Note several steps that are involved in such interpretation.     .

Essay Questions 27.Professor Parsnip wants to know more about the mental process students go through as they learn about research methods. She also wants to know which instructional methods are most effective for teaching research methods to her students. Assume that Professor Parsnip decides to take a qualitative approach to studying.

  11.The technique of participant observation is most associated with: a.case study. b.ethnography. c.grounded theory. d.content analysis. 12.Which of the following designs is most useful in situations where current theory regarding the subject of investigation is inadequate or nonexistent? a.Case study b.Ethnography c.Grounded theory d.Phenomenology 13.Qualitative researchers often begin by asking themselves, “What needs to be studied?” and then collect preliminary.

  6.Dr. Dow Jones wants to know whether a problem-based approach to teaching economics will result in higher academic performance than his traditional method. Of the six sections of Economics 101 at his university, Dr. Jones randomly assigns three sections to the traditional method and three sections to the problem-based method..

18.Dr. D is conducting an interview with Amber, who works as a cocktail waitress. Here is an excerpt: Dr.  D:What shift do you typically work? Amber: Night. I come in a around 7:00 p.m. and work until 2:00 a.m. Dr. D:Cocktail waitressing has a bad reputation. How bad is it to work here? Amber:.

  6.Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a cohort-sequential design? a.Don studies high school seniors’ concerns about world events during their post-secondary experiences. He surveys the entire senior class state-wide. He surveys them again every year for eight years. b.Melanie is conducting a survey for her thesis that examines administrative policies in.

20.Factorial designs allow researchers to study the effects of more than one independent variable simultaneously. Why is this advantageous? What information can factorial designs yield that nonfactorial designs cannot?     .

23.The authors of your textbook suggest that sampling bias is virtually unavoidable and that it is important to disclose and discuss possible sources of bias in the study report. Do you agree? Explain your position.     .

ANALYZING QUANTITATIVE DATA Multiple-Choice Questions 1.How are inferential statistics different from descriptive statistics? a.Descriptive statistics allow one to draw inferences from the sample to a target population. b.Descriptive statistics verify the accuracy of the inferential statistics. c.Inferential statistics describe the results of a study. d.Inferential statistics allow one to draw inferences from the sample to a.

19.Daphne has been a member of a research team studying interpersonal aggression among preschoolers for more than a year. In that time, her team has repeatedly employed a consistent set of techniques and procedures to study preschoolers as they interact in a number of settings. The procedures revolve around volunteer.