GRM 697
Publisher:
Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
The Research Process
Text:
Exploring Research
6th Edition, 2006
ISBN: 0-13-193783-9
Authors:
Salkind, Neil J.
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GRM 697 The Research Process
Multiple Choice Questions (Enter your answers on the enclosed answer sheet)
1. High quality research has which of the following characteristics?
a) difficult to replicate
b) typically influenced by special interest groups
c) is I i near in nature
d) based on the work of others
2. Which of the following best describes a hypothesis?
a) statement that you set out to prove
b) tested by collecting only the data that support it
c) proposed before a good research question can be developed
d) posits a clear relationship between different factors
3. Identify and select the correct order of steps in scientific inquiry.
a) formulating a hypothesis, collecting relevant information, testing the hypoth-
esis, worki ng with the hypothesis
b) reconsidering the theory, asking new questions, identifying the important
factors, collecting relevant information
c) asking the question, identifying the important factors, asking new questions,
testi ng the hypothesis
d) asking new questions, reconsidering the theory, working with the hypothesis,
testi ng the hypothesis
4. Which of the following is a characteristic of experimental research?
a) survey of the current state of events
b) high level of control over variables
c) provides a broad picture of a concept
d) describes a groups’ characteristics
5. Nonexperimental research methods consist of which of the following?
a) test causal relationships between variables
b) only describe characteristics of existing phenomenon
c) can be descriptive, historical, or correlational
d) examine factors that are not related
6. Emily’s school has implemented an early intervention program for at-risk students.
In order to monitor its effectiveness on student performance, she would use which
research method?
a) historical
b) descriptive
c) longitudinal
d) quasi-experimental
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G R M 697 The Research Process
13. Factorial designs are experiments that can best be defined by which
of these statements?
a) have one independent variable
b) have one dependent variable
c) have more than one independent variable
d) are tested on math problems
14. What type of variable masks the true relationship between the inde-
pendent and dependent variables?
a) extraneous variable
b) moderator variable
c) control variable
d) neutral variable
15. Why is a null hypothesis said to be implied?
a) It’s always directly tested.
b) It can never be directly tested.
c) You do not need to test it to know that it is false.
d) It is stated in a question form.
16. What does a good research question usually pursue?
a) a small part of a broad topic
b) a topic unrelated to any other topics
c) the same thing as the null hypothesis
d) a broad topic
17. Which is the key criterion for selecting a dependent variable?
a) sensitivity of the variable to changes in the independent variable
b) measurement capabilities in the experiment
c) relationship of the dependent variable to the independent variable
d) preference of the researcher
18. If you read that a study’s finding was significant at the p<.05 level,
you could conclude that there is a less than 5 probability that __ .
a) the results wi II translate to real world situations
b) most researchers in that area would consider the finding to have
clinical meaning
c) the researchers used unreliable measures
d)the results were due to chance
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G R M 697 The Research Process
24. What is the average rejection rate for the top journals?
a) 15
b) 50
c) 80
d) 95
25. A research abstract contains which of the following?
a) a one paragraph summary of a journal article
b) a flavori ng
c) a complicated idea
d) a type of painting
26. What is the best definition of an institutional review board?
a) a group of people who make decisions regarding an institution's
human resources
b) a group of people found in most public institutions and private agen-
cies who render a judgment as to whether experiments carried out in
their facilities are free from risk
c) a group of people who review the I iterature produced by researchers
in their institution in order to keep an accounting of it
d) a grou p of people representi ng many different institutions who meet
to review the current literature in their respective fields
27. What is a place where information can be posted and shared among
I nternet users called?
a) electronic newsgroup
b) e-mail
c) browser
d) CD-ROM
28. What is the most popular search engine?
a) Lycos
b) Pro-Cite
c) Yahoo
d) Google
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GRM 697 The Research Process
34. What type of sampling is usually the easiest to do?
a) quota sampling
b) simple random sampling
c) convenience sampling
d) cluster sampling
35. What is the most unbiased tool that can be used in random
selection?
a) random sampling
b) table of random numbers
c) quota sampling
d) direct sampling
36. When is a stratified sample an appropriate sampling technique?
a) specific characteristics of the population are of no concern
b) individuals in a population are not equal
c) each member must have an equal chance of being selected
d) you have a small population
37. Which of the following explains the use of probability sampling?
a) anyone member of a population being selected is known
b) anyone member of a population being selected is unknown
c) randomly selecting anyone member from the population is effective
d) randomly selecting anyone member from the population is underes-
timated
38. Estimating sample size requires that you know which of the following?
a) standard deviations of the independent variable
b) critical values needed at the .60 level of rejection
c) overall differences estimates between groups
d) desired number in the sample
39. What is a disadvantage of quota sampling?
a) It is time-consuming and tedious.
b) There are no disadvantages.
c) The degree of generalizability is questionable.
d) It is expensive.
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G R M 697 The Research Process
46. Two trained professionals observe the behavior of children in a class
room. They each rate observed behaviors using the same form and
the number of items that were rated the same is calculated. This is an
example of which type of reliability?
a) parallel rei iabi I ity
b) test retest reliability
c) inter rater reliability
d) none of the above
47. Inter-rater reliability measures consistency _
a) over time
b) from form to form
c) across different tests
d) from rater to rater
48. Which of the following would be considered a continuous variable?
a) the number answered correctly on a history test
b) grade level in school
c) gender
d) length
49. What is the name of the individual credited with devising levels of
measurement in which different measurement outcomes can be
classified?
a) Binet
b) Stevens
c) Cattell
d) Wechsler
50. What is NOT the purpose of a test?
a) assist in placement
b) help researchers determine the outcome of an experiment
c) assist in selection
d) collect detailed and unique information about each test taker
51. A test that measures knowledge of a specific topic is considered what
type?
a) achievement test
b) attitude test
c) personal ity test
d) projective test
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GRM 697 The Research Process
58. Which is NOT one of the Ten Commandments of data collection?
a) think of the type of data you will be collecting
b) think about where you are getting the data
c) make sure the data collection form is easy to use
d) destroy original data when your study is finished
59. What is another way the mode can be descri bed?
a) divides the sample in half
b) averages the test scores
c) occurs most frequently
d) tells how much variability there is in the test scores
60. Which of the following is NOT a measure of the degree of spread
or dispersion of scores?
a) standard deviation
b) range
c) mode
d) variance
61. When a normal distribution is represented by a histogram, where
would most scores fall?
a) in the extremes of the distribution
b) in the middle of the distribution
c) outside of the distribution
d) on the high end of the d istri bution
62. Which measure of central tendency is most often used when the
data has extreme scores?
a) median
b) mean
c) midpoint
d) mode
63. Which measure would be used to determine the average age of
college freshmen?
a) mean
b) mode
c) median
d) standard deviation
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GRM 697 The Research Process
70. What type of research tool can be either informal or highly
structured?
a) interview
b) survey
c) descri ptive
d) historical
71. Wh ich of the followi ng is the potential weakness of survey i nter-
viewing?
a) interviewer bias
b) minimal sample size
c) only one contact is made with subjects
d) general izabi I ity with large samples
72. What is the best way to begin an interview?
a) Be direct.
b) Use a tape-recorder.
c) Warm-up with some general conversation.
d) Make the interviewee feel like an important part of the project.
73. In a study, the correlation coefficient for Wand X is -0.25. The
correlation coefficient for X and Y is 0.20. The coefficient of
determination for X and Z is 0.16. The coefficient of alienation for
Y and Z is 0.90. Which pair of variables has the highest amount
of variance accounted for?
a) X and Y
b) X and Z
c) Y and Z
d) Wand X
74. Survey research would be most appropriate for which of the
followi ng research questions?
a) the relationship between manual dexterity and typing speed
b) parents' attitudes towards sex education in schools
c) the effectiveness of a weight management program for adoles
cents
d) the relationship between eye-hand coordination and number of
tennis wins
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G R M 697 The Research Process
8l. What term is synonymous with internal validity?
a) generalizability
b) accuracy
c) reliability
d) control
82. Which is a threat to internal validity?
a) multiple treatment interference
b) maturation
c) experimenter effects
d) reactive arrangements
83. Dr. Evans was surprised that many of his participants scored much
lower than expected on his pretest. When he observed a signifi
cant increase in scores on the posttest, he was cautious in attrib-
uting the effect to his treatment alone. Which of the following
threats to internal val idity was Dr. Evans concerned about?
a) instrumentation
b) selection
c) regression
d) testing
84. In an experimental research study, which group does NOT receive
treatment?
a) control group
b) experimental group
c) research group
d) participants groups
85. To what does the term internal validity refer?
a) the degree to which results of a study can be generalized from
one sample to another
b) the process of subject selection
c) the development of a treatment
d) the degree to which the results of a study can be attributed to
the manipulation of the independent variable
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G R M 697 The Research Process
90. If you want to answer a research question regarding whether a
particular group of subjects experiences any significant changes in
behavior as they age, but you do not have the time or money for a
traditional longitudinal study, which method would be acceptable?
a) cross-sectional
b) historical
c) follow-up
d) none of the above would be acceptable
91. In a research proposal, what should follow the literature review
section?
a) appendices
b) I iterature review
c) implications and limitations
d) method
92. All proposals should be proofread how many times?
a) not at all
b) one time
c) two times
d) three times
93. Which of the following would be found in the method section?
a) introduction
b) running head
c) rationale for the research
d) participants
94. Which section of a proposal describes the subjects used in a study
in the greatest detail?
a) introduction
b) method
c) literature review
d) implications and limitations
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GRM 697 The Research Process
95. Which section of a proposal discusses the possible future uses for
the research?
a) introduction
b) method
c) literature review
d) implications and limitations
96. In a prepared manuscript, which of the following comes first?
a) tables
b) title page
c) references
d) abstract
97. Which section of a manuscript gives a summary of the contents,
including the purpose, a description of the participants, the re-
sults, and any conclusions being offered?
a) introduction
b) discussion
c) abstract
d) method
98. What is the maximum length a title should be?
a) 15 words
b) 25 words
c) 5 words
d) There is no limit on title length.
99. Which section presents the specific statistical procedures used
along with the results of these procedures?
a) discussion
b) method
c) results
d) introduction
100. What guidelines do most journals in the social and behavioral
sciences follow?
a) Index Medicus
b) American Psychological Association
c) Society of Psychiatric Journals
d) Modern Language Association
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