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Research methods > Practice questions > Flashcards

Practice questions Flashcards

1
Q

Is this a + or - or curvilinear relationship?

a. Increased caloric intake is associated with increased body
weight

A

+

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2
Q

Is this a + or - or curvilinear relationship?
b. As people gain experience speaking in public their anxiety
level decreases

A

-

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3
Q

Is this a + or - or curvilinear relationship?
c. Performance of basketball players increases as anxiety
increases from low to moderate levels, then decreases as
anxiety becomes extremely high.

A

curvilinear

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4
Q

Is this a + or - or curvilinear relationship?
Partying harder on weekends is associated with lower grades

A

-

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5
Q

Is this a + or - or curvilinear relationship?
f. Amount of education is associated with higher income

A

+

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6
Q

Is this a + or - or curvilinear relationship?
e. Reducing the number of hours slept is associated with a
decreases in the ability to pay close attention during class the next day

A

+

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7
Q

A researcher is studying the effect of sleep on test performance. They vary the number of hours participants sleep (4, 6, or 8 hours) and measure their test scores.
What is the independent variable in this experiment?
A) Test performance
B) Number of hours of sleep
C) Number of participants
D) Test difficulty

A

b

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8
Q

In an experiment, a scientist is investigating how different amounts of fertilizer affect the growth of plants. The height of the plants is measured after applying varying amounts of fertilizer to each group.
Which is the dependent variable?
A) Type of fertilizer
B) Amount of fertilizer
C) Growth (height) of plants
D) Time of year

A

c

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9
Q

A psychologist is examining whether exercise has an impact on stress levels. Participants are divided into two groups: one group exercises regularly, and the other does not. Stress levels are measured for each participant.
What is the dependent variable in this scenario?
A) Amount of exercise
B) Stress levels
C) Number of participants
D) Age of participants

A

b

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10
Q

An experiment is conducted to see if different types of music affect people’s heart rates. Participants listen to classical, rock, or no music, and their heart rates are recorded.
What is the independent variable?
A) Heart rate
B) Type of music
C) Duration of music
D) Number of participants

A

b

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11
Q

What is the difference between internal validity and external validity?

A

Internal validity focuses on how well the causal relationship is demonstrated within the study,
External validity refers to how well the findings generalize to other settings

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12
Q

What is the role of control groups in behavioral experiments?

A

They provide a baseline for comparison to see if changes in the dependent variable are due to the independent variable

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13
Q

What is a limitation of conducting experiments in highly controlled laboratory settings?

A

C) It can reduce the ability to generalize findings to real-world situations due to artificial conditions

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14
Q

How does the experimental method allow us to make causal statements?

A
  1. By establishing covariance
    (a statistical measure that indicates how two variables change together)
  2. By establishing temporal precedence (what happened first)
  3. Eliminating alternate explanations (third variable)
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15
Q

What is covariance

A

A statistical measure that indicates how two variables change together.
-It helps determine the relationship between two variables and whether changes in one variable correspond to changes in another. When the variables increase or decrease together, covariance is positive. If one increases while the other decreases, covariance is negative. If there is no consistent pattern, covariance is close to zero, suggesting no relationship between the two variables.

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16
Q

Why do we study research methods?

A
  • Help us become informed consumer
  • Understand how to evaluate research
  • Helps avoid or recognize pseudoscience
  • read reports critically, evaluate the methods, and decide whether the conclusions and
    assertions being made are justifiable
  • Gives you a competitive edge (job)
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17
Q

How does one acquire knowledge based on intuition? What’s the problem with this?

A
  • Relies on anecdotal evidence
  • Personal judgment
  • gut feeling

Issue?
- biases
- Illusory correlation (2 events occur closely in time, we conclude they are related)
- no real evidance

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18
Q

How does one acquire knowledge based on authority? What’s the problem with this?

A
  • Place trust in someone else who we think has more knowledge than we do
  • Ex. government authorities media doctors….

Issue?
- Not always true or reliable information

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19
Q

The Scientific Method

A
  • Acknowledges that intuition and authority can be good to generate initial ideas about behaviour, but these ideas can’t be accepted without evidence
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20
Q

What is the process of conducting research, (scientist)

A
  1. Idea generation
  2. Consult past research
  3. hypothesis
  4. design study
  5. Obtain ethical appproval
  6. collect data
  7. analyze data
  8. conduct new study to replicate results
  9. write manuscript
  10. Submit to peer reviewed journal
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21
Q

What four norms should characterize
scientific inquiry at its best?

A

Universalism: Scientific observations are systematic and structured, and
evaluated objectively using the accepted methods of the discipline. (universalism)

Communality: methods are openly shared (can be replcated)

Disinterestedness: no bias

Organized skepticism: All new evidence and theories should be evaluated
based on scientific merit, even those that challenge one’s own work or prior
beliefs.

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22
Q

Define falsifiable

A

Capable of being shown to be false

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23
Q

What is pseudo science

A
  • The use of scientific terms to make claims look compelling ad scientific, but without actually abiding to the scientific method
    ex. relies on anecdotal or vague claims that are not falsifiable
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24
Q

What are the 4 goals for scientific research?

A
  1. describe a behaviour
  2. predict behaviour
  3. determine the causes of behaviour
  4. Understand or explain behaviour
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25
Q

cause and effect

A
  1. When the cause is present, the effect occurs; when the cause is not
    present, the effect does not occur. This is called covariation of cause and effect
  2. cause must precede the effect (temporal precedence)
  3. Lastly, nothing other than the causal variable can be responsible for the observed effect. This is called ruling out alternative explanations
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26
Q

What is basic research ?

A

attempts to answer fundemental questions about the nature of behaviour.
- focuses on testing theories rather than developing a specific
application.

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27
Q

What is Applied research?

A

Applied research is conducted to address practical problems in the real
world and often to propose potential solutions.

28
Q

Identify the two functions of a theory

A
  • organize and explain many previous observations
  • theories help to generate new knowledge by pointing us in a direction where we can look to discover new aspects of behaviour
29
Q
  1. What information does the researcher communicate in each of the
    sections of a research article?
A

Abstract: Brief summary
Introduction: outline problem tie to past research introduce question
Methodology: detailed description of study
Results: objective report
Discussion: interpretation of results
References:cited work

30
Q

What is a research hypothesis, and how is it different from a prediction?
What is the relationship between a theory and a hypothesis

A
  • A research hypothesis is a statement about a phenomenon that may or may not be true based on past research or theories
    ex.
    A crowded environment results in worse performance on cognitive
    tasks compared to an uncrowded environment.
  • A prediction is a highly specific version of the hypothesis concerning the outcome of that particular study.
    ex. Participants in the uncrowded condition will perform better on a delayed recall task than participants in the crowded condition.
31
Q

What does the word parsimony mean?

A

Least complex theory is the most likely

32
Q

What are the five different methods for generating ideas for research?
Provide an example of each.

A

(1) common assumptions,
(2) observation of the world
around us,
(3) practical problems,
(4) scientific theories,
(5) past research.

33
Q

What are the three core ethical principles for research with human participants, as outlined in the Tri-Council Policy Statement?

A

(1) respect for persons,
(2) concern for welfare
(3) justice

34
Q

List and describe some of the potential risks and benefits of research.

A

Benefits: to society, participants, science and society

Risks: physical and mental harm psychological stress lose of privacy

Risks must out way benefits

35
Q

Describe why informed consent is used despite the potential challenges
to obtaining it

A
  • Potential participants in a research project should be provided with all information that might influence their decision to participate or not.
  • used for the principle of respect for person
  • Provided with informed consent form covering
    (1) the purpose of the research;
    (2) the procedures that will be used, including time
    involved;
    (3) the risks and benefits to the participant and society in general;
    (4) any compensation;
    (5) how confidentiality will be protected;
    (6) the assurance of voluntary participation and permission to withdraw without penalty;
    (7) contact information
36
Q

Describe the purpose and process of debriefing research participants.

A
  • debriefing occurs after the study
  • Researchers deal with deception (explain why)
  • withheld information
  • potentially harmful effect
  • Benefits
  • Educate participants on purpose of experiment
37
Q

Describe the function of a Research Ethics Board (REB)

A
  • Their mandate is to review all research projects for compliance with ethical standards.
  • Any research project that involves humans must be approved by reb
  • reduces chances of participants being treated unethical
38
Q

Contrast the categories of risk to participants: exempt, minimal risk, and greater than minimal risk

A

Exempt:
- does not require reb review
1.) It uses only publicly available information that is legally accessible
2.) Involves only observing people in a public place with no interventions and no one is identifiable
3.) uses already collected data that is anonymous

Minimal risk:
- The risks that could harm participants are no greater than every day risks
- consider the type of risk, the probability that it will occur, the amount of risk, and the
vulnerability of the intended participants.

Greater than minimal risk:
- subject to through review by the full reb committee
- Using questionnaires or interviews would be classified as greater than minimal risk if the topic was of a sensitive nature (e.g., illegal drug use), or if the intended participants were from a vulnerable population.
- Requires a description of risks and benefits, procedures for minimizing risk, procedures for recruiting participants, the exact wording
of the informed consent form, how participants will be debriefed, and procedures for maintaining confidentiality and anonymity whenever possible

39
Q

What are the “Three Rs” ?

A
  1. replacement (try not to use animals)
  2. reduction (use the least amount of animals)
  3. refinement (minimize pain and distress)
40
Q

What is the TRI council

A
  • The three federally funded
    research grant agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
    (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
    (SSHRC), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
    Canada (NSERC)
  • All institutions whose researchers receive funding from the Tri-Council must have a Research Ethics Board (REB) that reviews each study to ensure it adheres to the TCPS2 ethical guidelines.
41
Q

What are some alternates to deception?

A
  • Role playing: The experimenter describes a
    situation to participants and then asks them how they imagine they would respond to the situation
    Issue: Not the same as real situation
  • Simulated studies: simulating real world situation (Stanford prison)
  • Honest study: no hiding or misinformation avoiding deception
42
Q

Compare and contrast non-experimental and experimental research methods

A

Non-experimental method: both variables of interest are measured and none are manipulated

Experimental method: Involves direct manipulation of one variable, control of several other variables (those not of interest), and then measurement of an outcome variable (hypothetically affected by the
manipulated variable)

43
Q

Define the term operationalization for a variable.

A

It’s a definition of the variable
in terms of the specific method that
will be used to measure or manipulate it.

44
Q

Give examples of confounding variables and describe how to avoid them.

A
  • Confounding variables are variables that we are not interested in studying but are intertwined with our variables of interest
  • At times they can explain results
45
Q

Describe different possible relationships between variables: positive,
negative, curvilinear, no relationship, and mediating.

A
  • Correlational designs allow us to consider many different kinds of relationships
    between variables.
    (1) the positive linear relationship, ( one values Increase so does the other)

(2) the negative linear relationship (one value increases, the other decreases)

(3) the curvilinear relationship, (one value increase accompanied by both increase and decrease)

(4) when there is no relationship between the two variables

Mediated relationship: a psychological process that helps to explain the
relationship between two other variables

46
Q

Distinguish between an independent variable and a dependent variable

A

Independent: what changed (cause )
Dependant: what you measure- what you want to learn about (effect)

47
Q

Discuss how the three criteria for inferring causation are achieved (or not) in experimental and non-experimental methods.

A
  1. Temporal precedence (cause then effect)
  2. Covariance (Changes in one variable must be accompanied by changes in the other)
  3. Eliminate alternative explanations
48
Q

Describe why multiple methods are used for research, including the advantages and disadvantages of the basic designs.

A

no research method is a perfect test of a
hypothesis. There are a great many methods available, and every method
has some strengths and some weaknesses. This is why doing multiple
studies using multiple different methods is often the best way to proceed:
The strengths of one method might well compensate for the weaknesses in
another. And once different studies using different methods all point to the
same conclusion, our confidence in the findings and our understanding of
the phenomenon are greatly increased.
In the remainder of this book, many different methods will be discussed

49
Q

What are the 2 basic research designs

A

Non-experimental design: relationships are studied by measuring or observing
the variables of interest. This could include asking people to describe their
behaviour, directly observing behaviour, recording physiological responses,
or examining publicly available information

experimental design: direct manipulation of one variable, control of several other variables

50
Q

Define the reliability of a measure and describe the differences among
test-retest, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability.

A

Reliability = consistency and stability of measures (high reliability= measures give you same result every time)

  • Comprises two components: (1) a true
    score, which is the person’s actual level of the variable of interest and (2) measurement error, which is any contributor to a measure’s score that is not based on the actual level of the variable of interest

Test-retest (how consistent is measure over time)

Internal consistency (consistency across items intended to measure same concept)
ex. cronbach’s alpha based on correlation of each item on a test with every other item

Inter-rater reliability (all the raters agree)

51
Q

Compare and contrast reliability and validity

A

Reliability: It tells us whether a measure is stable or consistent in its measurement, but it does not tell us whether our measure is measuring what it is supposed to be

Validity: Measures are valid when they measure what they are intended to
measure

52
Q

Describe the problem of reactivity for a measure and discuss ways to minimize reactivity.

A
  • People behave differently when they are being observed, this is known as reactivity
  • No longer applicable to how someone behaves in the real world only learning about how they might behave when they are being observed
  • Reduced effect by measuring something without the person knowing (nonreactive operationalization)
53
Q

Describe the properties of the four scales of measurement: nominal ordinal, interval, and ratio.

A

Nominal ordinal:
- Categories with no # values (only named)
ex. country of birth

Ordinal:
- named and ordered variables
- order the levels of the variable in terms of
rank
- we don’t know anything about the distance between variables
ex. birth order (first, second, third…)
- we don’t know age diff between first and second child

Interval:
- named, ordered, proportionate intervals between variables
- diff between # in a scale that are equal in size
- 0 has a value
- cannot form ratios based on these numbers (one number on the scale does not = twice as much (or three times)
ex.
- difference in temperature between 15°C and 17°C is equal to the difference between 26°C and 28°C.
- 0=freezing or 32F
- Fahrenheit: 68°F (20°C) is clearly not twice as warm as 50°F (10°C) (can’t double it)

Ratio:
- named, ordered, proportionate intervals between variables and can accommodate absolute zero
ex. Kelvin scale has an absolute 0
ex. a person weighs 10 pounds weighs twice as much as a person who weighs 50
- used in reaction time

54
Q

Cronbach’s alpha

A
  • How well each item correlates with the others
55
Q

What are Threats to Internal Validity?

A
  • History: historical event that effects participants (possible alternate explanation)
  • Maturation:natural changes to participant (possible alternate explanation for post test and pre test differences)
  • testing: taking a pre test influences responses (practice effect)
  • Instrument decay: instruments work less well and become outdated with time
  • Regression toward the mean: extreme measurement scores are less extreme the next time it’s measured.
  • Mortality: Participants leave study
  • Cohort effects: groups divided by diff ages
56
Q

Attenuation

A

the reduction or weakening of a stimulus, response, or effect

57
Q

What is construct validity

A
  • How well a measure represents variables
  • represents quality of researchers operational def
58
Q

What is face validity? How is it established?

A
  • Does the content reflect the construct
  • Do the measure appears to test what it aims to test
  • Established by judgment by expert or non-expert
59
Q

What is content validity? How is it established?

A

The extent to which the entire set of items represents all aspects of the topic (and nothing else

Established:
- Judgment by expert

60
Q

Predictive validity and how is it established

A
  • The extent to which the measure predicts future behaviours

Established:
- collect data
- Measure before and after (compare)
- correlate (see how acutely first measure predicts criterion)

61
Q

Concurrent validity

A
  • the extent to which the measure relates to a criterion of behaviour that occurs at the same time as the measurement

established:
- collect data with your measure, compare to current criterion

  • Concurrent validity refers to the degree to which the results of a particular test or measurement correspond to those of an established test that is conducted at the same time.
62
Q

Convergent validity and how it’s established

A
  • How a measure relates to other measures of similar or related constructs

Established:
- correlate between similar items
- Measures must be + related

63
Q

Discriminant validity and how its established

A

The measure is unrelated to measures of different constructs

established:
- correlation between items
- met if unrelated measure shows no association

64
Q

criterion

A

evaluates how accurately a test measures the outcome it was designed to measure

65
Q

What is the goal of internal validity?

A

Makes sure that it’s the independent variable that causes change in the dependent variable.
(No confounding variables)

66
Q

Provide 1 sentence on each type of validity

A

Construct Validity: Does the test measure the construct it claims to measure?

Content Validity: Does the test cover all aspects of the construct?

Predictive Validity: Can the test predict future performance on a criterion?

Concurrent Validity: Does the test correlate with a criterion measured at the same time?

Face Validity: Does the test look like it measures what it claims to on the surface?

Discriminant Validity: Does the test avoid correlating with unrelated constructs?

Research methods (10 decks)

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