IB Psychology (HL) – Research Methodology

Part 1 Multiple choices (50 marks, 2@)

1. Which of the following describes single-blind experiments?

A. They are experiments in which the subjects don’t know whether they are receiving a real or
fake drug or treatment
B. They help reduce placebo effects
C. They help reduce bias in research
D. All of the above

2. What does it mean if two variables have a positive correlation?

A. As one variable increases, so does the other

B. As one variable increases, the other decreases
C. The correlation between the two variables is 0
D. The correlation between the two variables is greater than 1.0

3. In what type of study does a researcher study an individual subject in depth?

A. Naturalistic observation
B. Laboratory observation
C. Case study
D. Survey

4. How can we determine if a test has good validity?

A. It produces the same result when it is given at different times to the same group of people
B. It produces the same result no matter which version of the test is used
C. It measures what it is supposed to measure
D. All of the questions on it can be answered accurately by the subject

5. What is the variable called that a researcher manipulates in an experiment?

A. Dependent variable
B. Independent variable
C. Extraneous variable
D. None of the above
6. What is the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data distribution called?

A. Mode
B. Standard deviation
C. Range
D. Median

7. The social desirability bias can affect which of the following?

A. The validity of a test

B. The reliability of a test
C. Self-report data
D. None of the above

8. Which of the following is a research method that allows a researcher to get information about a
large number of subjects relatively inexpensively and easily?

A. Naturalistic observation
B. Case study
C. Laboratory observation
D. Survey

9. What is a common way of controlling extraneous variables in an experiment?

A. Random assignment
B. Double-blind procedure
C. Single-blind procedure
D. Using animal subjects

10. When doing research involving deception with human subjects, researchers have an obligation to
do which of the following?

A. Tell subjects the truth about the study’s purpose and methods after the study is completed
B. Prevent mental and physical harm to subjects
C. Let subjects withdraw from the study at any time if they don’t want to keep participating
D. All of the above
11. ________ involves observing behaviour in individuals in their natural environments.
A. archival research
B. case study
C. naturalistic observation
D. survey

12. The major limitation of case studies is ________.

A. the superficial nature of the information collected in this approach
B. the lack of control that the researcher has in this approach
C. the inability to generalize the findings from this approach to the larger population
D. the absence of inter-rater reliability

13. The benefit of naturalistic observation studies is ________.

A. the honesty of the data that is collected in a realistic setting
B. how quick and easy these studies are to perform
C. the researcher’s capacity to make sure that data is collected as efficiently as possible
D. the ability to determine cause and effect in this particular approach

14. Height and weight are positively correlated. This means that:
A. There is no relationship between height and weight.
B. Usually, the taller someone is, the thinner they are.
C. Usually, the shorter someone is, the heavier they are.
D. As height increases, typically weight increases.

15. Which statement best illustrates a negative correlation between the number of hours spent
watching TV the week before an exam and the grade on that exam?

A. Watching too much television leads to poor exam performance.

B. Smart students watch less television.
C. Viewing television interferes with a student’s ability to prepare for the upcoming exam.
D. Students who watch more television perform more poorly on their exams.
16. ________ means that everyone in the population has the same likelihood of being asked to
participate in the study.

A. operationalizing
B. placebo effect
C. random assignment
D. random sampling

17. The ________ is controlled by the experimenter, while the ________ represents the information
collected and statistically analyzed by the experimenter.

A. dependent variable; independent variable

B. independent variable; dependent variable
C. placebo effect; experimenter bias
D. experiment bias; placebo effect

18. Researchers must ________ important concepts in their studies so others would have a clear
understanding of exactly how those concepts were defined.

A. randomly assign
B. randomly select
C. operationalize
D. generalize

19. Sometimes, researchers will administer a(n) ________ to participants in the control group to
control for the effects that participant expectation might have on the experiment.

A. dependent variable
B. independent variable
C. statistical analysis
D. placebo

20. ________ is to animal research as ________ is to human research.

A. informed consent; deception

B. IACUC; IRB
C. IRB; IACUC
D. deception; debriefing
21. Researchers might use ________ when providing participants with the full details of the
experiment could skew their responses.

A. informed consent
B. deception
C. ethics
D. debriefing

22. A person’s participation in a research project must be ________.

A. random
B. rewarded
C. voluntary
D. public

23. Before participating in an experiment, individuals should read and sign the ________ form.

A. informed consent
B. debriefing
C. IRB
D. ethics

24. Which of the following conclusions is possible when a study contains a confounding?

A. The effect of the independent variable can be unambiguously interpreted.

B. The effect of the confounding variable can be unambiguously interpreted.
C. The effect of neither the independent variable nor of the confounding variable can be
unambiguously interpreted.
D. The effects of both the independent variable and the confounding variable can be
unambiguously interpreted.

25.. In an experiment examining the effect of mood on intelligence participants are randomly
assigned to watch either a funny movie or a sad movie before they complete an IQ test. The funny
movie is shown in a classroom, while the sad movie is shown in the student lounge. The most
obvious problem with this experiment is:

A. lack of statistical validity

B. the IV is confounded
C. the use of random assignment
D. none of the above
Part 2a Short questions and answers (30 marks)

1) What is quantitative and qualitative research? (2 marks) Give one example for each type of
research. (2 marks).

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2) What is sampling bias? (1 mark) Give four types of sampling methods in qualitative research
with brief explanation (4 marks)

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3) Why is it problematic to draw cause-and-effect conclusions based on correlative data? (2 marks)

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4) Why might it be problematic to rely only on self-report data when doing research? (2 marks)

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5) What are the different types of variables? Please briefly explain. (4 marks)

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6) What does it mean if a researcher claims that a particular result is statistically significant? (1
mark)

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7) What is validity? (1 mark) What does it mean if we have high ecological validity? (1 mark)

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8) List two ways of increasing the reliability of behavioral measures. (2 marks)

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9) What are the types of experimental design? Please briefly explain. (4 marks)

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10) What are the advantages and disadvantages of laboratory experiments? (4 marks)

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Part 2b Short questions and answers (12 marks, 3@)

For each of the following experiments, please identify a dependent variable(DV), an independent
variable (IV), and a hypothesis (H) that the experimenter might test.

For example. An organizational psychologist test to see if wearing name tags make the employees
happier with their work.

Dependent variable (DV) happier with their work

Independent variable (IV) wearing name tags
Hypothesis (H) Wearing name tags make the employees happier with their work.

1. Developmental psychologists want to know if exposing children to public television improves

their reading skills.

Dependent variable (DV)

Independent variable (IV)
Hypothesis (H)

2. Physiological psychologists wonder about the relationship between the intake of wine and
emotional reactions to frightening stimuli.

Dependent variable (DV)

Independent variable (IV)
Hypothesis (H)

3. Sensory psychologists want to know whether birds also experience visual illusions.

Dependent variable (DV)

Independent variable (IV)
Hypothesis (H)

4. Operant psychologists want to know whether reinforcing (rewarding) comments will make
people work harder on an assembly line.

Dependent variable (DV)

Independent variable (IV)
Hypothesis (H)
Part 3 Long question (9 marks)

1. Identify the method used and outline two characteristics of the method. (3 marks)

2. Describe the sampling method used in the study. (3 marks)

3. Suggest an alternative or additional research method giving one reason for your choice. (3
marks)