Research Design and Statistics
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth exploration of research design principles and statistical methods essential for conducting and evaluating empirical research across disciplines. Students will learn how to formulate research questions, develop hypotheses, choose appropriate research designs (such as experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational), and apply basic to intermediate statistical techniques for data analysis. Key topics include sampling strategies, measurement reliability and validity, data collection methods, descriptive and inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, and interpretation of results. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to design robust studies, analyze data effectively, and critically assess reported research findings.
Recommended Textbook
Statistics for Psychology 6th Edition by Arthur Aron
Ph.D
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Chapter 1: Displaying the Order in a Group of Numbers
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Sample Questions
Q1) Another name for an ordinal measurement is a(n)__________.
Answer: rank-order measurement
Q2) If someone told you that a distribution showed a floor effect,you would surmise that it is
A)symmetrical.
B)positively skewed.
C)negatively skewed.
D)rectangular.
Answer: B
Q3) A frequency table is most likely to be included in a research article when
A)the variable involves categories.
B)there are a very small number of scores.
C)a correlation is being reported.
D)there are only two values for the variable.
Answer: A
Q4) A frequency table or histogram describes a(n)__________.
Answer: frequency distribution,distribution of scores,distribution
Q5) In a histogram,the vertical axis displays __________.
Answer: frequencies
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Chapter 2: Central Tendency and Variability
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Sample Questions
Q1) A social psychologist gave a survey to 8 active members of a small political action group about how many hours they put into the group's activities each week.The results were as follows: 19,24,30,33,40,41,41,and 44.
a.Compute the mean,variance,and standard deviation.
b.Explain what you have done and what the results mean to a person who has never had a course in statistics.
Answer: A)M = 272/8 = 34; SS = 225 + 100 + 16 + 1 + 36 + 49 + 49 + 100 = 576; SD2 = 72; SD = 8.49. B)No answer in Test Bank.
Q2) Which statement is true for the scores of 1,2,3,4,5,5,7,8,9,and 10?
A)The mode is greater than the median.
B)The median is greater than the mean.
C)The mean is greater than the median.
D)The mean is less than the mode.
Answer: C
Q3) If all the scores are ranked from lowest to highest,the median is the __________. Answer: middle score (or middle scores,when there is an even number of scores)
Q4) The standard deviation for the scores 1,7,and 13 is __________.
Answer: 4.90
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Some Key Ingredients for Inferential Statistics: Z
Scores,the Normal Curve, Sample Versus Population, and Probability
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Sample Questions
Q1) The formula for changing a raw score to a Z score is __________.
Answer: Z = (X - M)/ SD
Q2) The mean,standard deviation,and the variance of a population are called population __________.
Answer: parameters
Q3) The formula for changing a Z score to a raw score is __________.
Answer: X = (Z)(SD)+ M
Q4) The understanding of probability as the proportion of a particular outcome that will be obtained if an experiment is repeated many times is the __________ interpretation of probability.
Answer: long-run relative-frequency
Q5) If a student who wants to study alcohol use at a high school obtains a complete list of the students and has a blindfolded person select as many people as needed for the study,the student is conducting
A)random selection.
B)haphazard selection.
C)specified selection.
D)quota selection.
Answer: A
5
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Chapter 4: Introduction to Hypothesis Testing
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most psychologists use the __________ significance level,but those wanting to be more conservative may use the __________ level.
Q2) If the cutoff Z score on the comparison distribution is ±2.31,a psychologist can reject the null hypothesis if the sample Z score on this distribution is
A)-2.16
B)-1.41
C)2.16
D)2.83
Q3) If a psychologist tests whether there is any difference between how fast people work in the morning versus how fast they work in the evening,the null hypothesis is that
A)people who work in the morning work faster.
B)people who work at night work faster.
C)there is a difference in worker speed,but no prediction is made.
D)there is no difference in the speed at which people work.
Q4) A research hypothesis that does not predict a particular direction of difference between populations is called a(n)__________ hypothesis.
Q5) The researchers would use a(n)__________-tailed test.
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Page 7
Chapter 5: Hypothesis Tests With Means of Samples
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Q1) The shape of the distribution of means in this example is __________.
Q2) If the sample mean is 45,the lower limit for the 99% confidence interval is
Q3) If the sample mean is 45,the upper limit for the 95% confidence interval is
Q4) When conducting a study involving a sample of several people to see whether they represent a population different from some known population,the __________ is a distribution of means.
Q5) Your sample of 12 people is being compared to a known population with a mean of 200 and a variance of 36.What is the variance of the distribution of means?
A)0.50
B)0.71
C)1.73
D)3.00
Q6) The hypothesis testing procedure used when there is a single sample and a known population is a(n)__________.
Q7) The shape of the comparison distribution is __________.
Q8) Another name for the standard deviation of a distribution of means is the __________.
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Chapter 6: Making Sense of Statistical Significance:decision
Errors, Effect Size, and Statistical Power
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Q1) Rejecting the null hypothesis when in fact it is true is a(n)__________.
Q2) A cognitive psychologist tests whether memory for abstract ideas improves when the information is presented both verbally and visually.Which of the following scenarios represents a Type I error?
A)The psychologist concludes that memory does not improve when the true situation is that it does not improve.
B)The psychologist concludes that memory does not improve when the true situation is that it does improve.
C)The psychologist concludes that memory does improve when the true situation is that it does improve.
D)The psychologist concludes that memory does improve when the true situation is that it does not improve.
Q3) Interpreting the results of theoretical studies is more likely to emphasize significance level,while interpreting the results of applied studies is more likely to emphasize
Q4) In studies using a very large number of participants,it is common to get statistically significant results that have a very small __________.
Q5) The probability of making a Type I error is __________.
Page 9
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Chapter 7: Introduction to T Tests: Single Sample and Dependent Means
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Q1) Before conducting a t test for dependent means on a set of pretest and posttest scores,the two sets of scores must be combined into one set of scores by figuring
Q2) In a t test for dependent means,15 participants are each tested twice.This makes a total of 15 "before" scores and 15 "after" scores.What are the degrees of freedom?
A)15
B)14
C)30
D)29
Q3) Professor Q has designed a repeated measures experiment.Which information does he NOT need when looking up the power of his planned study in a power table?
A)whether a one- or two-tailed test will be computed
B)number of difference scores
C)estimated population variance of difference scores
D)effect size
Q4) The sum of squared deviations from the mean for a sample is 12,and there are 4 participants.The estimated population variance is __________.(Give a number.)
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Chapter 8: The T Test for Independent Means
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Sample Questions
Q1) "Monte Carlo" methods
A)are often used to test the effect of violating assumptions of statistical tests.
B)have been used primarily to create new statistical methods,including the t test for independent means.
C)were invented by Egon Pearson.
D)were invented by "Student" (Gossett).
Q2) One of the assumptions for the t test for independent means is that
A)sample means are not significantly different.
B)the mean of the distribution of differences between means is 1.
C)the variance of each of the parent populations is the same.
D)the mean of each of the parent populations vary by no more than 1 standard deviation.
Q3) If a psychologist interested in the effects of smell on concentration has 20 participants perform a standard task while exposed to an unpleasant smell and another 20 participants perform the same task without being exposed to the unpleasant smell,the appropriate test to analyze the data is a t test for __________.
Q4) The standard t test for independent means should not be used if the populations are highly __________ in opposite directions.
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Page 11
Chapter 9: Introduction to the Analysis of Variance
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Q1) Advanced topic: Complete the ANOVA summary table,replacing the letters (a)to (i)with the appropriate number.
Q2) Advanced topic: The sum of the squared deviations of each score from the mean of its group plus the sum of the squared deviations of each score's group's mean from the grand mean equals
A)the grand mean divided by df<sub>Total</sub>.
B)the portion of the grand mean's deviation accounted for by the score itself.
C)the portion of the grand mean's deviation accounted for by the score's group.
D)the sum of squared deviations of each score from the grand mean.
Q3) According to Cohen's conventions,an R<sup>2</sup> of .14 would represent a
A)small effect
B)medium effect
C)large effect
D)none of the above,as there are no standards for interpreting R<sup>2</sup>
Q4) When conducting an analysis of variance,one assumption is that each population distribution is __________.
Q5) The null hypothesis of an analysis of variance is that the __________ means are equal.
Q6) Advanced topic: SS<sub>Total</sub> = __________.(Give a number.)
Page 12
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Chapter 10: Factorial Analysis of Variance
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Q1) In a factorial analysis of variance,the numerator for the row main effect is based on the variation among __________.
Q2) In a graph of a two-way analysis of variance,the absence of an interaction effect is indicated when the pattern of bars in one section is __________ the pattern of bars in the other section.
Q3) A repeated measures analysis of variance is to an ordinary analysis of variance as a t test for dependent means is to
A)a t test for a single sample.
B)a t test for independent means.
C)a two-way analysis of variance.
D)any factorial analysis of variance.
Q4) Advanced topic: N<sub>Cells</sub> - df<sub>Columns</sub> - df<sub>Rows</sub> - 1 = __________.
Q5) Advanced topic: In a two-way analysis of variance,the degrees of freedom for each main effect are
A)the number of cells minus the number of variables.
B)the number of variables minus the total scores within the column or row.
C)the number of levels of the variable minus 1.
D)the total number of scores in that row or column minus 2.
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Chapter 11: Correlation
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Q1) When making a scatter diagram,
A)the values on the vertical axis go from highest at the bottom to lowest at the top.
B)the overall shape should be roughly square.
C)two dots are used to mark each score.
D)outlying values are excluded to maintain the proper shape.
Q2) Another name for r<sup>2</sup> is __________.
Q3) A statistically significant correlation means that it is unlikely that a correlation this high would have been observed in the group studied if the correlation were in fact zero for __________.
Q4) A scatter diagram
A)is a bar graph that shows the frequencies of the different values in a distribution.
B)is a line graph that looks like a mountain-peak skyline and shows the frequencies of the different values in a distribution.
C)shows the relation of two variables as dots in a two-dimensional graph.
D)is also called a random distribution frequency plot.
Q5) The shape of a scatter diagram should be __________.
Q6) Multiplying a low score by a low score will always be __________.
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Page 14
Chapter 12: Prediction
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Q1) The principle for selecting the best linear prediction rule is called the __________ criterion.
Q2) Why are errors squared in a regression?
A)to give more weight to smaller errors
B)because summing positive and negative errors will cancel them out
C)multiplying positive and negative errors will always result in negative numbers
D)errors are not actually squared in a regression
Q3) If every increase of one point on a test-anxiety scale is associated with a decrease of 2 points on predicted performance on a test,2 represents the slope,which is also the A)regression coefficient.
B)regression constant.
C)proportionate reduction in error.
D)standardized regression coefficient.
Q4) One assumption of multiple regression is that error scores are __________.
Q5) Prediction is also called __________.
Q6) To find the regression constant for the best linear prediction rule,take __________ minus the result of multiplying the regression coefficient by __________.(Give numbers.)
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Chapter 13: Chi-Square Tests
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Sample Questions
Q1) One finding of the study was that
A)being working class caused subjects to be Catholic.
B)working class subjects tended to be Protestant,Catholic,or other,whereas middle class subjects were most likely to be Protestant.
C)middle class subjects valued religion more than working class subjects.
D)being Catholic caused subjects to be working class.
Q2) Which of the following statements about the phi coefficient is incorrect?
A)It is symbolized by the Greek letter " ".
B)It ranges from 0 to 1.
C)It can be interpreted in the same manner as a correlation coefficient.
D)It is based on the chi-square statistic and the degrees of freedom.
Q3) The main assumption of a chi-square test is that __________.
Q4) The formula for the chi-squared statistic is
A) [(O-E)<sup>2</sup>/E]
B)[ (O-E)<sup>2</sup>]/E
C)O/[ (O-E)<sup>2</sup>]
D)E/[ (O-E)<sup>2</sup>]
Q5) Effect size,sample size,and the degrees of freedom of a chi-square test are necessary for determining the test's __________.
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Chapter 14: Strategies When Population Distributions Are
Not Normal: Data Transformations and Rank-Order Tests
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Q1) In research articles,data transformations are usually mentioned in the A)discussion section.
B)reference list.
C)participants section.
D)results section.
Q2) If a ceiling or floor effect is present,the distribution of the scores will probably be
Q3) Procedures that allow one to analyze scores from nonnormal samples using the standard parametric procedures such as t tests and analyses of variance are
Q4) When conducting a statistical test,a single outlier can
A)make the test more robust to violations of the assumption of normality.
B)reduce the sample's variance,making significant results easier to achieve.
C)lead to a significant result when the other members of the sample considered without the outlier would not lead to a significant result.
D)improve the reliability of the statistical procedure.
Q5) The general name for a test that can be performed on scores from a population with a distribution of any shape is __________.
Q6) One type of computer-intensive method is a(n)__________.
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Chapter 15: The General Linear Model and Making Sense of
Advanced Statistical Procedures in Research Articles
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Q1) The final step of a mediational analysis tests whether the association of X and Y A)increases when the mediator is taken into account.
B)decreases when the mediator is taken into account.
C)is larger than the association of X with the mediational variable. D)is smaller than the association of X with the mediational variable.
Q2) A social psychologist who correlates the responses of half of the items on a questionnaire with the other half to check the accuracy of the measure is assessing A)a model's fit.
B)test-retest reliability.
C)split-half reliability.
D)interrater reliability.
Q3) An unmeasured theoretical variable assumed to be the underlying cause of several variables that are actually measured and used in the analysis is a(n)__________ variable.
Q4) To be considered part of a factor,a variable should have a loading greater than __________.
Q5) Of the four major statistical procedures discussed in this book,the most general technique is __________.
Page 18
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