Unit 4 practice (notes)

Question 1

Thelma bought her boyfriend binoculars for his birthday and then proceeded to take him on a nature
walk where they watched for birds and recorded the names of the birds they saw. Which observational
research design is Thelma utilizing?
a. observational research
b. naturalistic observation
c. field experiment
d. participant-observer

Answer 1

b

Question 2

Which of the following observational methods does not use intervention?
a. naturalistic observation
b. participant-observer
c. structured observation
d. field experiment

Answer 2

a

Question 3

Jeff knows that he is being observed; as a researcher you need to be concerned with what?
a. expectancy effects
b. observer bias
c. respondent mortality
d. reactivity

Answer 3

d

Question 4

Cheryl is studying “change blindness.” She substitutes a different instructor midway through the
first class of a research methods course. A confederate in the back row counts how many students
notice the quick switch. This is an example of:
a. structured observation.
b. physical trace.
c. a field experiment.
d. naturalistic observation

Answer 4

c

Question 5

Derek, a business professor, is conducting a study on invasion of personal or private space. A
confederate sits on a public bench and either stares or reads a newspaper as people walk by.
An observer records whether the people walking by look away from the confederate on the
bench. What type of observational research is this?
a. field experiment
b. controlled observation
c. naturalistic observation
d. structured observation

Answer 5

a

Question 6

Advice columnists only print a small fraction of the letters they receive. A researcher who
analyzes the content of these archival recordsthe printed lettersshould be aware of the
problem of:
a. selective survival.
b. selective screening.
c. random sampling.
d. natural treatments.

Answer 6

a

Question 7

Research studies that use past evidence of human behaviour, including works of art, models of
cars, bumper stickers, and graffiti, to test various hypotheses are termed:
a. controlled observation research.
b. archival research.
c. physical trace research.
d. history controlled naturalistic observation.

Answer 7

c

Question 8

In a field experiment, the researcher:
a. never manipulates an independent variable in a natural setting.
b. always manipulates an independent variable in a natural setting.
c. always uses narrative records for recording data (i.e., tape records what is happening).
d. should only define the independent and dependent variables after running the field
experiment.

Answer 8

b

Question 9

One of the requirements of many psychological departments is that students enrolled in Introduction
to Psychology classes are required to participate as participants or subjects in research experiments
for partial course credit. Is this type of sampling considered probability sampling or non-probability
sampling?

Answer 9

sampling from a group of students who are required to participate in psychological research is called a convenience sample. convenience samples are types of non probability samples and thus may be bias in some fashion

Question 10

Categorizing cars and trucks on the basis of place of manufacture (i.e., domestic, foreign) is an
example of what type of measurement scale?
a. nominal
b. ordinal
c. interval
d. ratio

Answer 10

a

Question 11

Which of the following does not represent an interval scale?
a. a thermometer in degrees Celsius
b. a measure of a person’s outgoingness
c. scores on an IQ test
d. a measure of the time it takes to run 100 yards

Answer 11

d

Question 12

A difference between an interval and ratio scale is that:
a. an interval scale has equal intervals, and a ratio scale does not.
b. a ratio scale has equal intervals, and an interval scale does not.
c. an interval scale has an absolute zero point, and a ratio scale has an arbitrary zero point.
d. a ratio scale has an absolute zero point, and an interval scale has an arbitrary zero point.

Answer 12

d

Question 13

Everyday in the Winnipeg Free Press movies are rated on a “star system.” More stars supposedly
indicate better movies. This rating system is an example of a(n):
a. nominal scale.
b. ordinal scale.
c. interval scale.
d. ratio scale.

Answer 13

b

Question 14

Bob is studying drinking among college students. He visits five city bars, a bar on campus, and
two fraternity parties. What type of sampling is Bob using?
a. situation sampling
b. multiple-site sampling
c. random sampling
d. field experiment sampling

Answer 14

a

Question 15

The goal of any sampling method is to:
a. ensure internal and external validity of the study.
b. obtain representative samples of people or behaviour.
c. ensure high interobserver reliability.
d. infer causes of people’s behaviour.

Answer 15

b

Question 16

Zen is studying problem solving behaviour in mechanics. He visits seven local shops at varying
times during the day and week. Zen is using:
a. a random sample.
b. situation sampling.
c. time sampling.
d. both b and c

Answer 16

d

Question 17

You are asked to use a rating scale that measures the psychological dimension of anxiety. You
most likely must decide if the anxiety rating scale represents a(n):
a. nominal or an interval scale.
b. ordinal or an interval scale.
c. interval or a ratio scale.
d. nominal or and interval scale.

Answer 17

b

Question 18

. In JASP both interval variables are ratio variables are called:
a. scale variables
b. scary variables
c. scarlet variables
d. spurious variables

Answer 18

a

Question 19

How might interobserver reliability be increased?

Answer 19

the best way to increase interobserver reliability is to make certain that your observers are clear of the operational definition of the behaviour you are interested in and are properly trained to detect it. in other words, both observers should be on the same page in terms of knowing what they are looking for

Question 20

What is the mean of the following group of numbers: 4, 10, 3, 5, 4, 4?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 6
d. 4.75

Answer 20

b

Question 21

What is the median in the following set of numbers: 6, 4, 2, 6, 7, 1, 3, 10, 2, 13?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 6
d. 7

Answer 21

b

Question 22

Which of the following groups is most likely to have the largest standard deviation in height?
a. a group of 30 newborn infants
b. a group of 30 professional basketball players
c. the Canadian Women’s Olympic hockey team
d. a group of 30 high school students

Answer 22

d

Question 23

Bob and Sue are two independent observers watching a videotape of the facial expressions of
people when they encounter a confederate trying to sell them cigars in a city park. If Bob and
Sue agree 46 times on 50 trials of identifying the facial expression, what is their interobserver
reliability?
a. 46%
b. 85%
c. 92%
d. cannot be calculated

Answer 23

c

Question 24

Which of the following statements about interobserver reliability is true?
a. High interobserver reliability ensures that the observations are valid.
b. Interobserver reliability is generally increased by clearly defining the events that are to be
observed.
c. Interobserver reliability is best when only a few observations are made.
d. Interobserver reliability is valid only if more than two observers can agree on their
observations.

Answer 24

b

Question 25

The grades on your university transcript represent a(n):
a. nominal scale.
b. ordinal scale.
c. interval scale.
d. ratio scale.

Answer 25

b

Question 26

Which of the following best organizes the steps involved in qualitative data analysis?
a. data reduction  data display  drawing conclusions
b. data display  data reduction  drawing conclusions
c. conclusions  reduction  display
d. data reduction  draw your conclusion  display the data

Answer 26

a

Question 27

Researchers who use narrative records seek to provide a verbal summary of observations and
then use these descriptions to develop a theory that explains behaviour in those narratives. This
approach to data analysis represents:
a. qualitative data analysis with comprehensive recording of behaviour.
b. qualitative data analysis with selective recording of behaviour.
c. quantitative data analysis with comprehensive recording of behaviour.
d. quantitative data analysis with selective recording of behaviour.

Answer 27

a

Question 28

If you wanted to access mayoral candidate preferences in registered voters classified by social
class, age, and gender, you might select voters from each group based on their proportion in the
entire country. This sampling technique is called _________ sampling.
a. population quota sampling
b. cluster sampling
c. random sampling
d. stratified random sampling

Answer 28

d

Question 29

In random sampling, each member of the __________ has a(n) ___________ chance of being
selected.
a. sample; equal
b. sample; probable
c. population; equal
d. population; probable

Answer 29

c