Chapters 1-3 check your understanding

Question 1

explain what the producer of research and consumer of research roles have in common and describe how they differ

Answer 1

producers conduct investigations and write scientific papers whereas consumers read about research with curiosity, understand it, learn from it, and ask appropriate questions about it

Question 2

What happens to a theory when the data do not support the theory’s
hypotheses? What happens to a theory when the data do support the
theory’s hypotheses?

Answer 2

if results don’t support the hypothesis its rejected and formulated into a new one, and if its supported then hypothesis is true, and is used to support the theory

Question 3

What are the four norms that people in the scientific community
strive to follow?

Answer 3

communism, universalism, disinterestedness and organized skepticism

Question 4

. Explain the difference between basic research and applied research,
and describe how the two interact.

Answer 4

basic research focuses on the advancement of knowledge rather than solving a problem, and applied focuses on finding a solution to a problem

Question 5

Why can’t theories be proved in science?

Answer 5

it can only be verified by infinite observations

Question 6

When scientists publish their data, what are the benefits?

Answer 6

it enables the scientific community to evaluate the findings

Question 7

Describe two ways journalists might distort the science they attempt
to publicize.

Answer 7

not writing about important stories, they write stories that are appealing and not important, and they do not tell the story accurately misleading the story and evidence

Question 8

This section described several ways in which intuition is biased. Can
you name all five?

Answer 8

1. being swayed by a good story
2. being persuaded by what comes easily to mind
3. to think about what we cannot see
4. focusing on the evidence we like best
5. biased about being biased

Question 9

Why might the bias blind spot be the sneakiest of all the intuitive
reasoning biases?

Answer 9

the bias blind spot makes us trust our faulty reasoning even more

Question 10

Do you think you can improve your own reasoning by simply learning
about these biases? How?

Answer 10

it makes one more aware and more likely to notice if they are being biased

Question 11

When would it be sensible to accept the conclusions of authority
figures? When might it not?

Answer 11

When the conclusion is based on research with scientific sources, empirical research

Question 12

How are empirical journal articles different from review journal
articles? How is each type of article different from a chapter in an
edited book?

Answer 12

an empirical research article reports the methods and findings of an original research study conducted by the authors of the article

Question 13

What two guiding questions can help you read any academic research
source?

Answer 13

read with a purpose

Question 14

What are three steps you can take to guard against disinformation?

Answer 14

recognize motives of disinformation, understand different types of disinformation, understand different types of disinformation and read critically but not cynically

Question 15

What is the difference between a variable and its levels? What might
be the levels of the variable “favorite color”?

Answer 15

a variable is something that varies, it has two levels, or values, different levels are yellow, blue

Question 16

Explain why some variables can only be measured, not manipulated.
Can “history of trauma” be a manipulated variable? Can “level of eye
contact” be a manipulated variable?

Answer 16

Some variables can only be measured because there are certain variables that can’t be changed like age or IQ, history or trauma can be measured but you can’t change it, level of eye contact can be manipulated since it changes

Question 17

What is the difference between a conceptual variable and the operational definition of a variable? How might the conceptual variables “level of eye contact,” “intelligence” and “stress” be operationalized by a researcher?

Answer 17

the conceptual variable is the simplified version before it is operationalized

Question 18

How many variables are there in a frequency claim? An association
claim? A causal claim?

Answer 18

There is a single variable in frequency claims, association has two variables also in causal

Question 19

Which part of speech in a claim can help you differentiate between
association and causal claims?

Answer 19

verbs such as cause enhance affect and change

Question 20

. How are causal claims special, compared with the other two claim
types?

Answer 20

causal claim argues that one if the variables is responsible for changing the other, association argues that one level of a variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable

Question 21

What three criteria must causal claims satisfy?

Answer 21

x came before y, that the observed relationship didn’t happen by chance, and that nothing else accounts for XY relationshipp

Question 22

What question(s) would you use to interrogate a study’s construct
validity?

Answer 22

construct’s validity refers to the degree to which a variable, test, questionnaire, or instrument measures the theoretical concept that the researcher hopes to measure, to ensure they have it they ask where the study has measured the key concepts in the study

Question 23

In your own words, describe the three things that statistical validity
addresses.

Answer 23

-the margin of estimate
-the strength of associations
-the statistical significance of an association

Question 24

Define external validity, using the term generalize in your definition.

Answer 24

External validity is the extent to which you generalize the findings of a study to other situations, people, settings, and measures

Question 25

Why can’t a correlational study support a causal claim?

Answer 25

a causal claim can be figured out only when a variable is manipulated under controlled conditions

Question 26

Why don’t researchers usually aim to achieve all four of the big
validities at once?

Answer 26

it’s impossible

Question 27

Explain why a variable usually has only one conceptual definition but
can have multiple operational definitions

Answer 27

A variable has only one conceptual definition but can have multiple operational definitions because operational defintions can vary depending on the research context

Question 28

Name the three common ways in which researchers operationalize
their variables.

Answer 28

self report, observational, and physiological

Question 29

In your own words, describe the difference between categorical and
quantitative variables. Come up with new examples of variables that
would fit the definition of ordinal, interval, and ratio scales.

Answer 29

quantitative variables are any variables where the data represent amounts. Categorical variables are any variables where the data represent groups

Question 30

Reliability is about consistency. Define the three kinds of reliability,
using the word consistent in each of your definitions.

Answer 30

test-retest reliability: over time
internal consistency: across items
inter-rater reliability: across different researchers

Question 31

For each of the three common types of operationalizations—selfreport, observational, and physiological—indicate which type(s) of
reliability would be relevant.

Answer 31

self-report: test-retest reliability or internal
observational: interrater would be relevant;
psychological: The interrater may be relevant

Question 32

Which of the following correlations is the strongest: r = .25, r = −.65,
r = −.01, or r = .43?

Answer 32

-0.65 hoe

Question 33

What do face validity and content validity have in common?

Answer 33

they both evaluate how suitable the content of a test is

Question 34

. Many researchers believe criterion validity is more important than
convergent and discriminant validity. Can you see why?

Answer 34

criterion validity establishes how well a measure correlates with a behavioral outcome, not with other self-report measures, criterion validity is more important than the other two

Question 35

Which requires stronger correlations for its evidence: convergent
validity or discriminant validity? Which requires weaker
correlations?

Answer 35

convergent validity requires a positive correlation between different tests , discriminant validity requires there to be no correlation between tests that measure different things

Question 36

Can a measure be reliable but not valid? Can it be valid but
unreliable?

Answer 36

a reliable measurement isn’t always valid, results could be reproducible but aren’t always correct remember RV, valid measurement is always reliable

Question 37

What are three potential problems related to the wording of survey
questions? Can they be avoided?

Answer 37

double barreled quesitons, negative wording, leading questions, acquiescence could all be avoided to an extent

Question 38

Name at least two ways to ensure that survey questions are answered
accurately

Answer 38

give self reports, include reverse worded items, for fence sitting take away neutral option

Question 39

. For which topics, and in what situations, are people most likely to
answer survey questions accurately ?

Answer 39

self reports and topics that are about their own experience

Question 40

If an observational study suffers from _________, then the researcher
might be measuring _________ instead of _________.

Answer 40

observer bias, the actual behavior or outcome