RESEARCH FINAL Flashcards
When conducting an online survey, you should:
Present the password and link to the survey website early in the e-mail message.
Which of the following is (are) an advantage of the community forum approach to needs assessment?
feasibility
Professionals who are conducting survey interviews in very poor neighborhoods should:
Dress down so as to appear as if they live in that neighborhood.
Read questionnaire items verbatim.
Probe into unclear responses to see if respondents meant what the interviewers think they meant.
Correct
Do all of these.
A major advantage of the key informants and community forum approaches to needs assessment is the representativeness of the opinions expressed.
False
The primary function of the probe is to
get the respondent to answer a question more fully.
When asking questionnaire items, the interviewer should
ask every question even if the respondent has apparently answered it already.
The best time to send an e-mail message inviting people to respond to an online survey is late at night.
False
In general, strengths of survey research include
making large samples feasible.
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of the key informants approach to needs assessment?
representativeness of sample.
Survey research methods and qualitative research methods are incompatible and should never be combined.
False
By definition, the self-administered questionnaire is synonymous with the mail survey.
False
Which of the following is NOT true about follow-up mailings in mailed surveys in which the respondents are not identified on the questionnaire?
It is impossible to re-mail only to nonrespondents.
The online survey website tool should enable respondents to take a break and then reenter the survey if they need to.
True
The interviewer should be a neutral medium through which questions and answers are transmitted.
True
Although online surveys can obtain large samples inexpensively, the respondents may NOT be representative of the rest of the population.
True
A demonstrated lack of response bias is more important than a high response rate.
True
Because the rates under treatment approach to needs assessment looks only at those currently utilizing services, it is vulnerable to underestimating the true extent of need.
True
For any survey to have any value, the response rate must be at least 50 percent.
False
The spread of telephone answering machines has improved the quality of data collected by telephone surveys.
False
Which of the following is (are) an advantage of the social indicators approach to needs assessment?
unobtrusiveness and inexpensiveness
Probes are used more frequently in open-ended questions than in closed-ended ones.
True
When follow-ups are planned with mail surveys,
response rates typically increase.
A type of sampling which new cases are selected that seem to be similar to those that generated previously detected concepts and hypotheses but once the researcher perceives no new insights are being generated from observing similar cases, a different type of case is selected and the same process is repeated until the observation of different types of cases seems to be generating no new insights is called what?
Theoretical Sampling
Quantitative studies and qualitative studies are equally likely to employ probability sampling procedures.
False
The terms population and sampling frame are synonymous.
False
Which of the following statements is true about availability sampling in quantitative studies?
It is very risky but can yield useful results in some instances.
Using probability sampling, each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample.
True
Which of the following statements is/are true about qualitative sampling methods?
They might involve purposively selecting deviant cases.
If a qualitative researcher wanted to learn a community organization’s pattern of recruitment over time, the researcher might begin by interviewing a fairly recent recruit and asking who introduced that person to the organization. Then the researcher might interview the person named and ask who introduced that person to the community organization. This would be an example of
snowball sampling.
Probability sampling ensures that there will be no sampling error whatsoever.
False
Selecting a sample that the researcher believes will yield the most comprehensive understanding of a subject based on an intuitive “feel” for the subject is employing quota sampling.
False
To obtain samples of the same size from strata of varying sizes, it would be necessary to use
disproportionate stratified sampling.
Probability samples are advantageous to the researcher because
the method by which they are selected limits conscious and unconscious sampling bias, and the accuracy or representativeness of the sample can be estimated.
Quantitative studies should never use availability sampling because it is too risky to ever yield useful results.
False
You want to draw a representative sample of social workers employed in domestic violence programs. You have a list of all such programs, but not of their staff members. Your survey will involve face-to-face interviews, and your travel budget is limited to visiting 10 cities. What kind of sampling design would you use?
multistage cluster sampling.
The unit about which information is collected and which provides the basis of analysis is called the
element
A sampling interval of 5 was used to select a sample from a population of 1,000. How many elements are to be in the sample?
200.
You are doing research on hospital personnelâ “orderlies, technicians, nurses, and doctors. You want to be sure you draw a sample that has cases in each of the personnel categories. You want to use probability sampling. An appropriate strategy would be
stratified sampling.
In qualitative inquiry, purposive sampling can be used to select deviant cases as well as representative cases.
True
Which of the following is a disadvantage of community forum approach to a needs assessment?
Lack of representativeness
Please describe the strengths and weaknesses of survey research. (5 to 10 sentences)
Decreases the number of dont knows and no answers, can provide a guard against confusing questionaires, observe and ask questions.
Costly, time consuming, presence could sway answers.
Quasi-experiments using nonequivalent comparison groups without random assignment can be credible, assuming that the comparability of the experimental and comparison groups is plausible-especially if the researcher provides substantial evidence of that comparability.
True
The design diagrammed in question 8
Correct none of these.
Pre-experimental designs
are the weakest experimental designs.
Assume that you have developed a study technique that you believe will result in students scoring higher on research methods exams. You test your study technique with the design diagrammed below.
R = random assignment
0 = observation
X = stimulus
R 01 X 02
R 03 04
Using the diagrammed design, what predictions will you make?
02 should be greater than 01 and 04
The classic experiment with random assignment of participants controls for:
none of these
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a cross-sectional study?
It concentrates on the changes that take place within a specific sample over a period of time.
The one-group pretest-posttest design controls for passage of time.
False
Suppose a new social casework program is offered to students with high levels of truancy. If those students placed in the program by their families have significantly less truancy after participating than the students who did not participate in the program, then we can conclude that
a selection bias might explain away the difference.
Studies that assign subjects to intervention groups on the basis of their extreme scores are vulnerable to regression toward the mean.
True
The Solomon four-group design
combines the classical experimental design with the posttest-only control group design.
The classic experiment with random assignment of participants controls for measurement bias.
False
The problem of an interaction between the testing and the experimental stimulus is handled by
the Solomon four-group design.
Random assignment to experimental and control groups controls for research reactivity.
False
Quasi-experimental designs are often used instead of experimental designs because
agency constraints often make experiments infeasible.
For a causal relationship to exist there must be evidence
of a relationship between variables.
that one variable precedes the other in time.
that a third variable did not cause the changes observed in the first two variables.
Correct all of these.
Time series designs with many measurement points control for maturation.
True
The problem of external validity refers to the generalizability of results.
True
A school social worker administered a self-esteem test to a group of 9th graders in September. During the school year the students received intensive social work intervention designed to improve their self-esteem. In May the self-esteem test was given again and the self-esteem scores improved. A major problem in this research is that the researcher failed to control for
history. maturation. testing. selection biases. Correct all of these.
If we can establish that variable X comes before variable Q in time, then we can say
variable Q is not a cause of variable X.
Case-control designs have more controls for threats to validity than do most other designs for evaluating programs or practice.
False
Which of the following is LEAST suited to providing clear evidence about a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables?
one-shot case study.
When selecting a comparison group in a quasi-experimental design, one should
select a group as similar as possible to the experimental gro
Attrition effects are automatically controlled when participants are assigned randomly to experimental and control groups.
False
Without using appropriate experimental and control groups, extraneous events in subjects’ lives can make history a threat to internal validity, even if those events are of no historical importance to people in general.
True
Time series designs with many measurement points control for statistical regression.
True
The effectiveness of randomization in experimentation is affected by the number of participants involved.
True
A friend of yours, a senior, took the Graduate Record Exam in September and scored in the 99th percentile. In February your friend took the same exam over again. This time your friend scored in the 84th percentile. As a research methodology student, you told your friend that his/her lowered score was probably due to
statistical regression.
Whenever two variables are correlated, we may assume that one is the cause of the other.
False
An instrumentation effect occurs when
the measurement instrument is changed from the pretest to the posttest.
Which of the following statements is true about case-control designs?
Retrospective data are collected about past differences that might explain differences in outcome.
The 55-mph speed limit was introduced in the U.S. in 1973. Shortly thereafter the number of auto accidents declined. We can conclude that
the reduced speed limit may have caused the decline in the number of auto accidents.
Identify the major advantages and disadvantages of each of the following single-case designs:
a. AB design.
b. ABAB design.
c. multiple baseline design.
AB design has a base line and intervention-advantage is they can provide the effictiveness of the intervention, it can be replicated. Disadvantage-only one point where there is a baseline and one point of the intervention.
ABAB has a second baseline and second intervention - more casual than the AB designe due to its repetition. Disadvantage-ethical concerns in stopping treatment and inability to revert to baseline.
Multiple baseline-intervention started at different times showing if it is the intervention causing the desired effect. Disadvantage-generalization
A practitioner tests whether a new technique will be effective in reducing the number of time-outs required in play therapy sessions for children with conduct disorders. In each of the two sessions before implementing the new technique, five time-outs occurred. In each of the two sessions after implementing the new technique, no time-outs occurred. The practitioner should conclude:
The technique clearly was effective.
History can be ruled out as an alternative explanation for the improvement.
There were a sufficient number of data points in the study.
Correct None of these.
Self-monitoring is an example of unobtrusive observation.
History could have caused the change or the intervention may have been effective, but with irreversible effects.
In a single-case design with a student at high risk for dropping out of school, a good measurement plan to assess whether our intervention is effective would be to monitor whether or not he/she drops out of school.
False
What would you infer from the following graph of the number of temper tantrums in an AB design?
Baseline: 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11
Intervention: 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6
Maturation appears to be the most plausible explanation.
Which of the following is an example of unobtrusive observation?
Self-monitoring.
Self-report scales.
Interviews.
Correct None of these.
Suppose you instruct a couple to have a typical conversation while you observe them in your office. This would be an example of
obtrusive observation
Sometimes it is appropriate to conduct single-case experiments with unstable baselines.
True
Suppose our research methods cause the client to improve. This would be termed
reactivity
Although AB designs offer the least control for history, they are often worth doing.
True
Ideally, baselines should be extended until a stable trend in the data is evident.
True
Which of the following approaches would be least obtrusive in regard to measuring the impact of the above groupwork intervention on school performance?
Obtain grade, attendance, and conduct data from school records.
Target problems can be quantified in terms of their
frequency.
duration.
magnitude.
Correct all of these.
The length of the baseline in single-case designs should be
as long as is practically and ethically possible.
longer with a low frequency behavior than with a high frequency behavior.
extended until a stable trend appears.
Correct all of these.
If the target problem improves at any point during the intervention phase, it is safe to infer that the intervention is effective.
False
Which of the following procedures for dealing with an unstable baseline might be appropriate in some situations?
Introduce intervention anyway, recognizing that a stable baseline is not feasible.
Delay intervention until the baseline becomes stable.
Correct all of these.
In single-case experiments, direct observation is always better than using self-report scales or available records.
False
Suppose you wish to measure progress in increasing the amount of time a child in institutional care spends studying as an indicator of the effectiveness of your groupwork intervention. Which of the following approaches most likely would be least vulnerable to reactivity problems?
Have cottage parents run spot checks in the cottage at different intervals.
Multiple measurement points during baseline control for statistical regression.
True
The ability to construct a retrospective baseline is one of the advantages of using available records.
True
[Key concept question] Explain why it is important to obtain a stable baseline, if possible. Explain your answer in connection to threats to internal validity.
The baseline in a single-case evaluation design serves the same purpose as the control group does in group experiments. If a baseline consists of multiple measurement points, this increases the internal validity. Using a baseline mitigates some threats to internal validity such as selection bias and ambiguity about the direction of causal influence. Also, using a baseline can diminish passage of time as a threat to internal validity as well, as if time was influencing the change, this would be seen in the baseline data. Using multiple data points can help control for factors such as maturation and statistical regression. Finally, history can seem less plausible as a threat to internal validity because of gathering multiple data points and can be diminished even more by having more than one baseline and intervention stage. Talking to the client about what happened in their live could also help illuminate if history was a factor or not.
Evaluators who report negative findings about a program will usually be respected by stakeholders as competent and honest, provided that their methodology is reasonable.
False
It is safe to assume that agency staff members who initially approve of an experiment will remain in close compliance with its research protocol throughout the study.
False
Agency administrators who ask in-house program evaluators to assess their programâ s effectiveness are likely to
none of these.
Recommendations to maximize compliance with the case assignment protocol in experiments or quasi-experiments include
pilot testing the randomization procedure in the agency.
Which of the following can be a purpose of program evaluation?
All of these.
Managed care companies tend to be disinterested in the outcomes of program evaluations.
False
Quantitative and qualitative methods can be combined in program evaluations.
True
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the utilization of program evaluation results?
If the results are clear and have obvious policy implications, they will always be used.
Which of the following designs can be used in program evaluation?
All of these.
Videotaping treatment sessions should be used only as a last resort when assessing intervention fidelity.
False
Program evaluators should involve stakeholders in planning an evaluation.
True
In order to foster the eventual utilization of an evaluation, one of the steps evaluators should take is
involve stakeholders throughout all phases of the evaluation.
Qualitative methods offer a number of techniques that on-site research staff members can use in attempting to observe research implementation pitfalls.
True
Which of the following statements is NOT true about program evaluation?
It differs dramatically from most of the research done by social workers.
Which of the following statements is/are true about problems in client recruitment and retention in experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations in social work agencies?
All of these.
If a rigorous experimental assessment of program outcome finds that a program is not effective in attaining its goals, then there is no need to evaluate the program’s implementation.
False
To avoid or alleviate practical pitfalls when carrying out experiments in social work agencies, researchers should:
none of these.
The best way to avoid contaminating the control condition is to locate the experimental and control conditions in the same building.
False
In-house evaluators, as compared to external evaluators, are likely to have
all of these.
Agency administrators and practitioners are likely to encourage maximum scientific rigor in evaluations of program outcome, irrespective of the funding implications.
False
Identify and explain four practical pitfalls commonly encountered when carrying out experiments and quasi-experiments in social agencies.
- Fidelity of the Intervention-the degree to which the intervention is delivered to clients was delivered as intended
- Contamination of the Control Condition-the comparison condition is contaminated if the comparison group and experimental group interact
- Resistance to the Case Assignment Protocol-practitioners resent having to assign cases to treatment conditions on the basis of research requirements rather than on the basis of their own professional judgement about the best service match for each client
- Client Recruitment and Retention-Recruiting may be difficult when research relies on referrals of clients from outside agencies.
What steps should program evaluators take in order to foster the utilization of their studies?
we must find out who wants the evaluation, why they want it and who doesn’t want it.
The mean is almost always sufficient in portraying the typical case in a distribution.
False
The most frequent attribute, in either grouped or ungrouped data, is the
mode
Given the following age distribution, the mean is
18, 33, 7, 32, 6, 5, 4
15
Given the following age distribution, the range is
12, 15, 8, 17, 34, 43, 2, 16, 43, 3
2,43
An effect size of less than 1.0 is considered to be weak. (Refer to table below)
Medical Outcome Type of Illness Terminal Not Terminal Received Hospital Social Work Services Did Not Received Hospital Social Work Services Received Hospital Social Work Services Did Not Received Hospital Social Work Services Discharged from Hospital 100 10 990 990 Died in Hospital 900 90 10 10 TOTAL 1000 100 1000 1000
False
Coding refers to:
the assignment of a number or numeral to the attributes of a variable.
A research article reports that clients who received Intervention A had a 30% recidivism rate, while clients who received Intervention B had a 40% recidivism rate. What can be inferred from these statistics?
Intervention A is more effective than Intervention B.
The difference in recidivism rates was due to chance.
The difference in recidivism rates was NOT due to chance.
Correct None of these.
Which of the following illustrates a grouped data frequency distribution?
Of the 20 female students living in a housing complex, 10 are under 20 years of age, one is between 20 and 25 years, seven are between 26 and 30 years, and two are above 30 years.
Half the cases are above the median and half the cases are below the median.
True
If the table were collapsed into a bivariate table with only two rows and two columns, deleting the type of illness variable, recipients of social work services would appear to be more likely to die in the hospital. (Refer to table below)
TRUE
If an experimental group’s mean of 20 indicates fewer undesirable symptoms than the control group’s mean of 25, and the standard deviation is 10, then the Cohen’s d effect size should be reported as:
+ .50
Given the following values, the median is
8, 12, 9, 15, 17, 11, 13, 14, 7
12
Terminally ill patients are both more likely to receive social work services and to die in the hospital. (Refer to table below)
TRUE
At what level of measurement is the variable number of future incidents of child neglect?
Ratio
An experiment evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention for improving attitudes about something finds that the mean posttest score of the experimental group is 70, which is better
than the control group’s mean posttest score of 65. The significance level is .05, and the p value is .01. The standard deviation is 5.
False
In an evaluation of an intervention that seeks to increase self-esteem scores, if the mean of the experimental group is 60, the mean of the control group is 50, and the standard deviation of the control group is 5, the Cohen’s d effect size is:
2
Suppose a study reports that the average number of times that control group participants got drunk during the year was five. What is appropriate to conclude?
It is conceivable that most of the control group participants got drunk less than five times or more than five times.
The table shows that regardless of type of illness, recipients of social work services were more likely to die in the hospital. (Refer to table below)
False
At what level of measurement is the variable ethnicity?
Nominal
The substantive significance of a relationship is always automatically indicated by the strength of the relationship. (Refer to table below)
False
An experiment evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention for improving attitudes about something finds that the mean posttest score of the experimental group is 70, which is better
than the control group’s mean posttest score of 65. The significance level is .05, and the p value is .01. The standard deviation is 5.
True
Whereas univariate analysis and subgroup comparisons focus on the descriptions of the people under study, the focus of bivariate analysis is on the relationships among the variables themselves.
True
A bivariate table is read by comparing the independent variable subgroups with one another in terms of a given attribute of the dependent variable.
True
an experiment evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention for improving attitudes about something finds that the mean posttest score of the experimental group is 70, which is better
than the control group’s mean posttest score of 65. The significance level is .05, and the p value is .01. The standard deviation is 5.
True
A measure of dispersion describes
how spread out the data are.
As a mode of observation, content analysis is essentially an operation of coding.
True
Corroboration in historical research is best done using the same type of source, NOT different types of sources.
False
Cluster sampling techniques should NOT be used in content analysis.
False
Which of the following statements is true about participatory action research?
It is distinguished by its social action aims.
The researcher serves as a resource to those being studied.
It often involves poor people.
Correct All of these.
An advantage of qualitative research is that
phenomena can be studied in a natural setting.
Among the advantages of qualitative research is that it
allows for the modification of research design,
Which of the following statements is true about the strengths or weaknesses of content analysis?
It is likely to be economical in terms of time and money.
Latent coding has the advantage of tapping underlying meanings, while reliability is an advantage of manifest coding.
True
Using the life-history method, researchers ask open-ended questions to discover how participants in a study understand the significant events and meanings in their own lives.
True
The complete participant role prevents researchers from having an effect on what they are observing.
False
Manifest content refers to the meanings contained within communications.
False
The cost savings of secondary analysis enable researchers to study larger and representative samples.
True
In which of the following analyses is content analysis least likely to be useful?
dating patterns among high school seniors.
In comparison to coding the manifest content of communication, coding the latent content
is better designed for tapping the underlying meaning of communications.
Prolonged engagement is used to reduce the impact of reactivity and respondent bias.
True
Ethnography focuses on providing detailed, accurate descriptions of the way people in a particular culture live and the way they interpret the meanings of things.
True
Which of the following is a social constructivist standard for appraising the trustworthiness of qualitative research?
Member checking
An informant is one of your colleagues who attempts to gain membership into the group being studied.
False
A study that begins with observations and then looks for patterns, themes, or common categories is using what method?
grounded theory.
Which of the following is true about negative case testing in qualitative content analysis?
The data should be searched to find all cases that would contradict the original hypothesis.
Theory plays an important role in seeking to discover patterns in qualitative analysis.
True
Qualitative researchers seek to discover patterns by using:
All of these.
Code notes:
Identify the code labels and their meanings
Dr. Clark is interested in looking at the grandparent â “ grandchild relationship. Dr. Clark wonders whether grandparents assume different roles when providing care to grandchildren. That is, are some grandparents very distant from the grandchildren while others become surrogate parents? According to the Loflandâ s scheme, Dr. Clark is focusing on:
Frequencies
The search for the intentional or unintentional meanings attached to signs is called semiotics.
True
In qualitative analysis, it is inappropriate to consider possible causal links between variables.
False
Memoing is appropriate at several stages of data processing.
True
Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding semiotic analysis?
Language is the only sign system of interest to those doing semiotic analysis
Which of the following statements is TRUE about the grounded theory method?
It is similar to cross-case analysis
If Clark from the previous question decided to look at whether grandparents who have grandchildren living with them later obtain custody of the grandchildren and then later adopt the grandchildren, Clark would be looking at:
Processes
Which of the following is NOT one of the four stages of the constant comparative
method?
All of these are stages in the constant comparative method
Conversation analysts look only at the structure of communication.
False
Qualitative analysis is primarily numerical.
False
Concept mapping diagrams relationships in a graphical format.
True
Open coding involves selecting codes before examining the data.
False
The grounded theory method begins with
Observations
Professor Lip was interested in why grandparents went to court to obtain custody of their grandchildren. One of the grandparents that Lip talked with commented on the issue of “parental neglect” of the grandchild. Once the issue of neglect had been identified, Lip began to notice that other grandparents also used the concept of “parental neglect” to explain why they had a legal relationship with their grandchild. In the Loflands’ terms, Professor Lip was interested in examining which of the following ways of looking for patterns?
Causes
Qualitative researchers do NOT use the computer to:
Qualitative researchers use the computer to do all of these.
In reading Court decisions, Professor Wofford notices that the decisions typically discuss the “rational male.” Wofford begins to write notes in which she ruminates about the notion of the rational male as well as why the concept of the rational female is not mentioned. Woffordâ s memos are
Theoretical notes
