Research Methods Test Bank Flashcards
Science comes from the Latin word scire, which means
a) to know
b) to research
c) to question
d) all of the above
a) to know
The scientific approach requires that theories be stated
a) clearly and precisely
b) as questions
c) in scientific terms
d) without reference to research
a) clearly and precisely
When testing a theory, each scientific observation must be
a) replaceable.
b) replicable.
c) unique.
d) original.
b) replicable
“The primary problem is an unconscious anger toward his mother.” What makes this statement unscientific?
a) It is not reliable.
b) It does not make sense.
c) It is not theoretical.
d) It is not testable.
d) It is not testable
A theory
a) is derived from hypotheses.
b) is the result of long deliberation by a scientist.
c) attempts to explain a class of phenomena.
d) all of the above.
d) all of the above
A good theory should
a) be incapable of being proven wrong.
b) make sense of obscure phenomena.
c) develop directly out of observations.
d) explain cause-effect relationships.
d) explain cause-effect relationships
Which of the following are generated by theories?
a) case material
b) hypotheses
c) statistical significance
d) none of the above
b) hypotheses
Juan wants to do a research study on whether or not studying for a test will improve students’ performance. If he believes it will, what would be his hypothesis?
a) Will studying improve test performance?
b) Will those who don’t study perform worse than those who do?
c) Students who study will perform better on the test.
d) All of the above
c) Students who study will perform better on the test.
Which of the following can disprove but not prove a hypothesis?
a) correlation
b) case study
c) experiment
d) questionnaire
b) case study
Dr. Lee has been treating someone with an unusual combination of symptoms. He notes that there is no published research on such a combination of symptoms, and considers developing a case study. How would Dr. Lee conduct this study?
a) Try to find other cases like the one he is treating.
b) Gather detailed historical and biographical information on this single individual.
c) Examine treatment response using an ABAB design.
d) Withhold treatment in an effort to fully understand the significance of symptoms.
b) Gather detailed historical and biographical information on this single individual.
Which research method would be most useful in generating hypotheses about the cause of a newly discovered, rare abnormality?
a) case study
b) correlational method
c) experimental design
d) single-subject ABAB design
a) case study
Case studies can be effective for which of the following purposes?
a) Confirming theoretical propositions.
b) Generating research hypotheses.
c) Demonstrating universal relationships.
d) Showing cause-effect relationships.
b) Generating research hypotheses.
Which of the following scientific methods uses random assignment?
a) experiment
b) correlation
c) case study
d) realistic
a) experiment
Case studies are not useful in
a) providing the means for ruling out alternative hypotheses.
b) providing a rich description of clinical phenomena.
c) disproving an allegedly universal hypothesis.
d) generating hypotheses.
a) providing the means for ruling out alternative hypotheses.
Which of the following are valid criticisms of the case-study method?
a) It does not provide the means for ruling out alternative hypotheses.
b) It cannot provide satisfactory evidence for cause-effect relationships.
c) The results of a case study are influenced by many factors unique to the subject and the context of the case study.
d) All of the above.
d) All of the above.
The research design that does NOT accomplish the goal of being able to draw broad conclusions is the
a) case-study method.
b) correlational method.
c) experimental method.
d) longitudinal design.
a) case-study method.
Dr. Bradley has been conducting a case study of Brenda P., a woman with dissociative identity disorder. Which of the following statements by Dr. Bradley is a misuse of the case study method?
a) “Brenda, a woman with dissociative identity disorder, was sexually abused as a child. Therefore, all individuals with multiple personality disorder must have been abuse victims.”
b) “Since Brenda was not sexually abused, the theory that all dissociation is caused by sexual abuse may not be universally true.”
c) “Brenda was sexually molested as a child. This leads me to hypothesize that perhaps other individuals with dissociative identity disorder were molested as children.”
d) All of the above are examples of inappropriate uses of the case study.
a) “Brenda, a woman with dissociative identity disorder, was sexually abused as a child. Therefore, all individuals with multiple personality disorder must have been abuse victims.”
Correlational research differs from experimental research in that correlational research
a) is associated with external validity.
b) does not involve manipulation of variables.
c) relies on significance tests.
d) samples large groups of participants.
b) does not involve manipulation of variables.
Correlational data would allow one to make which of the following statements?
a) “Depression causes weight gain.”
b) “Weight gain causes people to become depressed.”
c) “Depression is associated with higher weight.”
d) “Lack of social support is the root of both depression and weight gain.”
c) “Depression is associated with higher weight.”
The more intelligent a person is, the greater the chance that he or she will receive higher grades in school. Most likely, this finding comes from which type of research?
a) case study
b) epidemiology
c) correlational study
d) experiment
c) correlational study
Professor Jones has observed a correlation between students sitting in the front of the room and getting better grades in her classes. In order to conduct an “experiment” on this, Professor Jones could
a) collect data on student study habits.
b) assign students randomly to seats.
c) adjust her data for overall grade point average.
d) obtain similar data from other professors and classes.
b) assign students randomly to seats.
Which of the following correlation coefficient values demonstrates the highest degree of correlation?
a) -1.00
b) +0.67
c) +0.96
d) -0.84
a) -1.00
If variables were found to be unrelated their correlation coefficient would be:
a) -1.00
b) 0.00
c) +1.00
d) None of the above
b) 0.00
Which research design is illustrated by the following? A therapist gathers data showing that, repeatedly, a patient is better on days his wife visits and worse on days when she does not.
a) observation
b) correlational method
c) single-subject (ABAB) experiment
d) longitudinal design
b) correlational method