A: The influence that an observer has on the behavior under observation is called

A) reactivity.
B) observer bias.
C) demand characteristics.
D) expectancy effect.
2.A: A sampling frame, the actual list of the elements in a population, can be considered a(n)
________________ of the population.
A) operational definition
B) dependent variable
C) biased sample
D) manipulation
3.A: The tentative explanations scientists use to explain events that must be testable are called
A) hypotheses.
B) postulates.
C) heuristics.
D) axioms
4.A: Whenever deception is used, the researcher has the responsibility to
A) debrief the participant.
B) inform the participant of the deception before the experiment begins.
C) withhold information from the participant concerning the reasons for having used deception.
D) avoid telling the participant about the deception before, during, and after the experiment.
5.A: Which of the following is not a justification for using deception in research?
A) when the researcher stands to gain in reputation for conducting the research
B) when the research study is very important
C) when no other methods for answering the research question are available
D) when the deception would not influence participants' willingness to participate
6.A: Animal review boards (IACUCs) are responsible for ensuring the welfare and humane treatment of
animals used in research. Which of the following is not one of the issues that animal review boards decide?
A) adequacy of the budget for carrying out the proposed research
B) adequacy of the procedures for controlling pain
C) adequacy of the experimental design for gaining important new information
D) adequacy of the training of personnel who will be doing the testing and care of the animals
7.A: Which problem occurs when respondents react to measurement by reporting what they think they should
say, rather than what they actually believe?
A) socially desirable responding
B) an incorrect causal inference based on correlational data
C) a large margin of error
D) a biased sample
8.A: A sample is considered biased when the characteristics of the sample
A) differ systematically from those of the target population.
B) differ randomly from those of the target population.
C) differ haphazardly from those of the target population.
D) correspond well to those of the target population.
9.A: In order to obtain data for a research project, a student asks classmates to complete a survey before class
starts. The resulting sample of respondents can best be characterized as a
A) convenience sample.
B) random sample.
C) stratified random sample.
D) probability sample.
10.A: One approach to the use of inferential statistics to decide whether an independent variable has a
reliable effect on the dependent variable begins by assuming that the independent variable had no effect. This
approach is called
A) null hypothesis testing.
B) alpha hypothesis testing.
C) statistical error testing.
D) significance level testing
11.A: When a researcher claims that an independent variable has a statistically significant effect when the
null hypothesis is really true, a_________ has occurred.
A) Type I error
B) Type II error
C) experimenter effect
D) demand characteristic
12.A: Which of the following must be balanced in order to have an interpretable repeated measures (within-
subjects) design experiment?

A) practice effects
B) individual differences
C) subject variables
D) task variability
13.A: Relative to an between groups design, a repeated measures (within-subjects) design is generally
______ sensitive in its ability to detect an effect of the independent variable.
A) more
B) less
C) equally
D) always
14.A: When each level of one independent variable is combined with each level of a second independent
variable, the combination of these two variables is called

A) factorial combination.
B) complete combination.
C) counterbalanced combination.
D) successive combination.
15.A: Which of the following is one of the advantages of the case study method?

A) rich source of ideas for developing hypotheses

B) it is nomothetic research
C) provides definitive support for a theory
D) permits intensive study of common, everyday phenomena
16.A: Which of the following represents a threat to the internal validity of a study because differences exist
between individuals in the treatment and control groups at the start of the study?

A) selection
B) regression
C) maturation
D) subject mortality
17.A: Perhaps the best way to get a feel for a data set is to

A) draw a graph of the data.

B) find the mean.
C) perform a statistical test.
D) calculate the range.
18.a: The difference between measures and indicators is that:

a) Measures are unambiguous quantities, whereas indicators are devised from common sense understandings

b) Indicators have a more direct relationship to the underlying concept than measures

c) Measures are intuitively devised and then applied as if they were direct indicators of a concept

d) Indicators are unambiguous quantities, whereas measures are subjective and value-laden
19.a: What effect does increasing the sample size have upon the sampling error?

a) It reduces the sampling error

b) It increases the sampling error

c) It has no effect on the sampling error

d) None of the above

20.a: Quantitative research has been criticised because:

a) The measurement process suggests a spurious and artificial sense of accuracy

b) The reliance on instruments and procedures makes it high in ecological validity

c) It underestimates the similarities between objects in the natural and social worlds

d) All of the above

21.a: One of the preoccupations of quantitative researchers is with generalization, which is a sign of:

a) External validity

b) Internal reliability

c) External reliability

d) Internal validity
22.a: Qualitative research is interpretive, which involves

a. extracting information from non-numerical data.

b. using objective measurements.
c. quantifying non-numerical data.
d. observing in the natural environment
23.a: Apart from the fact that it is "not a nice thing to do" (p133), what is an important ethical disadvantage
of deceiving participants?

a) It can damage the professional reputation of the researcher and their discipline

b) It makes it more difficult to gain access to deviant or hidden populations

c) It means that records of personal data about the participants cannot be made anonymous

d) None of the above

24.a: Cross cultural studies are an example of:

a) Case study design

b) Comparative design

c) Experimental design

d) Longitudinal design
25.a: Survey research is cross-sectional and therefore:

a) High in replicability but low in internal validity

b) High in internal validity but low in reliability

c) High in ecological validity but low in external validity

d) None of the above

26.a: In an experimental design, the dependent variable is:

a) The one that is not manipulated and in which any changes are observed

b) The one that is manipulated in order to observe any effects on the other

c) A measure of the extent to which personal values affect research

d) An ambiguous concept whose meaning depends on how it is defined

27.a: One of the advantages of self-completion questionnaires over structured interviews is that:

a) They are quicker and cheaper to administer

b) They create interviewer effects

c) They have greater measurement validity

d) They are less prone to inter-coder variation

28.a: The findings from a study of young single mothers at a university can be generalised to the population
of:

a) All young single mothers at that university

b) All young single mothers in that society

c) All single mothers in all universities

d) All young women in that university

29.a: How might quantitative research facilitate qualitative research?

a) By identifying specific groups of people to be interviewed

b) By showing the frequency of different responses to a survey item

c) By imposing a rigorous positivist framework on it

d) By combining laboratory experiments with structured observation

30.a: When using a Likert scale with a long list of items, it is usually better to:

a) Arrange the answers horizontally, in abbreviated form

b) List the answers vertically, for each consecutive item

c) Omit any instructions about how to select an answer

d) List all questions on one page and all answers on another

31.a: Which of the following is a general rule of thumb for designing questions?

a) Always bear in mind your research questions

b) Never ask a closed question

c) Always use vignettes rather than open questions

d) Use ambiguous terms to put respondents at ease

32.a: Leading questions should also be avoided because:

a) They suggest ways of answering and so may bias the results

b) They create a mismatch between the question and its possible answers

c) They involve negative terms and unnecessary jargon

d) They ask about several different things at the same time

33.a: What is meant by the term "reactive effect"?

a) If people know they are being observed, they may change their behaviour

b) Research subjects may have a bad reaction to the drugs they are given

c) Researchers sometimes react to their informants' behaviour with horror

d) The categories on an observation schedule may not be mutually exclusive

34.a: What is the difference between interval/ratio and ordinal variables?

a) The distance between categories is equal across the range of interval/ratio data

b) Ordinal data can be rank ordered, but interval/ratio data cannot

c) Interval/ratio variables contain only two categories

d) Ordinal variables have a fixed zero point, whereas interval/ratio variables do not
35.a: Which of the following is not a type of purposive sampling?

a) Probability sampling

b) Deviant case sampling

c) Theoretical sampling

d) Snowball sampling
36.a: What can be generalized from a purposive sample?

a) That the findings are true for broadly similar cases

b) That the findings are true for the entire population

c) That the opposite is true for people who are the opposite of those in the sample

d) That purposive sampling is better than probability sampling

37.a: Which of the following is an advantage of qualitative interviewing relative to participant observation?

a) It allows you to find out about issues that are resistant to observation

b) It is more biased and value-laden

c) It is more likely to create reactive effects

d) None of the above

38.a: The constructionist ontological position suggests that:

a) Social phenomena and their meanings are constantly being accomplished by social actors
b) Individuals are born into a world of rules and structures that they cannot change

c) Building and construction work presents an ideal opportunity to exercise the sociological imagination

d) Social facts and objects have an external reality, independently of the people who perceive them
39.a: Before beginning a research project, researchers should search the psychological literature about their
topic

a. in order to develop research hypotheses.

b. to stop the research if the study or a similar one has already been done.
c. to demonstrate that no one has had a similar idea.
d. all of the above.
40.a: "Internal validity" refers to:

a) Whether or not there is really a causal relationship between two variables

b) Whether or not the findings are relevant to the participants' everyday lives

c) The degree to which the researcher feels that this was a worthwhile project

d) How accurately the measurements represent underlying concepts

41.a: What is the name of the test that is used to assess the relationship between two ordinal variables?

a) Spearman's rho

b) Phi

c) Cramer's V

d) Chi square
42.a: A person who has an unusually excellent memory is studied for a better understanding of how memory
works. The self-reports of how this mnemonist remembers constitute

a) an intrinsic case study.

b) a longitudinal study.
c) a phenomenological study.
d) collective case studies
43.a: A collective case study is different from other case studies in that

a) more than one individual is studied.

b) more than one data collection method is used.
c) more than one researcher studies the individual.
d) a community is studied rather than an individual
44.a: To enhance interpretive validity researchers' reports should include "low-inference descriptors" which
means that they should

a) try to use participants' own words as much as possible.

b) use very simplistic, easy to understand terminology.
c) not make any interpretations regarding their findings.
d) use multiple investigators before making their final report
45.a: To gain access to an individual's inner world and understand their own unique life experience would be
the primary goal of which of the following methods?

a) phenomenology
b) ethnography
c) mixed model
d) experimental
46.a: External validity in qualitative research

a) is less important than in quantitative research because researchers generally are not
interested in generalizing their findings.
b) is more important than in quantitative research because without generalization the
qualitative approach is pointless.
c) is defined completely differently than in quantitative research.
d) is determined by strength of the cause and effect relationship between variables
47.a: It is important that an ethnographic researcher focuses on describing their culture from the insider or
________ perspective, as well as from the outsider's or __________ perspective.

a) emic; etic
b) etic; emic
c) intrinsic; extrinsic
d) extrinsic; intrinsic
48.a: Which of the following is a method for reducing researcher bias in qualitative research?

a. reflexivity.
b. reactivity.
c. confirmation seeking.
d. methods triangulation
49.a: Phenomenologists hoping to gain an understanding of the experiences of people that have been
abducted by terrorists, would rely primarily on

a) face-to face interviews.

b) participant observation.
c) gathering of artifacts.
d) collective case studies
50.a: If a researcher were interested in a person's conscious experience resulting from the end of a marriage,
the method of choice would be

a) phenomenological.
b) ethnography.
c) experimental.
d) ex post facto
51.B: Which of the following is the factor researchers manipulate so it is the only factor allowed to vary
systematically in an experiment?

A) dependent variable
B) independent variable
C) internal validity
D) external validity
52.B: The results of an externally valid study are ones that

A) apply to a narrow range of subjects, conditions, and settings.

B) apply to a wide range of subjects, conditions, and settings.
C) are likely to replicate if the study is repeated.
D) are likely to be difficult to interpret unambiguously.
53.B: When a study is free of confoundings it is said to have

A) external validity.
B) internal validity.
C) integrity.
D) reproducibility.
54.B: A complex design always involves

A) only one independent variable.

B) two or more independent variables.
C) two or more different research designs.
D) two or more dependent variables.
55.B: Which of the following occurs when the effect of one independent variable differs depending on the
level of a second independent variable?

A) main effect
B) interaction effect
C) differential effect
D) bi-level effect
56.B: Which of the following designs is used when the researcher focuses on the way behavior changes with
the systematic introduction and withdrawal of the treatment?

A) successive treatment design

B) ABAB design
C) alternating baseline design
D) repeating pattern design
57.B: Which of the following characteristics applies to a measurement that consistently discriminates
between high and low scorers?

A) validity
B) reliability
C) precision
D) accuracy
58.B: Which of the following statements could you make if you knew that the correlation between the time
high school students spend watching TV and their scores on a school achievement test was -.64?

A) The more time students spend watching TV, the higher their scores on a school achievement test will be.
B) The more time students spend watching TV, the lower their scores on a school achievement test will be.
C) The amount of time students spend watching TV and their scores on a school achievement test are entirely
unrelated to each other.
D) Spending more time watching TV causes students to do more poorly on a school achievement test.
59.B: Which of the following threats to internal validity arises when an event other than the treatment
produces a change in participants' behavior?

A) maturation
B) history
C) testing
D) coincidence
60.B: The goal of random assignment to experimental conditions is to

A) select different levels of a natural groups variable.

B) balance individual differences variables across conditions.
C) make sure the dependent variable does not differ across conditions.
D) hold conditions constant across conditions.
61.B: An overriding principle of the APA Ethical Standards for the care and use of animals in research is that
the care of the animals by psychologists be as

A) inexpensive as possible.
B) humane as possible.
C) efficient as possible.
D) convenient as possible.
62.B: Which of the following characteristics of true experiments is most often lacking in quasi-experiments?

A) potential for contamination due to diffusion of treatments

B) high degree of control, especially the ability to assign participants randomly to conditions
C) appropriate comparison or "control" condition
D) implementation of some type of intervention or treatment
63.B: Under what conditions is it always unethical to deceive research participants?

A) when withholding information that might lead participants to act according to the instructions provided by
the experimenter
B) when deceiving participants to get them to participate in research in which they would not normally take
part or in research that involves serious risk
C) when deceiving participants places them at minimal risk by participating in the research
D) when concealing the true nature of the experiment might lead participants to behave as they normally
would
64.B: Which of the following is not a possible threat to internal validity due to contamination?

A) resentment
B) experimenter effects
C) rivalry
D) diffusion of treatments
65.B: When not everyone answers a mail survey it is reasonable to assume that those who do respond are
different in important ways from those who do not respond. The term used to describe this problem in survey
research is

A) inadequate response rate.

B) response bias.
C) selection bias.
D) differential response rate.
66.B: Test-retest reliability refers to

A) the average of all correlations among items on a measure.

B) the correlation between scores on two administrations of a measure.
C) the high correlation between scores on two measures designed to assess the same construct.
D) the low correlation between scores on two measures designed to assess different constructs.
67.B: The score appearing most frequently in a distribution is equal to the

A) mean.
B) mode.
C) median.
D) standard deviation.
68.B: In the between groups design the only factor that should differentiate the separate groups at the start of
the experiment is the

A) dependent variable.
B) independent variable.
C) characteristics of the participants.
D) conditions under which all subjects are tested.
69.b: If you were conducting a study in which you created a research report that discussed the rituals and
norms that were characteristic of the group of people you were studying and focused on how the group
members interacted with each other, you would most likely have conducted

a) a case study.
b) an ethnographic study.
c) a phenomenological study.
d) a naturalistic study
70.b: Internal validity in qualitative research focuses on

a) understanding how variables are causally related and how they generalize to all people.
b) understanding how variables are causally related in a particular context.
c) generalizing findings from a particular individual to the larger population.
d) nomological causation
71.b: In order to identify response sets in a Likert scale, you could:

a) Pre-code all items consistently from 1-5

b) Reverse the scoring of pre-coded answers

c) Only include items about socially desirable behaviours

d) Include explicit instructions to respondents not to deceive you

72.b: Which of the following is not a disadvantage of self-completion questionnaires compared to structured
interviews?

a) The respondent can read the whole questionnaire before answering the first question

b) The researcher cannot ask many closed-ended questions

c) The researcher cannot probe or prompt respondents for more detail

d) The respondent may not answer all questions, resulting in missing data
73.b: Which of the following is true about grounded theory?

a) it relies on a deductive approach to knowledge acquisition

b) it uses empirical data to theory
c) it uses the process of logic of justification
d) it focuses on theory testing
74.b: The value of piloting a questionnaire is that it helps you to:

a) Test out your questions on some of the people who will be in the final sample

b) Identify and amend any problems in the question wording, order and format

c) Find out what a trained pilot would think of the subject matter

d) All of the above

75.b: It may not be possible to use a probability sample to observe behaviour in public places because:

a) The findings of such studies are not intended to have external validity

b) It is not feasible to construct a sampling frame of interactions

c) It is difficult to gain access to such social settings

d) Researchers prefer not to use random samples whenever possible

76.b: Dr. Drinkwater wants to describe what it is like to be Amish in the 21st century. He has befriended
several members of a local Amish community who have invited him to come and live with them for the year.
The best approach to this study would be to do

a) a phenomenological study.
b) an ethnographic study.
c) a collective case study.
d) a correlational study
77.b: What is the function of a contingency table, in the context of bivariate analysis?

a) It shows the results you would expect to find by chance

b) It summarises the frequencies of two variables so that they can be compared

c) It lists the different levels of p value for tests of significance

d) It compares the results you might get from various statistical tests
78.b: In terms of report writing, quantitative studies focus on ___________ while qualitative studies
focus on _________.

a. descriptive narratives; pictures and images

b. statistical results; descriptive narratives
c. statistical results; statistical results
d. subject reality; objective results
79.b: A phenomenologist who is interested in the effects of separation is most likely to ask of a person after a
divorce

a) "How long were you married?"

b) "How would you describe the feelings you are experiencing?"
c) "How many children do you have?"
d) "How do you like the divorce laws in this state?"
80.b: Setting the p level at 0.01 increases the chances of making a:

a) Type I error

b) Type II error

c) Type III error

d) All of the above

81.b: What is triangulation?

a) Using three quantitative or three qualitative methods in a project

b) Cross-checking the results found by different research strategies

c) Allowing theoretical concepts to emerge from the data

d) Drawing a triangular diagram to represent the relations between three concepts

82.b: Which of the following is not a limitation of the focus group method?

a) The researcher has little control over how the discussion proceeds

b) It reveals the way social meanings are jointly constructed

c) It produces a large volume of data that can be difficult to analyse

d) People in groups tend to agree and express socially desirable views

83.b: What is the main difference between a focus group and a group interview?

a) Group interviews involve fewer participants

b) Focus groups are used to study the way people discuss a specific topic

c) There is no moderator present in a focus group

d) Focus groups save more time and money

84.b: A key characteristic of grounded theory is

a) intense study of a single individual.

b) development of a theory based on empirical data.
c) using existing theory to explain empirical data.
d) using hypothesis testing to establish the validity of a theory
85.b: What is involved in "purposive sampling" for grounded theory?

a) Using a random numbers table to select a representative sample of people

b) Strategically selecting respondents who are likely to provide relevant data

c) Deciding on a sampling strategy early on and pursuing it relentlessly

d) Sampling units of time rather than individual persons

86.b: What is the name of the role adopted by an ethnographer who joins in with the group's activities but
admits to being a researcher?

a) Complete participant

b) Participant-as-observer

c) Observer-as-participant

d) Complete observer
87.b: When qualitative researchers focus on external validity they are likely to focus on __________.

a) theoretical generalization
b) naturalistic generalization
c) sample generalization
d) laboratory generalization
88.b: What is one of the main disadvantages of using the covert role in ethnography?

a) It can be hard to gain access to the social group

b) It is difficult to take notes without arousing suspicion

c) The problem of reactivity: people may change their behaviour if they know they are being observed

d) It is usually too time consuming and expensive to be a realistic option

89.b: If a study is "reliable", this means that:

a) It was conducted by a reputable researcher who can be trusted

b) The measures devised for concepts are stable on different occasions

c) The findings can be generalized to other social settings

d) The methods are stated clearly enough for the research to be replicated
90.b: A systematic literature review is:

a) One which starts in your own library, then goes to on-line databases and, finally, to the internet

b) A replicable, scientific and transparent process

c) One which gives equal attention to the principal contributors to the area

d) A responsible, professional process of time-management for research

91.b: Which of the following is not a type of non-probability sampling?

a) Snowball sampling

b) Stratified random sampling

c) Quota sampling

d) Convenience sampling
92.b: The qualitative research strategy places a value on:

a) Using numbers, measurements and statistical techniques

b) Generating theories through inductive research about social meanings

c) Conducting research that is of a very high quality

d) All of the above

93.b: The standard error is a statistical measure of:

a) The normal distribution of scores around the sample mean

b) The extent to which a sample mean is likely to differ from the population mean
c) The clustering of scores at each end of a survey scale

d) The degree to which a sample has been accurately stratified

94.b: In phenomenology research, a research participant's inner world is referred to as their

a) mental world.
b) life world.
c) experiential world.
d) internal structure
95.b: The case study of Phineas Gage is fascinating. In 1848 Gage was a railroad worker who was the victim
of a horrible accident when an explosion caused a tamping iron to be shot through his skull. Gage survived
but with several physical and psychological problems. The study of Gage after the accident provided
scientists with great insight into the role of the brain in behavior. This is an example of a(n) ___________
case study.

a) intrinsic
b) instrumental
c) descriptive
d) comparative
96.b: _________ is one way to avoid researcher bias in qualitative research.

a. Confirmation seeking
b. Negative-case sampling
c. Data triangulation
d. Extended fieldwork
97.b: What is a 'grand theory'?

a) One that was proposed by one of the major theorists in the sociological tradition

b) One that is highly abstract and makes broad generalizations about the social world

c) An intermediate level explanation of observed regularities

d) A particularly satisfactory theory that makes the researcher feel happy

98.b: Judging others on the basis of your own cultural standards is referred to as

a) being racist.
b) ethnocentrism.
c) holism.
d) going native
99.b: Which of the following is NOT a method for reducing researcher bias in qualitative research?

a. reflexivity
b. reactivity
c. negative-case sampling
d. seeking disconfirming evidence of prior expectations
100.b: Why is it important that personal data about research participants are kept within secure, confidential
records?

a) So that the participants cannot find out what has been written about them

b) So that individuals, places or organizations cannot be harmed through identification or disclosure of

personal information

c) So that government officials, teachers and other people in authority can have easy access to the data

d) To enable the researcher to track down individuals and find out more about their lives
101.b: What is the epistemological position held by a positivist?

a) There is no substitute for an in-depth, hermeneutic understanding of society

b) Scientific research should be based on value-free, empirical observations

c) Events and discourses in the social world prevent us from having direct knowledge of the natural order

d) It is important to remain optimistic about our research, even when things go wrong
102.C: While examining the effectiveness of a new police program to decrease street crime, laws are
changed regarding the definition of different crimes. The change in law affects how crimes are recorded.
Which threat to internal validity is a probable concern in this research?
A) selection
B) testing
C) instrumentation
D) history
103.C: Which of the following problems in survey research is peculiar to longitudinal survey research
designs?

A) reactive measurement
B) response bias
C) respondent mortality (attrition)
D) selection bias
104.C: Which of the following threats to internal validity is not eliminated when a nonequivalent control
group is added to the pretest-posttest design?

A) history
B) maturation
C) additive effects of selection and history
D) all of the above threats are eliminated
105.C: Which of the following quasi-experimental designs involves the comparison of a control and a
treatment group that have been established on some basis other than random assignment with both groups
given only a pretest and a posttest?

A) simple time-series design

B) nonequivalent control group design
C) time-series design with a nonequivalent control group
D) pre-post nonmatched groups design
106.C: The smaller the range of values defining a confidence interval, the

A) greater the error in estimation.

B) smaller the estimate of the population value.
C) better our estimate of the population value.
D) less accuracy in estimation.
107.C: The magnitude or degree of a correlation will increase as points in a scatterplot

A) fall on top of one another.

B) are spread out.
C) correspond to a straight line.
D) correspond to the x- and y-axis.
108.C: A scatterplot that appears to have no shape or reveals no trend whatsoever is associated with a
correlation coefficient of

A) + 1.00.
B) .50.
C) 0.0.
D) either -.50 or +.50.
109.C: Which of the following is not a measure of central tendency?

A) mean
B) mode
C) range
D) median
110.C: Making an ethical decision involves

A) simply applying a clear and definitive set of guidelines for ethical research.
B) deciding that an ethical decision is good if it makes you happy.
C) identifying what ethical guidelines are relevant in a situation and what is at stake for all parties involved.
D) maintaining the anonymity of the researchers who are conducting the research.
111.C: Which of the following threats to internal validity arises when participants in one group develop at a
faster rate than participants in another group?

A) additive effect of selection and testing

B) additive effect of selection and history
C) additive effect of selection and maturation
D) additive effect of selection and instrumentation
112.C: As compared with experiments done in psychological laboratories, experiments done in natural
settings are likely to have

A) fewer problems in exerting experimental control.

B) about the same number of problems in exerting experimental control.
C) more problems in exerting experimental control.
113.C: When researchers use the successive independent samples design and mistakenly draw samples from
different populations at the various times of the survey, the researchers are likely to face the problem of

A) archival samples.
B) stratified samples.
C) noncomparable samples.
D) response bias samples.
114.C: Which of the following is a balancing technique used in the incomplete repeated (within-subjects)
measures design?

A) block randomization
B) ABBA counterbalancing
C) all possible orders
D) ABAB counterbalancing
115.C: According to the APA Ethical Standards, psychologists must inform participants of the nature of the
research and that participants are free to participate or to decline to participate or to withdraw from the
research. These requirements (among others) are necessary to ensure the participants'

A) anonymity.
B) risk level.
C) informed consent.
D) debriefing.
116.C: The cues and other information participants may use to guide their behavior in an experiment are
called

A) experimenter effects.
B) unobtrusive cues.
C) demand characteristics.
D) suggestive cues.
117.C: Which of the following is not one of the major dimensions that researchers need to consider when
deciding what information is private?

A) the sensitivity of the information that the researcher is seeking

B) the setting in which the researcher is seeking the information
C) the amount of information that the researcher is seeking
D) the manner in which the information will be disseminated to others
118.C: Which of the following statements describes an important reason for using the multimethod approach
to examine a research question?

A) Researchers collect more data using this approach.

B) The multimethod approach reveals that all measures are good measures of behavior.
C) Researchers should not rely on a single, imperfect measure of behavior.
D) The multimethod approach demonstrates that the same findings are observed with unobtrusive measures
such as archival records as in laboratory studies.
119.C: Suppose a population is 60% women and 40% men. A representative sample of 200 people from this
population would consist of

A) 100 women and 100 men.

B) 80 women and 120 men.
C) 120 women and 80 men.
D) 150 women and 50 men.
120.C: Which of the following survey methods is best suited for the study of personal or embarrassing
topics?

A) personal interview
B) telephone interview
C) mail survey
D) convenience sample
121.C: Research indicates there is a negative correlation between scores on an achievement test and number
of hours spent watching television. Based on this correlation we can

A) predict someone's score on an achievement test if we know how much television is watched.
B) predict how much television someone watches if we know the achievement test score.
C) both (a) and (b)
D) none of the above
122.C: A major reason why we may not make causal conclusions based only on correlational evidence is that
a correlation between two variables

A) is likely to be in error.
B) is never about variables that are causally related.
C) may be due to a third variable.
D) cannot be calculated for causally related variables.
123.c: Which of the following is not a characteristic of quota sampling?

a) The researcher chooses who to approach and so might bias the sample

b) Those who are available to be surveyed in public places are unlikely to constitute a representative sample

c) The random selection of units makes it possible to calculate the standard error

d) It is a relatively fast and cheap way of finding out about public opinions
124.c: An operational definition is:

a) One that bears no relation to the underlying concept

b) An abstract, theoretical definition of a concept

c) A definition of a concept in terms of specific, empirical measures

d) One that refers to opera singers and their work

125.c: Which of the following is not an advantage of using closed questions in a survey?

a) It reduces the risk of variability in the way answers are recorded

b) It makes answers easier to process and analyse

c) They prevent respondents from giving spontaneous, unexpected answers

d) Closed questions are quicker and easier for respondents to complete

126.c: The method of establishing internal validity that focuses on the researcher carefully thinking about the
cause and effect before drawing a conclusion is called

a) empiricism.
b) rationalism.
c) researcher as detective.
d) researcher as psychic
127.c: What kinds of data are most likely to be affected by the "reactive effect?"

a) objective measures.
b) correlational data.
c) data collected by participant observers.
d) data from self report on surveys.
128.c: Which of the following statements is correct?

a) Self-completion questionnaires are a type of postal survey

b) Postal surveys can include self-completion or email surveys

c) Self-completion questionnaires can include postal or email surveys

d) Email surveys are a type of postal questionnaire

129.c: It is important for ethnographic researchers to balance the insider and outsider perspectives. If a
researcher becomes overly involved in a group - to the point where they are no longer objective - it is referred
to as

a) becoming ethnocentric.
b) reactive participation.
c) going native.
d) total immersion
130.c: The ability of researchers to "get into the heads" of their participants and accurately portray their
viewpoints is called ____________.

a) descriptive validity
b) theoretical validity
c) interpretive validity
d) mental modeling
131.c: A sampling frame is:

a) A summary of the various stages involved in designing a survey

b) An outline view of all the main clusters of units in a sample

c) A list of all the units in the population from which a sample will be selected

d) A wooden frame used to display tables of random numbers

132.c: Which of the following is not a form of measurement validity?

a) Concurrent validity

b) Face validity

c) Conductive validity

d) Convergent validity
133.c: _________ validity is providing an accurate description of a particular phenomenon, situation, or
group.

a) Theoretical
b) Interpretive
c) Descriptive
d) Explanatory
134.c: Jim has transcribed hours of audiotape from survivors of a plane crash. He believes he has
identified some themes in their stories but before continuing with his research he asks some of
his colleagues to read the transcripts and form their own interpretations. In doing this Jim is
trying to establish __________ validity through the method of __________.

a. interpretative; investigator triangulation

b. interpretative; external audit
c. descriptive; investigator triangulation
d. descriptive; external audit
135.c: Which of the following is a problem associated with survey research?

a) The problem of objectivity

b) The problem of "going native"

c) The problem of omission

d) The problem of robustness

136.c: _________ validity is providing an accurate description of a particular phenomenon, situation,
or group.

a. Theoretical
b. Interpretive
c. Descriptive
d. Explanatory
137.c: Which method is most commonly associated with a lack of informed consent?

a) In-depth interviewing

b) Qualitative content analysis

c) Covert observation

d) Structured interviewing
138.c: Which of the following should be included in a research proposal?

a) Your academic status and experience

b) The difficulties you encountered with your previous reading on the topic

c) Your choice of research methods and reasons for choosing them

d) All of the above

139.c: What is a cross-sectional design?

a) A study of one particular section of society, e.g. the middle classes

b) One that is devised when the researcher is in a bad mood

c) The collection of data from more than one case at one moment in time
d) A comparison of two or more variables over a long period of time
140.c: Each of the following is a type of case study except

a) instrumental.
b) collective.
c) extrinsic.
d) intrinsic
141.c: By studying the brain-damaged patient "H.M." researchers were able to identify the hippocampus as
an important structure in the brain for the creation of new long term memories. The in-depth study of HM
that led to this knowledge can most accurately be referred to as

a) an ethnography.
b) a phenomenological study.
c) an intrinsic case study.
d) an instrumental case study
142.c: Qualitative researchers use many methods in part to

a. find one that produces the expected outcome.

b. make the process more like an experiment.
c. provide a better understanding of the phenomenon being investigated.
d. verify their quantitative observations
143.c: What does an empiricist believe?

a) We should not apply natural science methods to social science research

b) It is the sociologist's aim to understand the meaning of social action

c) Knowledge, in the form of 'facts', should be gained through sensory experience

d) Research conducted within the British empire was biased and unreliable
144.c: An important practical issue to consider when designing a research project is:

a) Which theoretical perspective you find most interesting

b) Whether or not you have time to retile the bathroom first
c) How much time and money you have to conduct the research
d) Which colour of ring binder to present your work in
145.c: Which of the following is a strength of qualitative research?

a) the results are typically generalizable to a larger population

b) sophisticated statistical techniques are utilized
c) it can provide an in-depth understanding of an individual or situation
d) researcher bias is eliminated
146.c: If a researcher joined a religious cult to see how members are recruited and why affiliation is so
strong, she would be using the

a) ex post facto method.

b) phenomenological method.
c) participant-observer method.
d) experimental method.
147.c: Which of the following is a disadvantage of qualitative interviewing relative to participant
observation?

a) It has a more specific focus

b) It is more ethically dubious, in terms of obtaining informed consent

c) It may not provide access to deviant or hidden activities

d) It does not allow participants to reconstruct their life events

148.c: In writing the phenomenological report it is important to

a) remain objective and detached.

b) be brief.
c) write a detailed narrative with a description of the essential characteristics of the
experience.
d) report on the type of statistical analysis employed as well as the effect size.
149.c: Which of the following is not a type of qualitative interview?

a) Unstructured interview
b) Oral history interview

c) Structured interview

d) Focus group interview

150.c: Which of the following is not a criticism of qualitative research?

a) The studies are difficult to replicate

b) There is a lack of transparency

c) The approach is too rigid and inflexible

d) The accounts are too subjective and impressionistic

151.c: Which of the following is not one of the contrasts that has been made to distinguish between
quantitative and qualitative research?

a) Behaviour versus meaning

b) Numbers versus words

c) Traditional versus modern

d) Artificial versus natural

152.c: What is the name of one of the arguments that suggests that research methods are inextricably linked
to epistemological commitments?

a) Triangulation argument

b) Postmodern argument

c) Embedded methods argument

d) Positivist argument
153.c: Which of the following is a method that is commonly used in qualitative research?

a) Self-completion questionnaires

b) Surveys

c) Ethnography

d) Structured observation
154.c: Probability sampling is rarely used in qualitative research because:

a) Qualitative researchers are not trained in statistics

b) It is very old-fashioned

c) It is often not feasible

d) Research questions are more important than sampling

155.c: Which of the following would be most likely to be used as a method of data collection by a
phenomenological researcher?

a) a brief survey with all closed-ended questions

b) participant-observation
c) in-depth interviews
d) study of archival data
156.c: As an approach to knowledge, the scientific method relies on

a. intuitive procedures.
b. deductive procedures.
c. empirical procedures.
d. subjective procedures.
157.c: Which of the following is not a type of life story?

a) Naturalistic life stories

b) Researched life stories

c) True life stories

d) Reflexive and recursive life stories

158.c: What is the difference between a bar chart and a histogram?

a) A histogram does not show the entire range of scores in a distribution

b) Bar charts are circular, whereas histograms are square

c) There are no gaps between the bars on a histogram

d) Bar charts represents numbers, whereas histograms represent percentages

159.D: Which of the following threats to internal validity arises when participants are selected for treatment
because they score particularly high on a less than perfectly reliable test?

A) instrumentation
B) testing
C) convergence
D) regression
160.D: When there is communication between the groups in a true experiment or in a quasi-experiment,
which of the following threats to internal validity could occur?

A) Hawthorne effects
B) demand characteristics
C) regression effects
D) contamination effects
161.D: A potential problem in repeated measures (within-subjects) design experiments is

A) individual differences.
B) random assignment.
C) intact groups.
D) differential transfer
162.D: The best way to demonstrate that an effect of an independent variable is reliable is through

A) statistical significance testing.

B) computing an effect size.
C) random assignment to conditions.
D) replication.
163.D: Researchers must take special safeguards to protect human participants when

A) behavior is observed in the public domain.

B) informed consent is not required.
C) anonymous questionnaires are used.
D) more than minimal risk is present.
164.D: Which of the following is not one of the conditions that must be met in order to state confidently that
the independent variable caused differences between groups in the dependent variable?

A) establishing a covariation between the independent and dependent variables

B) establishing a time-order relationship such that the change in the independent variable preceded the
change in the dependent variable
C) eliminating plausible alternative explanations for the differences in the dependent variable
D) establishing that the independent variable is the only factor that could ever cause a change in the
dependent variable
165.D: Which of the following statements concerning the use of animals in research is true?

A) Animals may never be subjected to pain or discomfort in research.

B) Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort whenever an alternative procedure is not available.
C) Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort whenever the researcher's goals justify such procedures.
D) Animals may be subjected to pain or discomfort only when no alternative procedure is available and when
the goals of the research are judged to justify such procedures.
166.D: Which of the following terms describes the characteristic of an experiment that ensures an
unambiguous interpretation for the outcome of the experiment?

A) reliability
B) external validity
C) sensitivity
D) internal validity
167.D: In addressing the problem of the limited external validity of single-case research, it's safe to assume
that

A) single-case research designs always have poor external validity.

B) we can never generalize the results for a single individual or small group of individuals to a larger
population.
C) treatment effects in single-case research tend to be small and poor in generality.
D) the ability to generalize from a single case depends on the degree of variability in the population from
which the case was selected
168.D: Which of the following is not a goal of debriefing?

A) remove any harmful effects or misconceptions about the research

B) explain the need for any deception
C) learn how participants interpreted the study's procedures
D) get participants to participate in a study they might not normally do
169.D: Researchers can avoid the potential of social injury or risk for the participants in their research project
if the researchers

A) avoid using deception in their research.

B) ensure the internal validity of their study.
C) obtain informed consent from each participant.
D) protect the confidentiality of participants' responses
170.D: Which of the following is not a characteristic of the naturalistic observation method?

A) observation in a natural setting

B) systematic observation of behavior
C) major goal being description of behavior
D) manipulation of events by an experimenter
171.D: A possible questionnaire item that reads, "Do you agree or disagree with laws concerning abortion
and capital punishment," could be criticized because it is a

A) leading question.
B) filter question.
C) funnel question.
D) double-barreled question.
172.D: What is the general rule for balancing practice effects in repeated measures (within-subjects) design
experiments?

A) Each condition of the experiment must appear in only one ordinal (first, second, third, etc.) position.
B) Each condition must appear only in the first ordinal position.
C) Each condition must appear in each ordinal position exactly once.
D) Each condition of the experiment must appear in each ordinal position equally often.
173.D: A survey using the Internet to contact people about attitudes toward mental health services would
most likely be criticized for

A) response bias.
B) interviewer bias.
C) social desirability bias.
D) selection bias.
174.D: The ethical standards of the APA's ethics code

A) include clear rules for how research should be conducted in specific situations.
B) provide principles for conducting research that are never contradictory.
C) provide specific rules for how to solve ethical dilemmas.
D) are general ethical principles that researchers apply to their own research situations.
175.D: Which of the following factors does not influence the reliability of a measure of students'
understanding of course material?

A) the way in which the measure is administered (e.g., whether the instructions are clear and the testing
situation is free of distractions)
B) how much the individuals differ in their understanding of the material
C) number of items used to measure students' understanding of the material
D) how much discriminant validity the measure of understanding has from other measures, such as
intelligence
176.D: When people know they are participants in a research study they often try to figure out what the
researcher expects them to do. The cues participants use to help guide their behavior in a research situation
are called

A) unobtrusive effects.
B) reactive cues.
C) experimenter effects.
D) demand characteristics.
177.D: Which of the following statements best describes the characteristics of the complete repeated (within-
subjects) measures design?
A) Subjects are tested on each condition only once.
B) Subjects are tested on each condition more than once.
C) Subjects are tested on one condition more than once.
D) Subjects are tested on one condition only once.
178.D: Which of the following scales of measurement is a researcher using when he or she measures whether
or not an individual makes eye contact with another person?

A) ratio scale
B) interval scale
C) ordinal scale
D) nominal scale
179.d: Which of the following is an example of value-free research?

a) Conscious partiality

b) Sympathy for the underdog

c) Unstructured interviewing

d) None of the above

180.d: Which of the following should you think about when preparing your research?

a) Your sample frame and sampling strategy

b) The ethical issues that might arise

c) Negotiating access to the setting

d) All of the above

181.d: Which of the following makes qualitative interviewing distinct from structured interviewing?

a) The procedure is less standardized

b) "Rambling" off the topic is not a problem

c) The researcher seeks rich, detailed answers

d) All of the above

182.d: A weakness of the mixed methods approach is that

a) divergent aspects of a phenomenon cannot be studied.

b) it can be difficult to connect theory to practice.
c) it is an old methodology with few people using it.
d) because expertise is needed to two areas it can be difficult to find people qualified to
perform both types research
183.d: How can you tell if your research questions are really good?

a) If they guide your literature search

b) If they are linked together to help you construct a coherent argument

c) If they force you to narrow the scope of your research

d) All of the above

184.d: Why is an ethnographic study unlikely to use a probability sample?

a) Because the aim of understanding is more important than that of generalization

b) Because the researcher cannot control who is willing to talk to them

c) Because it is difficult to identify a sampling frame

d) All of the above

185.d: What is the main difference between single-case research designs and case studies?

a) case studies typically focus on more than one individual

b) single-case designs do not allow one to make conclusions regarding causality
c) case studies are experimental designs whereas single-cases designs are qualitative
d) single-case designs focus on investigating the effect of a treatment
186.d: An inductive theory is one that:
a) Involves testing an explicitly defined hypothesis

b) Does not allow for findings to feed back into the stock of knowledge

c) Uses quantitative methods whenever possible

d) Allows theory to emerge out of the data

187.d: Triangulation in qualitative research may include

a) the use of multiple data sources.

b) the use of multiple methods to study a phenomenon.
c) the use of multiple theories to interpret data.
d) all of the above
188.d: Panel and cohort designs differ, in that:

a) Cohort studies involve quantitative research, whereas panel studies are qualitative

b) A panel study does not need rules to handle new entrants to households

c) Only a cohort study will suffer from sample attrition

d) A panel study can distinguish between age effects and cohort effects, but a cohort design can only detect
ageing effects
189.d: The interpretivist view of the social sciences is that:

a) Their subject matter is fundamentally different to that of the natural sciences

b) We should aim to achieve the interpretive understanding of social action

c) It is important to study the way people make sense of their everyday worlds

d) All of the above

190.d: Which of the following is an ontological question?

a) Should I use questionnaires or interviews in my project?

b) What can (and should) be considered acceptable forms of knowledge?

c) How long is it since I last visited the dentist?

d) Do social entities have an objective reality, external to social actors?

191.d: Qualitative research can be described in the following way:

a. it is objective, involves multiple methods, and focuses on people in subcultures

b. it is opinionated, involves two specific methods, and focuses on cultures, not people
c. it is emotional, involves historical methods, and focuses on people with odd cultural
practices
d. it is interpretive, involves multiple methods, and focuses on people in their natural environment
192.d: What is a research design?

a) A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory

b) The choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods

c) The style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph

d) A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data

193.d: What is meant by the term "going native"?

a) Doing ethnography as a participant observer

b) Accepting a job in an organization previously studied by the ethnographer

c) Trying to learn to speak a foreign language as well as a native speaker

d) Over identifying with the group and losing research perspective

194.d: The importance of measurement in quantitative research is that:

a) It allows us to delineate fine differences between people or cases

b) It provides a consistent device or yardstick

c) It allows for precise estimates of the degree of relationship between concepts

d) All of the above

195.d: What practical steps can you take before you actually start your research?

a) Find out exactly what your institution's requirements are for a dissertation

b) Make sure you are familiar with the hardware and software you plan to use

c) Apply for clearance of your project through an ethics committee

d) All of the above

196.d: Apart from people, what else can purposive sampling be used for?

a) Documents

b) Timing of events

c) Context

d) All of the above

197.d: One of the criticisms often levelled at structured observation is that:

a) It does not allow us to impose any framework on the social setting

b) It only generates a small amount of data

c) It is unethical to observe people without an observation schedule

d) It does not allow us to understand the intentions behind behaviour

198.d: The key advantage of structured observation over survey research is that:

a) It does not rely on the researcher's ability to take notes

b) The researcher is immersed as a participant in the field they are studying

c) It does not impose any expectations of behaviour on the respondents

d) It allows you to observe people's behaviour directly

199.d: You should avoid using double-barrelled questions in a survey because:

a) They rely too much on a respondent's memory

b) They make the questions too long, so respondents lose interest

c) They are too abstract and general in scope

d) They confuse respondents by asking about two different things

200.d: What is an outlier?

a) A type of variable that cannot be quantified

b) A compulsive liar who is proud to be gay

c) A score that is left out of the analysis because of missing data

d) An extreme value at either end of a distribution

201.d: An open question is one that:

a) Allows respondents to answer in their own terms

b) Does not suggest or provide a limited range of responses

c) Can help to generate answers for closed questions

d) All of the above

202.d: A significant risk inherent in participant observation is

a) the introduction of extraneous variables.

b) the need for disguise and possible discovery.
c) the need for deception.
d) the reactive effect
203.d: Which of the following steps can be taken to improve response rates to postal questionnaires?

a) Write a personalized covering letter to introduce the research

b) Enclose a stamped addressed envelope with a postal questionnaire

c) Send out polite reminder letters

d) All of the above

204.d: Discussing the findings and interpretations of your research with other researchers is important in
establishing theoretical validity and is referred to as

a) investigator triangulation.
b) external audit.
c) researcher as detective.
d) peer review.
205.d: Methods to enhance theoretical validity include

a) extended fieldwork.
b) theory triangulation.
c) peer review.
d) all of the above
206.d: When might it be appropriate to conduct a multivariate analysis test?

a) If the relationship between two variables might be spurious

b) If there could be an intervening variable

c) If a third variable might be moderating the relationship

d) All of the above

207.d: Snowball sampling can help the researcher to:

a) Access deviant or hidden populations

b) Theorise inductively in a qualitative study

c) Overcome the problem of not having an accessible sampling frame

d) All of the above

208.d: Why is it particularly difficult to get an accurate record and transcript of a focus group session?

a) Because the researcher often forgets to take notes

b) Because focus groups are transcribed several years after they are conducted

c) Because you cannot use a tape recorder in a focus group

d) Because there are so many different voices to follow

209.d: How might qualitative research help with the analysis of quantitative data?

a) By identifying a sample of respondents for a follow-up study

b) By providing hard, statistical data about them

c) By making the research more value-laden and subjective

d) By helping to explain the relationship between two variables

210.d: It is helpful to use a multi-stage cluster sample when:

a) The population is widely dispersed geographically

b) You have limited time and money available for travelling

c) You want to use a probability sample in order to generalise the results

d) All of the above

211.d: A test of statistical significance indicates how confident the researcher is about:
a) The inter-coder reliability of their structured interview schedule

b) Passing their driving test

c) Understanding the difference between bivariate and multivariate analysis

d) Generalizing their findings from the sample to the population

212.d: A simple random sample is one in which:

a) From a random starting point, every nth unit from the sampling frame is selected

b) A non-probability strategy is used, making the results difficult to generalize

c) The researcher has a certain quota of respondents to fill for various social groups

d) Every unit of the population has an equal chance of being selected

213.d: How might qualitative research facilitate quantitative research?

a) By providing hypotheses that can later be tested

b) By helping with the design of survey questions

c) By informing the schedule of a structured interview

d) All of the above

214.d: The narrative report for an ethnography should

a) focus on hypothesis testing.

b) attempt to generalize the findings to a larger population.
c) focus on a single theme.
d) be a holistic report of the culture
215.d: Quantitative social researchers rarely claim to have established causality because:

a) They are more concerned with publishing the results of their reliability tests

b) They do not believe that this is an appropriate goal to be striving for

c) They keep forgetting which of the variables they have manipulated

d) They tend to use cross-sectional designs, which produce only correlations

216.d: Dr. Staines has repeatedly read that multiple personality disorder does not occur in elderly males, yet
she is currently working in private practice with an 80-year-old man who fits diagnostic criteria for the
disorder. She publishes her notes on her work with this person to show that the prevailing wisdom is not
completely correct. She has done a(n) study.

a) intrinsic case
b) longitudinal
c) geriatric
d) instrumental case
217.d: What is meant by the term "grounded theory"?

a) Theories should be tested by rigorous scientific experiments

b) As a social researcher, it is important to keep your feet on the ground

c) Theories should be grounded in political values and biases

d) Theoretical ideas and concepts should emerge from the data

218.d: When might it be useful to conduct a relatively large number of focus groups?

a) When participants' views are likely to be affected by socio-demographic factors

b) When you want to capture as much diversity in perspectives as possible

c) When there are lots of willing volunteers who meet the relevant criteria

d) All of the above

219.d: Which of the following is a component of ethnographic research?

a) Being immersed in a social group or setting

b) Participant observation, interviews, and/or documentary analysis

c) A written account of an ethnographic study

d) All of the above