Research Methods Exam 2 Practice Questions

1. Research MethodsExam 2 Practice Questions Chapters 6 & 7 review

2. Variables 1. Which type of variable is created by the experimenter and is not affected by anything else that happens in the experiment? • dependent • Independent • extraneous • social • personality

3. Variables 2. Two measures used in the water maze are escape latency and the number of crosses through the former platform location on a probe test. What are the levels or scales of measurement • Nominal, ordinal • Ordinal, interval • Interval, ratio • Ratio, interval • None of the above

4. Operational Definitions • An operational definition of a variable differs from a dictionary definition in what way(s)? • provides procedures to follow to produce values of the variable • tells how to produce different levels of the variable • provides information on how to quantify the variable • provides information on how to measure the variable • All of the above

5. Reliability 4. Which of the following is not a type of reliability described in Ch. 7? • Test-retest • Inter-item • Inter-rater • Intra-rater • Cross-cultural • D and E

6. Reliability 5. Which of the following is a type of Inter-item reliability? • Split-decision • Split-pea • Split-ends • Cronback’s alpha • Both C and D

7. Validity 6. Reliability is to validity as __________. • Variability is to stability • Independence is to dependence • Consistency is to accuracy • Dependability is to generalization • Both C and D

8. Validity 7. Internal is to external validity as __________. • Correlation is to causation • Cause/effect is to generalization • Generalization is to cause/effect • Causation is to obliteration • Both C and D

9. What kind of validity? 8. A test of anxiety (open field) is used to predict performance on another test of anxiety (elevated plus maze). • face • content • concurrent • predictive • construct

10. What kind of validity? 9. The fact that rats have learned place information is confirmed by how long it takes them to escape onto the goal platform in the water maze. • face • content • concurrent • predictive • construct

11. What kind of validity? 10. Two measures of anxiety that are very similar (plus and zero maze) are used simultaneously to determine _______ validity. • face • content • concurrent • predictive • construct

12. What kind of validity? 11. Although the water maze place task is thought of as a good measure of ‘cognitive mapping’ it can be influenced by manipulations that affect sensorimotor function. • face • content • concurrent • predictive • construct

13. Answers B, Independent D, Ratio, interval E, all of the above F, D and E D, Cronbach’s alpha C, Consistency is to accuracy B, Cause/effect is to generalization D, predictive A, face and B, content C, concurrent D, construct and B, content

14. Threats to internal validity • History (one group tested together) • Maturation (boredom or fatigue) • Testing (previous administration of a test) • Instrumentation (feature of the measuring instrument changes) • Statistical regression (subjects assigned to conditions based on extreme scores) • Selection (no random assignment) • Subject mortality (subjects drop out) • Selection interactions (if subjects were not randomly assigned to groups a selection threat could interact with any of the others threats that may have affected one group but not others)

15. What type of threat? History, Maturation ,Testing, Statistical regression , Selection, Subject mortality, Selection interactions Instrumentation Richard B did not set up the HVS tracking system parameters properly such that the signal became weak or was lost whenever rats swam in the SE part of the maze.

16. What type of threat? History, Maturation ,Testing, Statistical regression , Selection, Subject mortality, Selection interactions Maturation Kaity K wanted to be thorough and included several measures of anxiety in her study that took subjects 3 hours to complete. Some subjects were so tired by the 3rd hour that they began marking answers without reading the questions.

17. What type of threat? History, Maturation ,Testing, Statistical regression , Selection, Subject mortality, Selection interactions Subject mortality As Kaity K ignored the complaints of her subjects, stating that the testing session was too long, several subjects decided to ignore the rest of her study and left before testing was complete.

18. What type of threat? History, Maturation ,Testing, Statistical regression , Selection, Subject mortality, Selection interactions History Because Barb’s study requires a certain level of lighting while subjects take a test, she decides to test all of her subjects in the high intensity light condition at the same time in the testing room.

19. What type of threat? History, Maturation ,Testing, Statistical regression , Selection, Subject mortality, Selection interactions Selection Joe B. waits outside the 7-11 and hands out flyers describing his experiment for research methods and asking for participants.

20. What type of threat? History, Maturation ,Testing, Statistical regression , Selection, Subject mortality, Selection interactions Statistical regression In the selective breeding study to create maze bright and maze dull rats, only those that scored in the upper or lower 20% of a large group distribution of individuals tested on a maze task were bred over several generations.

21. What type of threat? History, Maturation ,Testing, Statistical regression , Selection, Subject mortality, Selection interactions Selection interaction In a drug study, the first 15 rats out of 30 total were scheduled to receive the experimental treatment because it wasn’t practical to change between compounds loaded in the infusion pump.

22. Chapter 6 12. ____________ statements are always true. A. Analytic B. Contradictory C. Synthetic D. All of the above

23. Chapter 6 13. O’Keefe and Nadel’s theory of hippocampal function stimulated a lot of research. This shows their experimental work based on the theory was __________. A. Deductive C. inductive B. Fruitful D. synthetic

24. Chapter 6 14. Which of the following research methods does not typically include a hypothesis? A. case study C. correlation B. experiment D. Ex post facto

25. Chapter 7 15. __________ operational definitions explain the meaning of independent variables. A. Experimental B. Hypothetical C. Independent D. Measured

26. Chapter 7 16. Having two individuals score the dependent measure provides ____________________. • Interitem reliability • Interrater reliability • Interindividual reliability • Interrater validity

27. Chapter 7 17. Comparing two measures of anxiety at the same time would yield a measure of __________ validity. • Construct • Content • Concurrent • Predictive • Face

28. Answers A B A A B C