Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides an overview of the fundamental concepts and techniques used in psychological research. Students will learn about the scientific method, research design, data collection, statistical analysis, and ethical considerations in conducting psychological studies. Emphasis will be placed on distinguishing between various research methodologies, including experimental, correlational, and observational approaches. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to critically evaluate research findings and design basic research projects in psychology.
Recommended Textbook
Research Methods In Psychology 9th Edition by John J Shaughnessy
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Chapter 1: Introduction
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Q1) Most recently,the dominant psychological perspective for understanding people's behavior and mental processes is
A)computer psychology.
B)behaviorism.
C)spiritualism.
D)cognitive psychology.
Answer: D
Q2) At the end of the 19<sup>th</sup> century,the young field of psychology was a subdiscipline of A)philosophy.
B)neuroscience.
C)medicine.
D)theology.
Answer: A
Q3) A key factor when "thinking like a researcher" is to be A)polemic.
B)trusting.
C)dogmatiC.
D)skeptical. Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Scientifi C Method
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Q1) When research consists of verbal summaries of "naturally occurring,ordinary events in natural settings" the research is
A)equally likely to be qualitative or quantitative research.
B)more likely to be qualitative research than quantitative research.
C)more likely to be quantitative research than qualitative research.
D)unlikely to be either qualitative or quantitative research.
Answer: B
Q2) A correlation exists when
A)two hypotheses are shown to support the same theory.
B)two independent variables are confounded.
C)a measurement is both reliable and valid.
D)two measures of the same people,events,or things vary together.
Answer: D
Q3) Psychologists use _______ to identify the causes of a phenomenon.
A)correlations
B)qualitative research
C)controlled experiments
D)operational definitions
Answer: C
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Psychological Research
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Q1) When writing a report describing a class research project,a student paraphrased some material from a psychology journal article.In order to avoid a charge of plagiarism,the student should
A)identify the author and publication year of the journal article in the same sentence as the paraphrased material.
B)list the article in a bibliography at the end of the report,but not identify it in the text of the report.
C)include quotation marks around the paraphrased material.
D)identify the author of the journal article at the end of the paragraph in which the material was citeD.
Answer: A
Q2) When the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater than those encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine tests,we say that the risk is
A)minor risk.
B)daily risk.
C)static risk.
D)minimal risk.
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Observation
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Q1) Of the following observational methods,which one does not use intervention by the researcher?
A)participant observation
B)naturalistic observation
C)structured observation
D)field experiment
Q2) Low interobserver reliability is likely to result because of
A)extensive training of observers.
B)lack of clear definitions of events to be recorded.
C)specific feedback to observers regarding discrepancies between their observations.
D)all of these
Q3) Identify the four measurement scales and provide an example of each measurement scale.
Q4) In order to conduct a structured observation or a field experiment,researchers make use of ________ to create the observation situation.
A)confederates
B)participant observers
C)independent variables
D)narrative records
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Chapter 5: Survey Research
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Q1) What correlation coefficient value indicates the "Friend" measure has good convergent validity?
Q2) A researcher decides to conduct a survey using telephone interviews and has access to random-digit dialing.Because some people have multiple phone numbers and therefore,a greater likelihood of being surveyed,the researcher should be aware of the potential problem of
A)response rate bias
B)interviewer bias
C)selection bias
D)telephone bias
Q3) A major threat to the interpretation of results from a successive independent samples design is
A)noncomparable successive samples.
B)attrition from the study.
C)stratified random sampling from the population.
D)interviewer bias.
Q4) What correlation coefficient value indicates the "Friend" measure has good discriminant validity?
Q5) Identify the key features of a good questionnaire item.
Q6) What correlation coefficient value indicates the "Friend" measure is reliable?
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Chapter 6: Independent Groups Designs
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Questions
Q1) When participants begin an experiment but fail to complete it,the internal validity of the experiment can be threatened.Which of the following types of subject loss poses the most serious threat to internal validity?
A)the loss is selective in that some characteristic of the participant that is related to the outcome of the study is responsible.
B)the loss occurs because of an error by the experimenter.
C)the loss leads to different numbers of participants in the groups in the experiment.
D)the loss occurs because of equipment failure.
Q2) In a study that investigates the effects of two different doses of a drug on memory performance,the drug doses represent the ____ variable and memory performance represents the ____ variable.
A)correlational,confounding
B)experimental,control
C)dependent,independent
D)independent,dependent
Q3) Describe briefly how confidence intervals can be used to determine if the means for the two conditions of an experiment differ.
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Chapter 7: Repeated Measures Designs
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Q1) When selected orders of conditions (Latin Square or random starting order with rotation)are used to balance practice effects in the incomplete repeated measures design
A)the number of selected orders must be exactly equal to the number of conditions in the experiment.
B)the number of selected orders will always be equal to one more than the number of conditions in the experiment.
C)the number of selected orders will always be equal to some multiple of the number of conditions in the experiment.
D)there is no restriction on the number of possible orders needed to balance practice effects in the incomplete repeated measures design.
Q2) The need to balance practice effects in the repeated measures design is analogous to the need to balance ________ in the independent groups design.
A)order effects
B)individual differences
C)reactivity
D)subject loss
Q3) What is the independent variable in this experiment?
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Chapter 8: Complex Designs
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Q1) The interpretation of main effects obtained in a complex design is critically dependent on whether
A)only one main effect occurs in the experiment.
B)more than one main effect occurs in the experiment.
C)an interaction effect is present in the experiment.
D)an interaction effect is not present in the experiment.
Q2) Draw a graph that displays mean results consistent with the researcher's hypothesis.
Q3) What are the means for the main effect of the Apology variable? [Be sure to specify which mean belongs with each condition.]
Q4) Interaction effects can play a special role in the natural groups design to help break the confoundings inherent in individual difference (subject)variables.Describe this role of interaction effects using the study comparing memory of musicians and nonmusicians described in the text.
Q5) Describe the factorial design in this experiment (e.g. ,3 × 4).
Q6) What kind of complex design is this (e.g. ,2 × 2)?
Q7) Briefly describe the analyses that are done to interpret the results of complex designs when an interaction effect is present and when an interaction effect is not present.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Single-Case Designs and Small-N Research
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Q1) A cognitive psychologist did an intensive study of a person who had suffered an unusual brain injury.Which of the following methods did the psychologist use?
A)case study method
B)unipolar method
C)baseline method
D)idiogram method
Q2) What do each of the multiple baselines in the multiple-baseline design represent?
A)individual case studies
B)replications built into the design
C)redundant sources of evidence
D)inevitable sources of confounding
Q3) In a multiple-baseline design,the target behavior should change
A)long before the onset of the treatment.
B)just before the onset of the treatment.
C)long after the onset of the treatment.
D)just after the onset of the treatment.
Q4) Identify two advantages and two disadvantages of the case study method.
Q5) Do you think the psychologist's conclusions are correct? Why or why not?
Q6) What type of research did this psychologist conduct?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Quasi-Experimental Designs and Program Evaluation
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Q1) ,the most significant change needed if our society is to approach social reforms as experiments is for public officials to emphasize
A)the efficiency of social programs.
B)the views expressed by particular interest groups.
C)the importance of the problem rather than the importance of the solution.
D)the evidence in favor of the public official's preferred solution.
Q2) Random assignment to conditions is used in true experiments to control which of the following threats to internal validity?
A)testing
B)selection
C)history
D)subject attrition
Q3) When people's performance changes because they are enthusiastic or energized by an intervention,the results of a study are likely affected by
A)contamination.
B)treatment enthusiasm.
C)novelty effects.
D)diffusion of treatment.
Q4) What type of research design was used in this study?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Data Analysis and Interpretation: Part I
Describing Data,confi Dence Intervals, Correlation
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Q1) It was suggested in the textbook that the correlation between measures of intelligence and mental illness is close to
A)0.00
B)-.50
C)+.50
D)+1.00
Q2) To find the value of t critical for a repeated measures design,we calculate degrees of freedom based on the
A)number of pairs of scores minus one.
B)number of scores obtained minus one.
C)number of scores obtained.
D)size of the group.
Q3) Which of the following is not a major stage of data analysis?
A)getting to know the data
B)transforming the data
C)confirming what the data reveal
D)summarizing the data
Q4) What does the "95" in a 95% confidence interval refer to?
Page 13
Q5) What are two factors that affect the width of a confidence interval?
Q6) Why is a confidence interval also called a "margin of error"?
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Chapter 12: Data Analysis and Interpretation: Part II Tests of
Statisticalsignifi Cance and the Analysis Story
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Q1) (a)What is a Type I error and what is a Type II error when using NHST? (b)Which is more common in psychological research?
Q2) Null hypothesis significance testing is used to compare two means in an independent groups design.(a)What is the null hypothesis? (b)What is required to "reject" the null hypothesis?
Q3) When a result is "statistically significant," why should we not immediately claim that our results are "important" (either scientifically or practically)?
Q4) If the omnibus analysis of variance for a complex design reveals a statistically significant interaction effect,the source of the interaction effect may be identified using A)simple main effects analyses. B)null comparisons.
C)overall interaction analyses.
D)complex comparisons.
Q5) How many men and women were there in this study (assuming equal numbers of men and women)?
Q6) Were the results statistically significant? Explain your decisions.
Q7) What does NHST tell us when our results are "statistically significant"?
Q8) Describe the analyses that should be conducted next.
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Chapter 13: Communication in Psychology
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Q1) A good discussion section of a research report begins with A)repeating the most significant statistical results,including the exact probability values.
B)a description of the study's limitations.
C)a succinct statement of the study's findings.
D)a discussion of related research findings.
Q2) The title of a research manuscript should
A)be "flashy" to attract potential readers to the research.
B)include the goals and the primary methodological design of the research.
C)inform readers of important variables or theoretical issues in the research.
D)include the author's name,such as "John Doe's Study of Personality and Behavior"
Q3) Oral presentations differ from written presentations of scientific studies mainly in terms of
A)the amount of details provided.
B)whether they are interesting.
C)whether conclusions from statistical analyses are mentioned
D)the use of figures or graphs.
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