Psychological Research Methods
Exam Answer Key
Course Introduction
Psychological Research Methods introduces students to the foundational principles and techniques used to conduct scientific research in psychology. The course covers a range of methodologies, including experimental, correlational, and observational designs, as well as qualitative and quantitative approaches. Students learn about hypothesis formulation, operationalization of variables, data collection, statistical analysis, and ethical considerations in psychological research. By analyzing seminal studies and engaging in hands-on projects, students develop critical skills for evaluating and carrying out methodologically sound psychological investigations.
Recommended Textbook
Practical Research Planning and Design 12th Edition by Paul D. Leedy
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13 Chapters
274 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Nature and Tools of Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) The philosophical assumption that objective scientific research can uncover true cause-and-effect relationships in the world is known as:
A)postpositivism.
B)positivism.
C)experimentation.
D)realism.
Answer: B
Q2) Which of the following is most likely a statement made by a quantitative researcher?
A)Let's follow the groups for the course of the project and take notes about their social interactions and dialogues.
B)Let's conduct some focus groups with college students about the types of cooperative learning they have encountered in their schooling.
C)Let's compare unit test scores of those who were placed in cooperative groups and those who were not.
D)Let's enroll in a course that uses cooperative groups and observe the nature of the instruction from a student perspective.
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: The Problem: the Heart of the Research Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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 practice 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
Answer: B
Q2) Marcos'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,students' weight is:
A)an independent variable.
B)a dependent variable.
C)a mediating variable.
D)a moderating variable.
Answer: B
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4
Chapter 3: Review of the Related Literature
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Q1) Describe three benefits of conducting a thorough review of existing literature before writing a research proposal.
Answer: Benefits noted might include -Determining whether the question of interest has already been addressed in some fashion -Discovering new insights,perspectives,approaches,or methodologies that are relevant to the research proposal -Becoming informed about related work done by others -Discovering valuable sources of data -Aiding interpretation of findings -Avoiding the pitfalls encountered by others doing similar research
Q2) The act of presenting another person's work as being one's own or insufficiently acknowledging and identifying the sources from which one has drawn while writing is known as ________.
A)plagiarism
B)referencing
C)citing
D)sourcing
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Planning Your Research Project
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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 questionnaire 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
Q2) Three of the following are techniques for strengthening the credibility of a qualitative study.Which one is NOT?
A)Spend extensive time in the field studying the phenomenon of interest.
B)Acquire detailed descriptions of the phenomena being studied.
C)Exclude participants who have experiences or opinions that are very different from those of others in the study.
D)Ask participants to comment on the conclusions being drawn from the study.
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6
Chapter 5: Writing the Research Proposal
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Q1) According to the authors,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 problem and methodology.
D)include an autobiographical section that explains how the researcher became interested in the research topic.
Q2) Sophie is preparing a qualitative research plan for her study that explores the stories of young cancer survivors.Of the following,which is Sophie likely to include in her plan?
A)A description of her hypothesis
B)A discussion of the representativeness of sample
C)A section that demonstrates relevance of the study
D)A presentation of her initial findings
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Chapter 6: Descriptive Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) The typical return rate for a survey mailed to strangers is about:
A)80%
B)65%
C)50%
D)35%
Q2) Jody is interested in studying home schooling because she thinks that students who are home-schooled can't develop appropriate social skills.As part of her study she will be observing home-schooled children in social settings.Jody's planned study is particularly susceptible to A)response bias.
B)researcher bias.
C)sampling bias.
D)instrumentation bias.
Q3) 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?
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Chapter 7: Experimental, quasi-Experimental, and Ex Post Facto Designs
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Q1) Penny Poodle wanted to know which dog obedience training program was more effective: Puppy Pride,the approach she has been using for any years,or Doggie Do-Right,a new approach.Penny convinced 50 human companions of untrained dogs to participate in her study.The dogs and their humans were randomly assigned to complete the Puppy Pride or Doggie Do-Right course.At the end of the training programs,all of the dogs were scored on their level of obedience on a standardized dog obedience checklist (scores could range from 10 to 100).The design of this study is:
A)one-shot experimental
B)ex post facto
C)posttest-only control-group design
D)within subjects
Q2) "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.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Qualitative Research Methods
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Q1) One tool that is helpful to qualitative researchers for organizing and conducting an interview is a(n):
A)interview guide.
B)briefing guide.
C)research plan.
D)case study.
Q2) Helen Heartwell flew to New York City a few weeks after the September 11,2001,bombing of the World Trade Center.She wanted to know how the victims of the attack were making sense of what had happened to them.Dr.Heartwell is probably employing which of the following qualitative research designs?
A)case study
B)grounded theory
C)phenomenological
D)ethnographic
Q3) When selecting a sample for a qualitative study,researchers should:
A)select a random sample of participants.
B)select a sample most likely to provide useful information about the topic.
C)select a large sample to increase the power of the study.
D)select a sample that is representative of the general population.
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Chapter 9: Mixed-Methods Designs
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Q1) Which action best describes the final activity in any mixed methods study?
A)conducting a thorough literature review
B)calculating statistics from the quantitative data
C)analyze and interpret all data
D)refining the research question to match the data collected
Q2) Del is conducting research that involves a questionnaire about an individual's HIV diagnosis.His participants can reasonably expect that they cannot be attached to their responses unless
A)Del plans to use pseudonyms.
B)Del explicitly told them otherwise during the informed consent process.
C)Del does not mention their names when publishing his results.
D)Del determines that no harm will be done in linking participants to responses.
Q3) Of the following,which best illustrates an example of a mixed-methods study?
A)Jenka conducts interviews and observations in her study of transitional students.
B)Vanda conducts observations and supplements her findings with class grades.
C)Micky looks at percentages of successful transitions from the district and class grades.
D)Svec interviews both parents and their children regarding transition.
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Chapter 10: Action Research and Participatory Designs
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Q1) Which form of action research is bound in a particular community setting and involves developing partnerships with community organizations and groups?
A)Design-Based Research
B)Participatory Action Research
C)Community-Based Research
D)Course-Based Action Research
Q2) Discuss some of the challenges associated with conducting action research.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT one of Mills' (2018)four-step process in action research?
A)Ensure that your design allows you to infer causation so that you can adequately answer all questions.
B)Collect data that might help to answer your question.
C)Analyze and interpret the data relative to the research question.
D)Develop a plan for action.
Q4) Describe at least two venues for disseminating findings from action-oriented research studies.
Q5) Explain what is meant by the following statement: "Data collection in action research is iterative."
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Chapter 11: Analyzing Quantitative Data
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Q1) On the basis of statistical findings,Becky determines that the difference between males and females on a test of abstract mathematical reasoning is merely due to chance.If,in fact,there are gender differences in the population,Becky will have made a:
A)Type I error.
B)Type II error.
Q2) 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.
Q3) Statistical hypothesis testing involves testing the:
A)research hypothesis.
B)probability level.
C)significance level.
D)null hypothesis.
Q4) Note several steps researchers can take to optimize the power of their statistical tests.
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Chapter 12: Analyzing Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Data
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Q1) Which of the following is not a general strategy for organizing and analyzing qualitative data?
A)Convert the data into one or more forms that will be easy to organize and analyze.
B)Organize the data in a preliminary,superficial way that will enable you to locate them easily as you proceed.
C)Identify preliminary categories that are likely to be helpful in coding the data.
D)Avoid organizing the data so that valuable information isn't lost in sorting.
Q2) Esme is interested in the personal experiences of first-year medical students and plans an ethnographic study,in which she'll collect observational field notes,extensive interview data,and diaries from the participants.For her analysis,she plans to begin by developing a start list.In other words,Esme will:
A)make a list of categories and themes derived directly from the research problem.
B)briefly review the data in search of topics or themes that pop out right away.
C)divide the data into general but meaningful chunks before beginning more detailed analysis.
D)apply her initial coding scheme to a subset of her data.
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Chapter 13: Planning and Preparing a Final Research Report
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Sample Questions
Q1) Alana has completed a study on the development of political attitudes in adolescence as part of her graduate studies.She begins her dissertation by stating,"Previous research has shown " and then summarizes the related literature on her topic.Which of the following pieces of advice is her advisor most likely to give her for revision?
A)Introduce your hypotheses immediately after the review of the literature.
B)Begin with a statement of the problem,in context,before introducing previous research.
C)Discuss the studies in chronological order,ending with the most recent study,to highlight how your study fits into the history of research on this topic.
D)Define "political attitudes" in the first paragraph,to ensure that the readers will be able to follow the literature review.
Q2) Describe the difference between a table and a figure.
Q3) Throughout your textbook the authors return to the importance of interpreting the findings of a research project.Explain why this is an essential element in a high-quality research report.
Q4) Explain what the phrase "going too far beyond the data" means in regards to data analysis and interpretation.
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