Research Report [Diagnostic]

Question 1

In contrast to empirical studies or theoretical articles, literature reviews:

a. define and clarify a problem
b. summarize previous investigators
c. identify relations, contradictions, or inconsistencies in the literature
d. suggest steps for future research
e. do all of the above

Answer 1

e. do all of the above

Question 2

Which of the following must identify the specific variables investigated and the relation between them?

a. the first sentence of the introduction section
b. the conclusion of the Discussion section
c. the title of the report
d. the first table that is cited

Answer 2

c. the title of the report

Question 3

An abstract of a research report should be about:

a. 100 to 120 words
b. 75 to 100 words
c. 100 to 150 words
d. 150 to 180 words

Answer 3

d. 150 to 180 words

Question 4

Journal articles reporting standards were developed to:

a. make it easier to generalize across fields
b. provide a degree of comprehensiveness in the information routinely included in reports of empirical investigations
c. help decision makers in policy and practice understand how research was conducted and what was found
d. allow techniques of meta-analysis to proceed more efficiently
e. all of the above

Answer 4

e. all of the above

Question 5

Conventionality and expediency dictate that the Method section should be written:

a. as a unified whole
b. in subsections
c. without reference notes
d. Answers a and c are correct
e. None of the above is correct

Answer 5

b. in subsections

Question 6

When describing human participants, you should state:

a. the number of participants who did not complete the experiment
b. the total number of participants
c. the number of participants assigned to each experimental condition
d. all of the above
e. b and c of the above

Answer 6

d. all of the above

Question 7

On the basis of verb intense, in which part of a report is the following text segment likely to appear?

“College students judge time differently than do college faculty. Faculty are more accurate in judging the amount of time required to do academic tasks.”

a. Method
b. a review of the literature in an introduction
c. a conclusion in a Discussion
d. Results

Answer 7

c. a conclusion in a Discussion

Question 8

In reporting tests of significance,

a. give the exact value of the statistic (F or t value)
b. state the relevant degrees of freedom
c. indicate the probability level
d. describe the direction of an effect
e. do all of the above

Answer 8

e. do all of the above

Question 9

If your study is simple and your Discussion section is brief and straightforward, you can:

a. discuss the flaws of the study at length
b. spend most of your time discussing the next study you plan to do
c. combine the Results and Discussion sections
d. discuss the negative findings, listing all of the possible causes
e. do all of the above

Answer 9

c. combine the Results and Discussion sections

Question 10

Approximations of quantity such as a major portion of, colloquial expressions such as write-up, or informal verb use such as it was her feeling that

a. reduce word precision and clarity
b. add warmth to dull scientific prose
c. have a place in serious scientific writing
d. can be used to enhance communication
e. are more acceptable in written than oral communication

Answer 10

a. reduce word precision and clarity

Question 11

In table headings and figure captions,

a. capitalize only the first word and proper nouns
b. capitalize all major words
c. do not capitalize any words
d. capitalization will depend on the message you wish to convey

Answer 11

a. capitalize only the first word and proper nouns

Question 12

Names of conditions or groups in an experiment should:

a. be capitalized
b. not be capitalized
c. not be capitalized unless followed by numerals or letters
d. be designated by a letter

Answer 12

c. not be capitalized unless followed by numerals or letters

Question 13

Use italics for:

a. trigonometric terms
b. introduction of key terms and labels
c. Greek labels
d. all of the above

Answer 13

b. introduction of key terms and labels

Question 14

Edit the following for the expression of numbers:

Respondents in each of the age groups were asked to describe what they had eaten for dinner two and four weeks previously.

a. leave as is
b. Respondents in each of the age groups were asked to describe what they had eaten for dinner 2 and 4 weeks previously.
c. Respondents in each of the age groups were asked to describe what they had eaten for dinner two (2) and four (4) weeks previously.

Answer 14

b. Respondents in each of the age groups were asked to describe what they had eaten for dinner 2 and 4 weeks previously.

Question 15

Edit the following for the expression of numbers:

Eighty nurses volunteered to keep a daily record of their stress levels.

a. leave as is
b. 80 nurses volunteered to keep a daily record of their stress levels.
c. Eighty (80) nurses volunteered to keep a daily record of their stress levels.

Answer 15

a. leave as is

Question 16

Words should be used to express numbers:

a. whenever numbers are greater than 20 but less than 200
b. from zero to nine, not representing a precise measurement
c. always, except when cardinal numbers have satisfied the requirements of ratio measurement and are grouped for comparison with themselves
d. as seldom as possible

Answer 16

b. from zero to nine, not representing a precise measurement

Question 17

Edit the following for the expression of ordinal numbers:

The critical stimuli were placed in the second and 10th positions in each block of trials.

a. leave as is.
b. The critical stimuli were placed in the 2nd and 10th positions in each block of trials.
c. The critical stimuli were placed in the second and tenth positions in each block of trials.

Answer 17

a. leave as is.

Question 18

Edit the following for the expression of the expression of numbers:

When the payoff for finding an effective treatment is so high, it is important to minimize Type 2 errors.

a. leave as is
b. When the payoff for finding an effective treatment is so high, it is important to minimize Type II errors.
c. When the payoff for finding an effective treatment is so high, it is important to minimize Type Two errors.

Answer 18

b. When the payoff for finding an effective treatment is so high, it is important to minimize Type II errors.

Question 19

Edit the following for the expression of decimal fractions:

The containers were made of transparent plastic and weighted .6 kg.

a. leave as is
b. The containers were made of transparent plastic and weighed 0.6 kg.
c. The containers were made of transparent plastic and weighed 6 x 10^-1 kg.
d. The containers were made of transparent plastic and weighed 60 x 10^-2 kg.

Answer 19

b. The containers were made of transparent plastic and weighed 0.6 kg.

Question 20

Use commas between groups of three digits in figures of 1,000 or more except when expressing:

a. page numbers
b. serial numbers
c. degrees of freedom
d. all of the above

Answer 20

d. all of the above

Question 21

Which statement applies to the use of metric measurement in the following sentence?

Conductance and inductance were measured in Siemens (S) and henrys (H), respectively.

a. correct as is
b. The measurements do not conform to the International System of Units
c. Measurements should not be expressed in metric units in social or behavioral science journals
d. Inductance should be measured in newtons per meter, not in henrys.

Answer 21

a. correct as is

Question 22

When you present statistics, cite the reference:

a. for less common statistics
b. for statistics used in a controversial way
c. when a statistic itself is the focus of an article
d. for all of the above
e. for any statistic and all uses of a statistic

Answer 22

d. for all of the above

Question 23

Which of the following is the correct way to present a statistic in text?

a. F = 2.62(22), p

Answer 23

d. none of the above

Question 24

Edit the following for the presentation of statistics:

The children were divided into two groups on the basis of which hand they use to hold the pen. The mean scores on the orientation task for the two groups were 34 and 142.

a. leave as is
b. The children were divided into two groups on the basis of which hand they use to hold the pen. The mean scores on the orientation task for the left-handed and right-handed groups were 34 and 142, respectively.
c. The children were divided into two groups on the basis of which hand they use to hold the pen. The mean scores on the orientation task for the left-handed and right-handed groups were 34 and 142.
d. The children were divided into two groups on the basis of which hand they use to hold the pen. The mean scores on the orientation task for the two groups were 34 and 142, respectively.

Answer 24

b. The children were divided into two groups on the basis of which hand they use to hold the pen. The mean scores on the orientation task for the left-handed and right-handed groups were 34 and 142, respectively.

Question 25

Tables should be numbered in the order

a. that puts the longest table first
b. in which they are first mentioned in the text
c. that seems most logical to the author
d. that seems most logical to an editor

Answer 25

b. in which they are first mentioned in the text

Question 26

Before constructing a table, you should consider that:

a. different indices should be segregated into different parts or lines of tables.
b. tables with surplus elements are less effective than lean tables.
c. data from a 2 x 2 design should be put in a table rather than in the text.
d. adding space between columns or rows can make a table easier to read.
e. all of the above except c.

Answer 26

e. all of the above except c.

Question 27

A good table:

a. is intelligible without reference to the text
b. does not need to be discussed in the test
c. duplicates information in the text
d. does a and b

Answer 27

a. is intelligible without reference to the text

Question 28

The left-hand column of a table (the stub) should have a heading (the stub head) that usually describes the:

a. elements in that column
b. dependent variables
c. independent variables
d. data
e. a and c

Answer 28

e. a and c

Question 29

When more than one level of significance is reported in a table,

a. each level is represented by a single asterisk
b. assign the same number of asterisks from table to table within your paper
c. report the exact probabilities to two to three decimal places
d. b and c

Answer 29

d. b and c

Question 30

From the following examples, select the correct way to refer to a figure in text:

a. see the figure above
b. see the figure on page 14
c. see Figure 2
d. see Figure 2 above on page 14

Answer 30

c. see Figure 2

Question 31

Tables, including titles and headings, should be:

a. triple-spaced
b. double-spaced
c. single-spaced
d. b or c

Answer 31

d. b or c

Question 32

The word figure (i) refers to:

a. photographs
b. graphs and charts
c. maps
d. all of the above

Answer 32

d. all of the above

Question 33

Figures can be used to:

a. illustrate complex theoretical formulations
b. show sampling and flow of subjects through a randomized clinical trial or other experiment
c. illustrate empirical results from a complex multivariate model
d. all of the above

Answer 33

d. all of the above

Question 34

Which of the following is the correct ordering of a manuscript subsections?

a. title page, introduction, abstract, text
b. References, appendices, author identification notes
c. Method, Discussion, Results
d. figures, figure captions, tables
e. Discussion, footnotes, References

Answer 34

e. Discussion, footnotes, References

Question 35

The title page of your manuscript includes:

a. running head
b. author byline
c. author note
d. all of the above

Answer 35

d. all of the above

Question 36

The abstract should

a. appear on the same page above the title and introduction
b. be single-spaced and set with larger margins
c. begin on page 2
d. be no longer than 3% of the text

Answer 36

c. begin on page 2