Social Science Research Methods
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
Social Science Research Methods provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental techniques and principles used in conducting research within the social sciences. The course covers a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including survey design, interviews, observation, and statistical analysis. Students learn how to formulate research questions, develop hypotheses, collect and analyze data, and critically evaluate research findings. Emphasis is placed on ethical considerations, validity, reliability, and the application of research methods to real-world social issues. By the end of the course, students acquire practical skills necessary to undertake independent research and interpret social phenomena systematically.
Recommended Textbook Research Methods in Psychology Evaluating a World of Information 1st Edition by Beth Morling
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Chapter 1: Psychology Is a Way of Thinking
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Q1) Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage.He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse.He conducts a study to test his ideas.Assuming that his data match his theory,which of the following statements should he make?
A) "The data prove my theory"
B) "My theory is generalizable"
C) "The data provide support for my theory"
D) "The data complicate my theory"
E) None of the above
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following is true of the difference between basic and applied research?
A) There is a give-and-take relationship between these two types of research.
B) Applied research is more important than basic research.
C) Basic research is more difficult to conduct than applied research.
D) Applied research is done by consumers of research.
E) None of the above are true.
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Sources of Information: Evaluating,Finding,and Reading Information
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Q1) Javier wants his lab partner to tell him if he thinks the article he found for their project is appropriate.Rather than have him read the article,which two parts of the paper could Javier have his lab partner read to get a summary of the article?
A) The abstract and the first paragraph of the introduction
B) The abstract and the first paragraph of the Discussion
C) The abstract and the Method section
D) The last paragraph of the introduction and the Results section
E) The last paragraph of the introduction and the references
Answer: B
Q2) Compared with doing a generic Internet search,why is PsycINFO a superior way to find scientific sources?
A) It is free.
B) It provides you with research abstracts.
C) It can be done on any computer.
D) It searches research scientists' websites.
E) PsycINFO is not a superior way to find scientific sources.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Three Claims,Four Validities: Interrogation Tools
for Consumers of Research
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Q1) Which of the following is true of operational definitions?
A) Conceptual definition and operational definition mean the same thing.
B) Popular press descriptions of research usually refer to the operational definitions.
C) Some psychological concepts are more difficult to operationally define than others.
D) Some psychological concepts cannot be operationally defined.
E) Operational definitions answer the question "Why did the researchers measure this variable?"
Answer: C
Q2) Consider two variables: income and relationship satisfaction.Describe the four types of associations assuming these two variables.
Answer: Students must state all four associations: positive association-as income goes up,relationship satisfaction goes up; negative association-as income goes up,relationship satisfaction goes down; zero association-there is no link between income and relationship satisfaction; curvilinear association-the people who have the lowest income and the highest income are the most satisfied,and the people who are in the middle are the least satisfied.
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Chapter 4: Ethical Guidelines for Psychology Research
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Q1) Refer to Research Study 4.1 above to answer the following question. Dr.Kline suspects that the people who will most benefit from his study are high school and college students,who are asked to perform cognitive functions in various states of sleep deprivation.Given this information,what type of participants should Dr.Kline recruit for his study?
A) People with a history of sleep deprivation
B) Children from a local daycare center
C) Students from a community college
D) Patients from Dr. Kline's clinical psychology practice
E) All of the above would be acceptable
Q2) What is the primary responsibility of an Institutional Review Board (IRB),where are IRBs found,and who sits on such a board?
Q3) What are the two issues that need to be balanced in conducting ethical research?
Q4) Which of the following is NOT true of the Belmont Report?
A) It was written at the request of the U.S. Congress.
B) It was created in 1976.
C) It was written in response to medical experiments performed in Nazi-occupied Europe.
D) It yielded three guiding principles of ethical research.
E) All of the above are true.
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Chapter 5: Identifying Good Measurement
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Q1) Naomi is studying the effect of popularity on academic success for her research methods project.To do this,she has elementary school students rate how popular each member of their class is.She then uses this information to rank the students on popularity (e.g.,John is the most popular,Vanessa is the second-most popular).Which of the following best describes this variable?
A) An ordinal scale of measurement
B) A self-report measurement
C) A categorical measurement
D) Both a and b
E) Both b and c
Q2) Refer to Research Study 5.4 above to answer the following question. Provide a suggestion for how Dr.Li could establish the predictive validity of his measure and a suggestion for how he could establish the concurrent validity of his measure.
Q3) Refer to Research Study 5.3 above to answer the following question. For each student described above,indicate whether the operational definition of her variable is self-reported,observational,or physiological.
Q4) Name the three types of reliability and the four types of validity.
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Chapter 6: Describing What People Do:
Surveys,Observations,and Sampling
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Q1) If researchers measure every member of a population,they have:
A) Conducted a census
B) Collected a sample
C) Decreased external validity
D) Increased internal validity
E) Biased the study
Q2) Refer to Research Study 6.4 above to answer the following question. What is the difference between a cluster technique and a multistage technique? Explain why Dr.Parrett would be advised to use a cluster or a multistage technique rather than a simple random sample.
Q3) All of the following are true of observational data EXCEPT:
A) Observational measures tend to have good construct validity
B) Observational measures cannot be used in making causal claims
C) Observational measures can be used in frequency claims
D) Observational measures tend to provide richer information than survey data
E) None of the above are true
Q4) State three ways that a researcher could reduce observer effects/reactivity in a study and why each one is effective.
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Q5) What is the difference between random sampling and random assignment?
Q6) Explain the two reasons nonrandom samples are sometimes acceptable.
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Chapter 7: Bivariate Correlational Research
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Q1) Refer to Research Study 7.2 above to answer the following question. Imagine that Dr.Moynihan finds two outliers.These two people report a very high number of nightmares in the past month and have very high scores on neuroticism.Why should Dr.Moynihan be worried about the presence of these two outliers?
Q2) Refer to Research Study 7.1 above to answer the following question. In determining whether the relationship between two of her variables was statistically significant,which of the following must be considered?
A) Sample size and number of variables analyzed
B) Direction of the association and strength of the association
C) Sample size and effect size
D) The number of outliers and the direction of the association
E) None of the above
Q3) Which of the following is true of moderators?
A) They help establish a cause and effect relationship.
B) They decrease effect size.
C) They can inform external validity.
D) They weaken statistical significance.
E) None of the above are true.
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Chapter 8: Multivariate Correlational Research
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Q1) Refer to Research Study 8.5 above to answer the following question. Choose one of the variables in Dr.Nguyen's study.Explain how this variable relates to criminal sentencing,considering direction of the effect,statistical significance,and strength of relationship compared with the other variables.
Q2) Refer to Research Study 8.4 above to answer the following question. From Dr.O'Toole's study,provide an example of each of the following: a cross-sectional correlation,an autocorrelation,and a cross-lag correlation.
Q3) Refer to Research Study 8.3 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is the mediating variable in Dr.Uchida's hypothesis?
A) Emotional well-being
B) PTSD symptoms
C) Social support
D) Participant sex
E) Both b and c are mediating variables
Q4) Refer to Research Study 8.5 above to answer the following question. Explain whether Dr.Nguyen is correct in thinking that extra-legal factors are more important in legal decision making than legal factors.
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Chapter 9: Introduction to Simple Experiments
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Q1) Refer to Research Study 9.1 above to answer the following question. Which of the following should Dr.Lonsbary conclude from her study?
A) Being in a mood other than neutral causes people to have a better memory.
B) Listening to music can cause changes in mood.
C) Being in a happy mood does not cause more of a change in memory than being in a sad mood.
D) Both a and c can be concluded.
E) All of the above can be concluded.
Q2) Refer to Research Study 9.1 above to answer the following question. Which of the following is an independent variable in Dr.Lonsbary's study?
A) Number of groups participants were assigned to
B) Feeling happy
C) Participant's mood
D) Type of card drawn
E) None of the above
Q3) Explain the difference between full counterbalancing and partial counterbalancing.Why would a researcher choose partial counterbalancing over full counterbalancing?
Q4) Name three disadvantages of within-groups designs.
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Chapter 10: More on Experiments: Confounding and Obscuring Variables
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Q1) Spontaneous remission in clinical studies is an example of which of the following threats to internal validity?
A) Regression
B) Attrition
C) Observer bias
D) Placebo effects
E) None of the above
Q2) Dr.Deveraux has conducted a study that has resulted in a null effect.Nonetheless,she suspects that there truly is a causal relationship between her independent and dependent variables.Which of the following might be to blame?
A) A weak manipulation
B) An insensitive measure
C) A reverse confound
D) None of the above are reasons
E) All of the above are reasons
Q3) Name the three threats to internal validity that can occur in studies regardless of the use of a comparison group.Why doesn't a comparison group help in these cases?
Q4) Explain how within-group variance can obscure between group differences.
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Chapter 11: Experiments With More Than One Independent Variable
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Q1) Refer to Research Study 11.1 above to answer the following question. Which of the following could be said of the focus of activity variable in Dr.Elder's study?
A) There appears to be a main effect for the focus of activity variable.
B) Without the proper statistical test, it cannot be said whether the main effect is statistically significant.
C) There appears to be an overall effect for the focus of activity variable.
D) All of the above could be said.
E) None of the above could be said.
Q2) In the case of a factorial design,another term for independent variable is:
A) Interaction
B) Main effect
C) Cell
D) Factor
E) Moderator
Q3) Provide two reasons a researcher would want to conduct a factorial study.
Q4) Refer to Research Study 11.3 above to answer the following question.
Using the data table alone,discuss whether Dr.Lopez should conclude that an interaction exists in his study.
Q5) State the three types of factorial designs.
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Chapter 12: Quasi-Experiments and Small-N Designs
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Q1) Refer to Research Study 12.1 above to answer the following question. If Dr.Fletcher is interested in a causal relationship between joining a fraternity/sorority and attractiveness/appearance concern,why doesn't he conduct a true experiment?
A) Because it is not possible to study private organizations, like fraternities/sororities
B) Because it is not possible to measure body concern
C) Because he was unable to recruit more people
D) Because he was unable to recruit an equal number of males and females
E) Because he was unable to randomly assign participants to join a fraternity/sorority
Q2) Refer to Research Study 12.1 above to answer the following question. What would Dr.Fletcher need to do to his current study design to make it a nonequivalent groups interrupted time-series design?
A) Recruit a group of participants who did not join a fraternity/sorority
B) Take measurements of body concern before and after joining a fraternity/sorority
C) Measure body concern using a different measure than the Body Concern Scale
D) Both a and b
E) All of the above
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Chapter 13: Replicability,Generalization,and the Real World
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Q1) Explain why using WEIRD samples tends not to be a problem for researchers operating in the theory-testing mode and why cultural psychologists question this practice.
Q2) Refer to Research Study 13.3 above to answer the following question. Dr.Grayson wants to conduct her study again,but this time she wants to conduct it in her laboratory.She wants people to feel and act the same way in her laboratory that they would when facing ordering choices in an actual fast food restaurant.To this end,she must try to enhance which of the following?
A) Experimental realism
B) Generalizability
C) Construct validity
D) Cultural relativity
E) None of the above
Q3) Explain why finding a statistically significant result tells a reader about the study's replicability.
Q4) Refer to Research Study 13.4 above to answer the following question. What are the two aspects of external validity? Pose a question for each aspect of external validity as it relates to Dr.Tropez's study.
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