Ch 2: Research Methods Flashcards
All of the following methods are common to all sciences except:
a. Science depends on data.
b. Science sets out to prove theories or hypotheses.
c. Science must be communicable, open, and public.
d. Scientists should be objective and not influenced by biases or prejudices.
b. Science sets out to prove theories or hypotheses.
Dr. Groeneveld is not able to include any treatments or conditions in an investigation of a new pay plan. Instead, he is gathering information about the effects of a new pay plan and making systematic observations about changes in performance based on this new pay plan. This type of research would best be classified as a(n)
a. Quasi-experimental design
b. Experimental design
c. Non-experimental design
d. Survey design
c. Non-experimental design
Dr. Brown is conducting a scientific experiment and has randomly assigned the participants into two training groups, which receive training programs. What type of research design is Dr. Brown using?
a. Quasi-experimental design
b. Experimental design
c. Non-experimental design
d. Survey design
b. Experimental design
In I-O psychology, field studies are often non-experimental in design. All of the following help explain the popularity of non-experimental field studies except:
a. The extent to which a laboratory experiment can reasonably simulate “work” is limited.
b. Laboratory experiments are more likely to use samples that are not representative of the population to which I-O psychologists would like to generalize.
c. Non-experimental designs in the field are most effective in leading to causal explanations.
d. In the field, workers can seldom be randomly assigned to conditions or treatments.
c. Non-experimental designs in the field are most effective in leading to causal explanations.
___________ methods rely heavily on tests, rating scales, questionnaires, and physiological measures, while ___________ methods of investigation generally produce flow diagrams and narrative descriptions of events or processes.
a. Objective; Subjective
b. Subjective; Objective
c. Qualitative; Quantitative
d. Quantitative; Qualitative
d. Quantitative; Qualitative
Dr. Young is in the process of combining information from multiple sources to test a theory. According to Rogelberg and Brooks-Laber (2002), this approach is referred to as
a. Triangulation
b. Unification
c. Mergence
d. Convergence
a. Triangulation
Each of the following is directly related to increasing the extent to the results of a studycan be generalized to a larger population except:
a. Collecting data at several different points in time.
b. Using a representative sample of the population being studied.
c. Making the sample size larger.
d. Collecting data from many different organizations.
c. Making the sample size larger.
All of the following are characteristics that can be used to describe a score distribution except:
a. Mean
b. Significance
c. Skew
d. Median
b. Significance
Inferential statistics are used to:
a. extrapolate data into the future.
b. compare the results of different analyses.
c. reveal patterns in a set of data.
d. draw a conclusion based on results from sample data.
d. draw a conclusion based on results from sample data.
A correlation of r = –.79 indicates that there is a
a. high negative association between two variables.
b. high positive association between two variables.
c. low negative association between two variables.
d. low positive association between two variables.
a. high negative association between two variables.
Approach that involves the understanding, prediction, and control of some phenomenon of interest.
Science
Prediction about relationship(s) among variables of interest.
Hypothesis
Characteristic of scientists, who should be objective and uninfluenced by biases or prejudices when conducting research.
Disinterestedness
Witness in a lawsuit who is permitted to voice opinions about organizational practices.
Expert witness
Provides the overall structure or architecture for the research study; allows investigators to conduct scientific research on a phenomenon of interest.
Research design
Participants are randomly assigned to different conditions.
Experimental design
Participants are assigned to different conditions, but random assignment to conditions is not possible.
Quasi-experimental design
Does not include any “treatment” or assignment to different conditions.
Nonexperimental design
The researcher observes employee behavior and systematically records what is observed.
Observational design
Research strategy in which participants are asked to complete a questionnaire or survey.
Survey design
Rely on tests, rating scales, questionnaires, and physiological measures and yield numerical results.
Quantitative methods
Rely on observations, interviews, case studies, and analysis of diaries or written documents and produce flow diagrams and narrative descriptions of events or processes.
Qualitative methods
Early scientific method in which the participant was also the experimenter, recording his or her experiences in completing an experimental task; considered very subjective by modern standards.
Introspection
Approach in which researchers seek converging information from different sources.
Triangulation
To apply the results from one study or sample to other participants or situations.
Generalize
Characteristic of research in which possible confounding influences that might make results less reliable or harder to interpret are eliminated; often easier to establish in laboratory studies than in field studies.
Experimental control
Using statistical techniques to control for the influence of certain variables. Such control allows researchers to concentrate exclusively on the primary relationships of interest.
Statistical control
Statistics that summarize, organize, and describe a sample of data.
Descriptive statistics
Statistic that indicates where the center of a distribution is located. Mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency.
Measure of central tendency
The extent to which scores in a distribution vary.
Variability
The extent to which scores in a distribution are lopsided or tend to fall on the left or right side of the distribution.
Skew
The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution; obtained by summing all of the scores in a distribution and dividing by the sample size.
Mean
The most common or frequently occurring score in a distribution.
Mode
The middle score in a distribution.
Median
Statistics used to aid the researcher in testing hypotheses and making inferences from sample data to a larger sample or population.
Inferential statistics
Indicates that the probability of the observed statistic is less than the stated significance level adopted by the researcher (commonly p < .05). A statistically significant finding indicates that the results found are unlikely to have occurred by chance, and thus the null hypothesis (i.e., hypothesis of no effect) is rejected.
Statistical significance
The likelihood of finding a statistically significant difference when a true difference exists.
Statistical power
Assigning numbers to characteristics of individuals or objects according to rules.
Measurement
Statistic assessing the bivariate, linear association between two variables. Provides information about both the magnitude (numerical value) and the direction ( or ) of the relationship between two variables.
Correlation coefficient
Graph used to plot the scatter of scores on two variables; used to display the correlational relationship between two variables.
Scatterplot
Straight line that best “fits” the scatterplot and describes the relationship between the variables in the graph; can also be presented as an equation that specifies where the line intersects the vertical axis and what the angle or slope of the line is.
Regression line
Relationship between two variables that can be depicted by a straight line.
Linear
Relationship between two variables that cannot be depicted by a straight line; sometimes called “curvilinear” and most easily identified by examining a scatterplot.
Nonlinear
Statistic that represents the overall linear association between several variables (e.g., cognitive ability, personality, experience) on the one hand and a single variable (e.g., job performance) on the other hand.
Multiple correlation coefficient
Statistical method for combining and analyzing the results from many studies to draw a general conclusion about relationships among variables.
Meta-analysis
Characteristics (e.g., small sample size, unreliable measures) of a particular study that distort the observed results. Researchers can correct for artifacts to arrive at a statistic that represents the “true” relationship between the variables of interest.
Statistical artifacts
The study of individual behavior.
Micro-research
The study of collective behavior.
Macro-research
The study of the interaction of individual and collective behavior.
Meso-research
Consistency or stability of a measure.
Reliability
The accuracy of inferences made based on test or performance data; also addresses whether a measure accurately and completely represents what was intended to be measured.
Validity
A type of reliability calculated by correlating measurements taken at time 1 with measurements taken at time 2.
Test–retest reliability
A type of reliability calculated by correlating measurements from a sample of individuals who complete two different forms of the same test.
Equivalent forms reliability
Form of reliability that assesses how consistently the items of a test measure a single construct; affected by the number of items in the test and the correlations among the test items.
Internal consistency
A sophisticated approach to the question of reliability that simultaneously considers all types of error in reliability estimates (e.g., test-retest, equivalent forms, and internal consistency).
Generalizability theory
The test chosen or developed to assess attributes (e.g., abilities) identified as important for successful job performance.
Predictor
An outcome variable that describes important aspects or demands of the job; the variable that we predict when evaluating the validity of a predictor.
Criterion
Validity approach that is demonstrated by correlating a test score with a performance measure; improves researcher’s confidence in the inference that people with higher test scores have higher performance.
Criterion-related validity
Correlation coefficient between a test score (predictor) and a performance measure (criterion).
Validity coefficient
Criterion-related validity design in which there is a time lag between collection of the test data and the criterion data.
Predictive validity design
Criterion-related validity design in which there is no time lag between gathering the test scores and the performance data.
Concurrent validity design
A design that demonstrates that the content of the selection procedure represents an adequate sample of important work behaviors and activities and/or worker KSAOs defined by the job analysis.
Content-related validation design
Validity approach in which investigators gather evidence to support decisions or inferences about psychological constructs; often begins with investigators demonstrating that a test designed to measure a particular construct correlates with other tests in the predicted manner.
Construct validity
Psychological concept or characteristic that a predictor is intended to measure; examples are intelligence, personality, and leadership.
Construct
