Questions and Answers of Research In Psychology Methods And Design

How can attrition produce an effect similar to a subject selection effect?
Explain how the presence of a control group can help reduce threats to internal validity. Use history, maturation, and regression to the mean as specific examples.
As threats to internal validity, distinguish between testing and instrumentation.
Use Brady et al.’s (1958) study of “ulcers in executive monkeys” to illustrate subject selection effects.
What is attrition, when is it likely to occur, and why is it a problem?
Explain how internal and external validity are sometimes confused when students critically examine a research report.
What is the defining feature of a between‐subjects design? What is the main control problem that must be solved with this type of design?
Under what circumstances would a between‐subjects design be preferred over a within‐subjects design?
Think of a study that might test each of the following hypotheses.For each, indicate whether you think the independent variable should be a between‐ or a within‐subjects variable or whether
It is sometimes the case that a study using deception requires a between‐subjects design. Why?
Under what circumstances would a within‐subjects design be preferred over a between‐subjects design?
Sal wishes to see if the font used when printing a document will influence comprehension of the material in the document. He thinks about matching on verbal fluency. What two conditions must be in
A researcher investigates the effectiveness of an experimental weight‐loss program. Sixteen volunteers will participate, half assigned to the experimental program and half placed in a control
How does random selection differ from random assignment, and what is the purpose of each?
What is the defining feature of a within‐subjects design? What is the main control problem that must be solved with this type of design?
As a means of creating equivalent groups, when is matching more likely to be used than random assignment?
If your IV has six levels, each tested just once per subject, why are you more likely to use partial counterbalancing than complete counterbalancing?
Distinguish between progressive effects and carryover effects, and explain why counterbalancing might be more successful with the former than the latter.
If participants are going to be tested more than one time for each level of the IV, what two forms of counterbalancing may be used?
In a taste test, Joan is asked to evaluate four dry white wines for taste: wines A, B, C, and d. In what sequence would they be tasted if (a) reverse counterbalancing or (b) blocked randomization
Unlike most longitudinal studies, Terman’s study of gifted children did not experience which control problem?
What are the defining features of a Latin square, and when is one likely to be used?
Why does a double blind procedure control for experimenter bias?
What specific control problems exist in developmental psychology with (a) Cross‐sectional studies (b) Longitudinal studies?
How can a demand characteristic influence the outcome of a study?
What is a cohort sequential design, and why is it an improvement on cross‐sectional and longitudinal designs?
Describe an example of a study that illustrates experimenter bias. How might such bias be controlled?
What are demand characteristics and how might they be controlled?
What is a Hawthorne effect? What is the origin of the term?
There are two groups in a study, and participants are randomly assigned to one group or the other. What’s the design?
Consider independent groups designs, matched groups designs, and ex post facto designs. What do they all have in common and how do they differ?
Ellen signs up for a study in which she completes the Stroop test. Then she is asked to do the task again, but this time the words are turned upside down. What’s the design?
In the Research Example that examined a peer modeling program to help children with autism (Kroeger et al., 2007), why was a matched groups design used, instead of an independent groups design, and
For each of the following descriptions of studies, identify the independent and dependent variables involved and the nature of the independent variable (between‐subjects or within‐subjects;
What is the name of the design used when a subject variable is the independent variable?
Describe the Stroop effect, the experimental design used by Stroop (1935), and his method for controlling order effects.
Why must a study like the Bransford and Johnson study (effect of context on memory) be portrayed with a bar graph and not a line graph?
Use the hypothetical caffeine and reaction time study to illustrate how multilevel designs can produce nonlinear effects.
Suppose a researcher wanted to test the difference between women and men on the number of items answered correctly on a cognitive reasoning task. What statistical test(s) would be appropriate to use
Assuming for the moment the Yerkes‐Dodson law is valid, explain why testing three levels of “arousal” yields a totally different result than testing just two levels.
Suppose a researcher wanted to test children at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to see their progress on standardized math tests. What statistical test(s) would be appropriate to
Use the Bransford and Johnson (1972) experiment on the effects of context on memory to illustrate how a design with more than two levels of an independent variable can serve the purpose of
Look back at the hypothetical reaction time data in the “placebo control groups” section of the chapter. Suppose nothing but a placebo effect was operating. How would the reaction time numbers
Describe when it is best to use a line graph and when to use a bar graph. Explain why a line graph would be inappropriate in a study comparing the reaction times of men and women, but was a good
In the Research Example evaluating EMDR, why is it that a finding of “no difference” between the experimental and control groups can be a useful outcome?
Describe the two varieties of two‐sample t‐tests and, with reference to the four designs in the first part of the chapter (single factor–two levels), explain when each type of test is used.
For an independent groups study with one independent variable and three levels, what is the proper inferential statistical analysis, and why is this approach better than doing multiple t‐tests? How
Use the example of the effects of alcohol on reaction time to explain the usefulness of a placebo control group.
Use the subliminal self‐help study (Merikle & Skanes, 1992) to illustrate the usefulness of a wait list control group.
Use the study of the effectiveness of EMDR therapy (Dunn et al., 1996) to explain how a yoked control group works.
A 2 × 3 × 4 factorial design has(a) How many IVs,(b) How many levels of each IV,(c) How many total conditions?
For a factorial design, distinguish between “levels” and “conditions.”
For each of the following studies:a. Identify the independent variables, the levels of each, and the dependent variable.b. Place the data into the correct cells of a factorial matrix and draw a graph
For each of the following descriptions of studies, identify the independent and dependent variables involved, the levels of the independent variable, and the nature of each independent variable
What is the basic definition of a main effect?
What is meant by a main effect? In terms of the contents of a factorial matrix, how does one go about determining if a main effect has occurred?
A memory study with a 2 (type of instruction) × 2 (presentation rate) factorial, like the example used at the start of the chapter, has these results (DV = words recalled): Imagery/2-sec rate = 20
Use the “closing time” study by Gladue and Delaney (1990) to show that an experiment can result in two important outcomes— two main effects.
For each of the following, use the available information to determine how many research subjects are needed to complete the study:1. A 3 × 3 mixed factorial; each cell needs 10 participants2. A 2 ×
A maze learning study with a 2 (type of maze: alley maze or elevated maze) × 2 (type of rat: wild or bred in the lab) factorial has these results (DV = number of trials until performance is
Use the Grant et al. (1998) experiment (studying in noisy or quiet environments) to show that important results can occur in a study, even if no main effects occur.
In a study with both main effects and an interaction, explain why the interaction must be interpreted first and how the statistically significant main effects might have little meaning for the
What is the defining feature of a mixed design? In a 3 × 3 mixed design with 20 subjects in the first cell, how many subjects are needed to complete the study?
Distinguish between a mixed factorial design and a P × E design. How can a design be both a mixed design and a P × E design?
Distinguish a P × E design from an ATI design.
Use the introvert/extrovert and room size example to show how P × E designs can discover important ways in which (a) Individuals differ, (b) Situations can be more powerful than individual
If you need a total of 25 participants in a 4 × 4 factorial study and there are 25 participants in one of the cells, what kind of design is this?
Mixed factorial designs may or may not involve counterbalancing. Explain.
Describe the basic research design and the general outcome of Jenkins and Dallenbach’s (1924) famous study on sleep and memory. What interaction might have occurred in their study?
What is a simple effects analysis and when are these analyses done?
For each of the hypotheses listed below, identify the best methodological approach from among the following possibilities. Indicate the reason(s) for your choice. Some items have more than one
If you are conducting a mail‐in written survey, what can you do to increase the return rate? What is meant by a nonresponse bias?
What is the term used to describe a poorly constructed survey item that asks for two or more responses from one question or statement?
Use the hamburger example to illustrate the dangers of using leading questions in survey research.
The following are several examples of items that could be found on surveys. Some are in the form of closed questions, others in the form of agree/disagree statements. For each item, (a) Identify
On a written survey, what is demographic information and where should it be placed in the survey?
Use the case of the news journalist Christine Craft to illustrate how survey research can be misused.
Each of the following describes the outcome of a hypothetical bivariate correlational study. State whether you believe the correlation is a positive or a negative one. With both the directionality
Describe an advantage and a disadvantage of including DK alternatives.
What is response acquiescence, and how can it be avoided?
Compared to written surveys sent through the mail, what is one advantage and one disadvantage of an interview survey?
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of face‐toface interviews as a way of doing survey research.
What is meant by a “mixed mode” approach to administering surveys?
Describe two varieties of online surveys. What are the advantages and disadvantages of online surveying?
What methods might one use to distribute a survey online?
Describe how the shape of a scatterplot changes when comparing (a) Positive and negative correlation (b) Strong and weak correlations.
Consider the relationship between depression and exercise. Do you think it is a positive or a negative correlation? Explain.
What is the coefficient of determination, and what does it tell you? Use the example of SAT scores and GPA to illustrate.
Suppose you wish to predict academic success in college by looking at high school grades. Which is the criterion variable and which is the predictor variable?
A researcher finds that people with high self‐esteem tend to exercise more than people with low self‐esteem. Explain the directionality problem and how it could influence the interpretation of
How does simple, linear regression differ from multiple regression?
Use the Eron et al. (1972) study, which found a significant relationship between 3rd‐grade TV preferences and “13th‐grade” aggression, to explain why you would use a partial correlation
Distinguish between bivariate and multivariate analysis and describe the logic behind the use of a multiple regression procedure.
In naturalistic observations of animals, it is usually impossible for observers to be hidden from the animals. What is the strategy for reducing reactivity for this type of research?
Imagine that you are in the beginning stages of an observational research study and must arrive at operational definitions for the behaviors you’ll be observing. For each of the following
Distinguish between naturalistic and participant observational procedures in terms of both method and ethics.
What is inter‐observer reliability and what is its purpose?
Which ethical problem, typical in observational research, was not a problem in the science museum study?
Describe some methodological control issues in observational research.
Archival research does not have to deal with the problem of reactivity. Explain.

Showing 100 - 200 of 290