PSYC 300 Midterm Exam - Week 4 Grade A Plus

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Question 1 Marco’s study suggested that elementary students who watch TV more than three hours a day are more likely to be overweight than students who watch less TV. In this study student’s we... ight is A. an independent variable B. dependent variable C. mediating variable D. moderating variable Question 2 Professor Harris is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project. One question asks students to report how politically conservative they are it includes a 7-point scale where 1 is “not at all conservative” and 7 is “extremely conservative.” This is an example of a/an: A. nominal scale B. ordinal scale C. interval scale D. ratio scale Question 3 Professor Harris is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project. One question asks students to report their highest level of education by choosing these options: “some high school”, “completed high school,”, “some college”, or “completed 4-year college degree.” This is an example of a/an: A. nominal scale B. ordinal scale C. interval scale D. ratio scale Question 4 Professor Adams is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project. One question asks students to report their age in years. This is an example of a/an: A. nominal scale B. ordinal scale C. interval scale D. ratio scale Question 5 Professor Adams is constructing a demographic questionnaire for use in a research project. One question asks students to report whether they are currently living in an "urban", "suburban", or "rural" setting. This is an example of a/an: A. nominal scale B. ordinal scale C. interval scale D. ration scale Question 6 Kate has spent the past month carefully observing a group of third graders on the playground during recess, taking notes of how the students interact with one another. On the basis of these observation, Kate is drawing conclusions about the interaction styles of boys and girls. This is an example of: A. hypothetical logic B. deductive logic C. inductive logic D. propositional logic Question 7 Alicia knows that teenagers often do not make good decisions in areas where they have little knowledge. She also knows that most teens have little knowledge about human sexuality. There-fore, Alicia believes that teens are likely to make poor decisions about sexual activity. This is an example of: A. inductive logic B. propositional logic C. transductive logic D. deductive logic Question 8 Which of the following represents a well-written applied research problem? A. “How does the organization of mathematical information in long-term memory differ between 3-year-olds and 13-year-olds?” B. “How do business teams of six or fewer members compare to teams of more than six members in terms of productivity?” C. “Which general education course is more interesting, U.S. History or World Music?” D. “What is the ratio of native-born students to international students on the campuses of major U.S. state universities?” Question 9 Which of the following represents a well-written applied research problem? A. “How does the organization of mathematical information in long-term memory differ between 3-year-olds and 13-year-olds?” B. “How do business teams of six or fewer members compare to teams of more than six members in terms of productivity?” C. “Which general education course is more interesting, U.S. History or World Music?” D. “What is the ratio of native-born students to international students on the campuses of major U.S. state universities?” Question 10 “What do underemployed U.S. workers (i.e., those workers who are employed, but not in posi-tions for which they have specialized training or expertise) identify as the primary reason for their inability to find suitable employment?” The chief weakness of this research problem is that: A. it lacks clarity or completeness in the problem statement. B. it does not lead to the creation/discovery of new information. C. it implies only description of the data, not interpretation. D. studying the question as stated is not feasible. Question 11 “What is the correlation between an index of civic-mindedness and years of involvement in local organizations and charities among members of city councils of selected midsized cities in the northeastern United States?” The chief weakness of this research problem is that: A. it implies only description of the data, not interpretation. B. it does not lead to the creation/discovery of new information. C. it lacks clarity or completeness in the problem statement. D. studying the question as stated is not feasible. Question 12 “Among social workers in selected U.S. urban areas, are the personality characteristics of Need for Structure or In-Group Preference related to prejudicial social judgments about African Amer-icans, Latino Americans, or Asian Americans?” Which of the following is a well-stated subproblem that follows from this research problem? A. Which group is more discriminated against by the public at large in each of the selected areas: African Americans, Latino Americans, or Asian Americans? B. What is the most valid existing measure of In-Group Preference? C. What is the relationship between an index of Need for Structure and an index of prejudice targeting attitudes about Asian Americans among the selected social workers? D. Which analytic technique is best suited to addressing the research problem, multiple regression or path analysis? Question 13 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 between college gymnasts who prac-tice meditation and those who do not. C. Does incorporating relaxation exercises into the daily practice routine of college vocal majors enhance their performance confidence? D. None of the above Question 14 Which of the following represents a research 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 between college gymnasts who prac-tice meditation and those who do not. C. Does incorporating relaxation exercises into the daily practice routine of college vocal majors enhance their performance confidence? D. None of the above Question 15 The recommended order of tasks in preparing a research proposal is: A. state the problem and subproblems, note the assumptions, note the delimitations, define the terms, note the research questions/hypotheses. B. state the problem and subproblems, note the delimitations, note the research ques-tions/hypotheses, note the assumptions, define the terms. C. state the problem and subproblems, note the research questions/hypotheses, note the assump-tions, define the terms, note the delimitations. D. state the problem and subproblems, note the research questions/hypotheses, note the delimita-tions, define the terms, note the assumptions. Question 16 If an important recent research article that you want to include in your literature review is not owned by your library, you might: A. cite it anyway for the benefit of the reader B. obtain it by asking the library to recall the reference C. obtain it through an online document delivery service D. decide to make do without it. Question 17 If an important book that you want to include in your literature review is not owned by your li-brary, your best move would probably be to: A. obtain it through interlibrary loan B. obtain it by asking the library to recall the reference C. obtain it through an online document delivery service D. cite it anyway for the benefit of the reader Question 18 When considering general criteria for high-quality research projects, universality refers to the fact that: A. the research design allows the researcher to control those factors that are central to the success of the project. B. another researcher in the same field, using the same procedures under the same circumstances to research the same question, would obtain comparable results. C. a well-designed research project could be carried out by any competent researcher; it does not rely on a specific individual. D. the phenomena of interest must be quantified in some systematic way. Question 19 When considering general criteria for high-quality research projects, replicability refers to the fact that: A. the research design allows the researcher to control those factors that are central to the success of the project. B. another researcher, using the same procedures under the same circumstances to research the same question, would obtain comparable results. C. a well-designed research project could be carried out by a specific individual conducting re-search in the same field. D. the phenomena of interest must be quantified in some systematic way. Question 20 Charlotte, an anthropologist, has been living in an Incan village for three years. During that time Charlotte has become expert in Incan weaving by observing and imitating the master weavers in the community. For Charlotte, observing weaving constitutes: A. primary data B. secondary data C. informal data D. nonempirical data Question 21 Charlotte wrote a book about her experience as an anthropologist living in an Incan village for three years and becoming an expert weaver. Her book was widely read by other anthropologists, including Mira, who is an expert in Navaho weaving. For Mira, Charlotte’s book constitutes: A. hearsay data B. secondary data C. informal data D. primary data Question 22 Sean, a high school wrestler, has agreed to participate in a study of cardiovascular conditioning. He is left somewhat confused when, at the first research session, he is asked to complete a ques-tionnaire about commonly purchased grocery items. Sean’s confusion indicates a lack of ______ regarding the task. A. construct validity B. content validity C. criterion validity D. face validity Question 23 A researcher decides to use a high school sample to test the relationship between her new meas-ure 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 Question 24 A researcher designed a new questionnaire to measure political conservatism. To test out his new instrument, he asks people leaving their polling place on election day to report their degree of po-litical conservatism on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) and then complete his questionnaire. Results show that people who identified themselves as political conservatives also had the highest scores on his questionnaire. This is an indication of the ______ of the new instrument. A. criterion validity B. content validity C. face validity D. predictive validity Question 25 Don and Jane are studying aggression among preschool children. Separately, they each watch a videotape of four children interacting in a playroom and then rate each child on the level of ag-gression displayed during the play session. They compare their completed ratings and are pleased to note they are highly similar. This is an example of ______ reliability. A. interrater B. internal consistency C. equivalent form D. test-retest Question 26 Dr. Stevens is testing a 10-question measure of achievement motivation. He notes that if his re-spondents agree with the first question, they tend to also agree with the other nine. Likewise, if his respondents disagree with the first question, they tend of disagree with the other nine. This is an indication of good ______ reliability. A. interrater B. internal consistency C. equivalent form D. test-retest Question 27 Professor Page is studying civic-mindedness among senior citizens. She administers a survey of civic mindedness to a senior citizens group in early April, then again in early May. By comparing the two sets of scores, the professor can assess the ______ reliability of her measure of civic-mindedness. A. interrater B. internal consistency C. equivalent form D. test-retest Question 28 Dr. Davenport wants to conduct a study of whether high school students learn more efficiently while seated at a desk compared to in an easy chair. Participants will be seniors in local high school history classes. She hopes to publish her findings in the History Teacher Quarterly. Does Dr. Davenport need internal review board (IRB) approval for this study? A. Yes B. No C. Only if the study is accepted for publication Question 29 Dr. Davenport wants to conduct a study of whether high school students learn more efficiently while seated at a desk compared to in an easy chair. She knows there is a large research literature regarding similar influences on learning, and she wants to see if the findings hold true with a group of high school history students. Moreover, as a researcher she is uneasy with a lack of structure. You recommend that Dr. Davenport conduct a ______ study. A. quantitative B. qualitative Question 30 Dr. Greenhill wants to know how it is that some early adolescents come to make a connection between their personal lifestyle and environmental problems, while others don’t. Furthermore, among those who see the connection, why do some become committed to environmentalism while others do not? Dr. Greenwald looks forward to probing the thoughts of young teens on these issues and trying to see the questions and issues through “14-year-old eyes.” You recom-mend that Dr. Greenhill conduct a ______ study. A. quantitative B. qualitative Question 31 The research proposal is best thought of as: A. a general and flexible outline of how the research problem is to be investigated. B. “Plan A,” with the expectation that “Plan B” or even “Plan C” will become necessary as the study unfolds. C. a detailed and firm contract between the researcher and others who are involved in the re-search project (participants, supervisors, funding agencies, etc.) D. a document that is written for others (internal review boards, funding agencies) and is of little value to the researcher. Question 32 When explaining how the data are to be analyzed and interpreted: A. it is best to provide only a general plan as things will probably change over the course of the study anyway. B. it is best to be as detailed as possible so all contingencies related to analysis and interpretation can be anticipated. C. it is impossible to be highly detailed until one has the actual data in hand. D. an overly specific plan may bias the analyses or interpretation, impairing the validity of the study. Question 33 Three of the following are elements in the proposal revision process. Which one is NOT? A. Reconsider the feasibility of what you are proposing to do. B. Carefully assess the logic and organization of the information in the document. C. Avoid breaks of 24 hours or more as the material will get too “cold” in your mind. D. Seek feedback from knowledgeable others. Question 34 In regard to the style you will use for headings and subheadings in the research proposal: A. there are no special formatting requirements unless the document is a thesis or dissertation. B. all disciplines recognize the major formal styles, so it is a matter of personal choice. C. the writer is free to show creativity as long as s/he is consistent throughout the document. D. disciplines often dictate the use of specific formal styles, so you must find out what the ex-pectations are. Question 35 In ______ research proposal(s), specific hypotheses regarding findings are often stated. A. both quantitative and qualitative B. neither quantitative and qualitative C. a quantitative D. a qualitative Question 36 In ______ research proposal(s), a specific plan for how the data will be handled is clearly laid out in the document. A. both quantitative and qualitative B. neither quantitative and qualitative C. a quantitative D. a qualitative Question 37 In ______ research proposal(s), a specific research problem is clearly stated at the outset of the proposal. A. both qualitative and quantitative B. neither qualitative and quantitative C. a qualitative D. a quantitative Question 38 Describe three benefits of conducting a thorough review of existing literature before writing a research proposal. 1. Ensures what’s being researched isn’t already being researched by others. 2. It could give a more expounded understanding of the material that is being researched 3. Getting a better understanding to know exactly what to research that isn’t already being re-searched Comment: This question needs more elaboration to be answered fully. Question 39 Concepts, ideas, opinions, feelings, and other intangible entities are often labeled as “insubstan-tial phenomena.” Select one of the following 3 phenomena that would be considered insubstan-tial, and explain two different ways- one qualitative and one quantitative- that you might meas-ure it: a) the closeness of undergraduates’ social network friends; b) the “campus climate at your university; c) “irrational exuberance” about the stock market. the closeness of undergraduates’ social network friends qualitative: qualitatively its insubstantial because of the rarity of finding those groups of students who share a closeness to monitor and see how their relationship evolves. quantitative: quantitatively its insubstantial because creating a survey and gaining that type of data won’t necessarily meet the intent of knowing how close someone is to another. Question 40 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. If corners are cut it tends to make the results faulty. If the researcher come up with the way he/she will analyze the data it will help when trying to understand the data. Question 41 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 two personal benefits that the individual derives from completing a high-quality thesis or disser-tation. Then explain at least two societal benefits that follow from the individual’s completion of a high-quality thesis or dissertation. Personally: -Provides unknown or the next step of information for the topic that others are studying. It’s bringing something to the table that no one has seen before - It helps the researcher understand the topic of his/her choice. Their knowledge of it will be ex-panded. Societal: - Other students could benefit from the information - By completing the dissertation or thesis it puts the researcher in a new circle of like minded people. They will be able to mingle with others that are more advanced in the field. [Show More]

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