Research Methods Design And Analysis 11Th Ed By Christensen - Test Bank

Research Methods Design And Analysis 11Th Ed By Christensen – Test Bank

 

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Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

Chapter 5

Measuring Variables and Sampling

 

Learning objectives

 

To be able to

 

• Explain the meaning of measurement
• Compare and contrast Steven’s four scales of measurement
• Explain the difference between reliability and validity
• Describe the different types of reliability
• Describe the different types of validity evidence and the strategies used to obtain evidence of validity
• Explain the meaning of sampling and its terminology
• Describe each of the random sampling techniques, including their strengths and weaknesses
• Describe each of the nonrandom sampling techniques, including their strengths and weaknesses
• Explain the difference between random selection and random assignment
• Describe the considerations involved in determining the appropriate sample size
• Describe the sampling approaches used in qualitative research

 

 

Multiple choice questions

 

1) In the context of an experiment, a variable is

*          a) any factor that can vary across participants or situations.

1. b) any phenomenon or characteristic that can be measured.
2. c) any phenomenon or characteristic of a participant or situation that has a specific value.
3. d) the unknown quantity that the experiment will determine.

 

2) ___________ is the simplest scale of measurement.

1. a) Ordinal

*             b) Nominal

1. c) Ratio
2. d) Interval

 

3)   Which of the following measurement scales is accurately paired with an example?

1. a)  Interval—rankings of tennis players
2. b)  Ratio—zip codes
3. c)  Nominal—test scores on an exam

*             d)  Ordinal—a professor listing his students from the best to worst

 

4)   What differentiates interval from ratio scales of measurement?

1. a) Interval scales use rank order; ratio scales do not
2. b) In a ratio scale equal distance on the dimension represent equal distance on the

dimension being measured; this is not true for interval

1. c) Scores of zero are not possible on interval scales

*             d) Ratio scales include an absolute zero point – indicating the absence of what is being

measured

 

5) Temperature on a Kelvin scale is an example of

1. a) nominal measurement.
2. b) ordinal measurement.
3. c) interval measurement.

*          d) ratio measurement.

 

6) Which of the following would represent scores on a nominal scale?

1. a) Attractiveness ratings on a scale of 1-5
2. b) Coding religion as protestant = 1; catholic = 2, etc.
3. c) Temperature on a Celsius scale
4. d) Exam scores

 

7) ______________ refers to the consistency of results and ____________ is the extent to which you are measuring what you think you are measuring.

1. a) Reliability; operational validity
2. b) Validity; reliability

*          c) Reliability; validity

1. d) Convergence; divergence

 

8) In order to establish the reliability of a measure of intelligence, Kevin administers two forms of the test to a group of students. Which of the following reliability coefficient values would indicate the most reliability for the test?

1. a) 0.35

*          b) 0.85

1. c) -0.85
2. d) 2.20

 

9) Jenna would like to establish the reliability of a new measure of self-esteem but she doesn’t have enough time to administer her test more than once. Which of the following methods of establishing reliability would you suggest to Jenna?

1. a) Equivalent forms

*          b) Internal consistency

1. c) Multidimensional
2. d) Concurrent

 

10) If we include items assessing memory, logic, and verbal comprehension on an intelligence test – as opposed to food preferences or shoe size – then we have satisfied which of the following types of validity?

1. a) Discriminant
2. b) Convergent

*          c) Face

1. d) Internal

 

11) Construct validity

1. a) is not needed if you use a good operational definition.

*          b) is supported when similar results are obtained from different operationalizations of the dependent variable.

1. c) is almost always found in published experiments.
2. d) is determined by replicating the results of your experiment.

 

12) Which of the following illustrates reliability?

1. a) Dean takes an IQ test and scores at the 60th percentile.
2. b) Scores on a new test of reading comprehension correlate highly with scores on well established reading comprehension tests.
3. c) Fred scores poorly on one school’s entrance exam but does better on another.

*          d) Jacquie takes three practice GRE verbal exams and scores 548, 552, and 550.

 

13) A variable shows reliability when

1. a) enough experimenters decide to use it in their research.
2. b) it is accepted in the Encyclopedia of Psychology.
3. c) other researchers demonstrate that it does measure what it is supposed to measure.

*          d) similar results are obtained each time it is measured.

 

14) The measurement of a variable has validity when

1. a) the same results are obtained each time it is measured.
2. b) it becomes an accepted variable in a given area of research.
3. c) it can be measured quantitatively.

*          d) the inferences that are made from the measurement are accurate.

 

15) When conducting psychological research we want the research to be valid.  Reliability and validity are necessary ingredients of valid research.  The relationship between validity and reliability is that

1. a) if the research is reliable you can be certain that it is valid.
2. b) the research must be valid for it to be reliable.

*          c) the research must be reliable for it to be valid but a reliable research study is not

necessarily valid.

1. d) the research must be valid for it to be reliable but a valid research study is not

necessarily reliable.

 

16) Suppose you have created a new method of diagnosing anxiety disorders. How could you demonstrate that your method is a construct valid?

1. a) teach several licensed clinicians to use your method, have them use it for a year, and see if the amount of anxiety diagnosis in their practice is consistent with population norms
2. b) use your method to diagnose the same group of participants repeatedly over the course of several years, and see if you consistently arrive at the same diagnosis for a given individual
3. c) have several specialists read about your new technique and invite their opinions

*          d) use your method to diagnose a group of participants, then see if your diagnoses match with diagnoses taken from other, established methods

 

17) Tom wanted to assess the reliability of his measure of anxiety so he had a group of introductory psychology students complete the measure of anxiety on march 3^rd and again on march 25^th.  He then compared the scores that the students made on the two testing occasions using a statistical technique called correlation.  He used this quantitative index as his measure of reliability.  Tom used what method to assess reliability?

*          a) test-retest

1. b) equivalent forms
2. c) split-half
3. d) Cronback’s alpha

 

18) Eduardo decided to assess the reliability of the carbohydrate craving inventory he constructed.  He had constructed two identical versions of the inventory and a group of 50 people took both versions.  Then Eduardo compared the responses of these 50 people on the two versions of the craving inventory for his assessment of the reliability of the inventory.  Eduardo used what method to assess reliability?

1. a) test-retest

*          b) equivalent forms

1. c) split-half
2. d) Cronback’s alpha

 

19) Jacqueline wanted to assess the reliability of ratings made of children’s aggressive behavior so she had two students rate the degree of aggression displayed by each of 50 children while engaged in play.  She then compared the ratings made by these two students and computed the degree of agreement between them.  Jacqueline used what method of assessing reliability?

1. a) interobserver reliability

*          b) interrater reliability

1. c) internal consistency reliability
2. d) test-retest reliability

 

20) Afiya wanted to assess the reliability of students’ observations of children’s aggressive behavior so she had two students observe 100 behaviors displayed by each of 50 children while engaged in play.  After viewing each behavior the students recorded the behavior as being aggressive or nonaggresive.  Afiya then computed the percentage of times the two students agreed on their assessment of each behavior.  Afiya used what method of assessing reliability?

*          a) interobserver agreement

1. b) Cronbach’s alpha
2. c) internal consistency reliability
3. d) test-retest reliability

 

21) Owen wanted to assess the internal consistency of his measure of anxiety so he measured reliability estimates by comparing items within his test. He reported a reliability estimate of .80. What measure of reliability is Owen using?

*          a) Cronbach’s alpha

1. b) path analysis
2. c) factor analysis
3. d) Riesen’s reliability estimate

 

22). Gerald is developing a measure of shyness and he determines that students scoring high on the measure also score high for introversion on a well‑known introversion‑extraversion scale. The outcome best illustrates

1. a)  face validity.

*       b)  concurrent validity.

1. c)  predictive validity.
2. d)  construct validity.

23) Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of

1. a) face validity.

*       b) internal consistency.

1. c) predictive validity.
2. d) concurrent validity.

 

24) Students sometimes complain that scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are not related to how well students perform in graduate school. Essentially the students are saying that the GRE does not have

1. a) reliability.
2. b) internal consistency.

*             c) predictive validity.

1. d) discriminant validity.

 

25) Discriminant validity refers to

*    a) the degree to which the measure does not correlate with measures of different constructs.

1. b) the degree to which the measure does correlate with measures of similar constructs.
2. c) the degree to which the measure discriminants between different components of the construct.
3. d) the degree to which the test measures a single construct.

 

26) Convergent validity refers to

1. a) the degree to which the measure does not correlate with measures of different constructs.

*    b) the degree to which the measure does correlate with measures of similar constructs.

1. c) the degree to which the test measures multiple constructs.
2. d) the degree to which the test measures a single construct.

 

27) One way to assess construct validity is to establish that scores on the test in question do NOT correlate with established scales that are dissimilar or conceptually unrelated concepts.  e.g, a scale to measure depression would likely not correlate with scales designed to measure happiness.  This type of validity is called

1. a) concurrent validity.
2. b) convergent validity.

*          c) discriminant validity.

1. d) predictive validity.

 

28) Suppose you have created a new method of diagnosing anxiety disorders.  How could you demonstrate that your method is valid?

1. a) teach several licensed clinicians to use your method, have them use it for a year, and

see if the amount of anxiety diagnosis in their practice is consistent with population      norms.

1. b) use your method to diagnose the same group of participants repeatedly over the course of several years, and see if you consistently arrive at the same diagnosis for a given

*          c) use your method to diagnose a group of participants, then see if your diagnoses match                          with diagnoses taken from other, established methods.

1. d) have several specialists read about your new technique and invite their opinions.

 

29) A study examines scores on an employment test and job performance six months later. This study is most likely attempting to establish

*       a) criterion validity.

1. b) face validity.
2. c) reliability.
3. d) construct validity.

 

30) When evaluating reliability and validity information it is important to note the __________ upon which the information was gathered.

1. a) predictive sample

*          b) norming group

1. c) estimate group
2. d) peer group

 

31) Some psychological tests are designed to measure more than one construct, they are multidimensional. __________ is a statistical technique that can be used to determine the number of dimension that a particular measure is testing.

1. a) Cronbach’s alpha
2. c) Path analysis
3. c) Operationalization

*          d) Factor analysis

 

32) The Mental Measurements Yearbook is a good place to find

1. a) unpublished (but probably useful) tests.

*          b) established standardized tests.

1. c) biographies of important figures in test development.
2. d) a list of journal articles that use psychological tests.

 

33) ___________ refers to any sampling method in which each individual has an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

*          a) Equal probability selection method

1. b) Cluster sampling
2. c) Stratified sampling
3. d) Homogeneous sampling selection

 

34) A(n) __________ is a list of all members of a population.

1. a) parameter
2. b) norming group

*          c) sampling frame

1. d) equal probability selection method

 

35) When using simple random sampling it is suggested that you _________ because it will lead to a more representative sample.

1. a) sample with replacement

*          b) sample without replacement

1. c) assign specific probabilities of selection to certain subgroups
2. d) use a larger sample than if using a nonrandom method

 

36) A major advantage of randomly selecting participants from a population is that

1. a) it allows you to do your study with fewer participants and still find statistical significance in your results.
2. b) you can be more confident that it was the manipulation of the independent variable that caused the changes observed in the dependent variable..

*          c) you can be more confident that your sample is representative of the population.

1. d) it is more likely that your sample will have the characteristics you need it to have.

 

37) In a truly random sample from a population,

1. a) all participants will be matched on important characteristics.

*          b) all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected.

1. c) gender distribution should be 50% male and 50% female.
2. d) every member of the population has a 50:50 chance of being selected.

 

38) Suppose you wish to test a representative sample of people in your theology class on attitudes toward the idea of women as priests. There are 40 people in the class, 30 females and 10 males. What would be the best strategy?

1. a) simple random sample
2. b) cluster sample

*       c) stratified sample

1. d) convenience sample

 

39) ____________ is to ____________ as population is to parameter.

*             a) Sample; statistic

1. b) Statistic; sample
2. c) Sample; element
3. d) Random sampling; nonrandom sampling

 

40) A subset of data drawn from the larger population of interest is a

1. a) population.

*          b) sample.

1. c) parameter.
2. d) quota.

 

41) To study career aspirations among high school students in Alabama, a researcher randomly selects 5% of the state’s school districts and gives all the students in each district a survey designed to measure career goal.  What sampling procedure is being used here?

1. a) quota
2. b) stratified

*             c) cluster

1. d) EPSEM

 

42) A researcher who selects a probability sample that is 40% male and 60% female is most likely to be using __________ sampling.

1. a) cluster

*             b) stratified

1. c) convenience
2. d) quota

 

43) Jim is conducting a survey to learn about student attitudes toward abortion. He passes out his survey to the first 100 students that enter the cafeteria. What sampling method is Jim using?

*          a) convenience

1. b) cluster
2. c) stratified
3. d) EPSEM

 

44) Which of the following is NOT a nonrandom sampling technique?

1. a) convenience

*          b) cluster

1. c) snowball
2. d) quota

 

45) Which of the following nonrandom sampling techniques would be most similar to stratified random sampling?

1. a) convenience

*          b) quota

1. c) cluster
2. d) purposive

 

46) ________________ of participants is done to obtain a representative sample, and __________ of the participants is done to improve the experimental design of the study.

*          a) Random selection; random assignment

1. b) Random selection; random sampling
2. c) Random assignment; random selection
3. d) Random assignment; matching

 

47) Random assignment of participants to the various groups in an experiment

1. a) makes it more likely that extraneous variables will impact the experiment.

*          b) increases the probability that the groups are equivalent.

1. c) is essential if you want to generalize your results to the population.
2. d) is very difficult to do and is therefore not commonly done.

 

48) Your textbook authors suggest that if your population has fewer than 100 people you should

1. a) use a stratified sampling method.
2. b) use simple random selection.
3. c) find a larger population

*          d) test everyone in the population.

 

49) Which of the following situations would NOT necessitate a larger sample size?

1. a) if your population is heterogeneous
2. b) if you plan to use multiple categories
3. c) if you expect a weak effect

*          d) is you use proportional stratified sampling

 

50) Which of the following was NOT offered as a type of sampling method used for qualitative research?

*          a) purposive sampling

1. b) extreme case sampling
2. c) homogeneous sample selection
3. d) maximum variation sampling

 

 

Vocabulary

 

Define the following in psychological terms:

 

biased sample                                       element

census                                                   equal probability of selection method (EPSEM)

cluster                                                   cluster random sampling

equivalent-forms reliability                  coefficient alpha

face validity                                          concurrent validity

factor analysis                                       content-related evidence or content validity

homogeneity                                         internal consistency reliability

convenience sampling                          interobserver agreement

convergent validity evidence               interrater reliability

criterion-related validity                       interval scale

cronbach’s alpha                                   known groups validity evidence

discriminant validity evidence             measurement

disproportional stratified sampling       mixed sampling

multidimensional construct                  reliability coefficient

nominal scale                                        representative sample

norming group                                      response rate

one-stage cluster sampling                   sample

operationalization                                 sample size calculator

ordinal scale                                          sampling

parameter                                              sampling error

periodicity                                            sampling frame

population                                             sampling interval

predictive validity                                simple random sampling

proportional stratified sampling           snowball sampling

statistic                                                 proximal similarity

stratification variable                            purpose of random assignment

stratified random sampling                   purpose of random selection

systematic sampling                             purposive sampling

test-retest reliability                              quota sampling

two-stage cluster sampling                   random assignment

validation                                              random selection

validity                                                 ratio scale

validity coefficient                               reliability

variable

 

Essay questions

 

1) List the four scales of measurement from least complex to most complex – provide an example of each.

 

2) Describe the difference between random selection of participants and random assignment of participants to groups. What are the implications of inadequate random selection of participants? What are the implications of inadequate random assignment of participants to groups?

 

3) Using an example, explain the difference between reliability and validity. Explain what it means to say that a reliable measure is not always valid, but a valid measure is always reliable.

 

4) Describe three different methods of assessing reliability.

 

5) Discuss content validity and criterion-related validity (be sure to include a discussion of predictive and concurrent validity).

 

6) Assume that you have created a new test to measure depression. Explain how you could use converging evidence and discriminant evidence to establish the validity of your instrument.

 

7) Describe, in general terms, the difference between random sampling methods and nonrandom sampling methods. Briefly describe the four random sampling techniques presented in the text.

 

8) Describe the four nonrandom sampling techniques presented in your text. If, as indicated in your text, these techniques are “weaker sampling methods” why would researchers use them?

 

9) Discuss the factors that are important for researchers to consider when determining sample size.

 

10) Briefly summarize some of the sampling methods used in qualitative research.

 

Classroom exercise suggestions

 

1) Your students may already be familiar with the four scales of measurement but a simple way to personalize your lecture is to provide them with a brief (anonymous) survey to complete at the beginning of class. A sample survey is included below that includes examples of all four measurement scales. After students complete the survey ask them to identify the items representing each scale of measurement. You might also consider collecting the surveys and using the data later in the semester to illustrate some simple statistical techniques.

 

DATA COLLECTION SHEET

(do not write your name on this sheet)

 

What is your age? _______

What is your gender? _______

What is your attitude toward abortion? (circle one below)

I’m pro-choice             I’m pro-life                  I’m unsure or it depends

How many people were in your high school graduating class? _______

How many different states have you spent at least one night in? ______

What is your academic classification?            FR       SO       JR        SR

How many miles to your hometown?  _______

Estimate how often you go home each semester ________

Do you own a cell phone? ___________

If you own a cell phone how many minutes do you talk on your cell phone per day? _______; how many text messages do you send and receive (total number): _______

Using the 7 point scale at the bottom of the page, rate your attitudes toward:

Britney Spears _______                                 Children _______

This class  _______                                        Country music _______

Beer _______                                                  The Twilight Series _______

Deer hunting _________                                Tattoos ________

 

1             2            3           4           5           6           7

                      Very                               Neutral                            Very

                   Negative                                                                  Positive

 

 

2) To help students understand the concepts of reliability and validity you might consider the exercise proposed by Miserandino (2006) who used an internet-based test as a fun way to reinforce these topics. This assignment has the added benefit of reminding students, once again, of the importance of critically evaluating information that they encounter on the internet.

 

Miserandino, M. (2006). I scream, you scream: Teaching validity and reliability via the

ice cream personality test. Teaching of Psychology, 33 (4), 265-268.

 

3) Some of your students may believe that psychological research isn’t valid unless research participants are randomly selected. Students should be aware that because of large populations of interest it may not be feasible to use random selection. Furthermore you should point out that because most research in psychology is “basic” – attempting to establish general relationships between variables – random selection is less important. On the other hand random assignment is crucial in helping to eliminate extraneous variables and allowing an unambiguous interpretation of our results. A good discussion of this distinction can be found in the Stanovich (2009) book referenced below. The Enders et. al (2006) article describes a very simple classroom demonstration of random assignment using a deck of playing cards.

 

Enders, C., Laurenceau, J., & Stuetzle, R. (2006). Teaching random assignment: A            classroom demonstration using a deck of playing cards. Teaching of    Psychology, 33(4), 239-242.

Stanovich, K.E. (2009). “But it’s not like real life!” The artificiality criticism and psychology. In How to Think Straight About Psychology. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.