Research Methods in Psychology Evaluating a World of Information 2nd Edition By Beth Morling - Test Bank

Research Methods in Psychology Evaluating a World of Information 2nd Edition By Beth Morling – Test Bank

 

Instant Download – Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

CHAPTER 5: IDENTIFYING GOOD MEASUREMENT

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

1. Which of the following is true of operational definitions?

a.	There is only one operational definition that is possible for each conceptual definition.
b.	The specification of operational definitions is one of the creative aspects of the research process.
c.	Conceptual definitions are created after operational definitions are determined.
d.	Operational definitions and conceptual definitions are the same thing.

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: More About Conceptual and Operational Variables

OBJ:   Learning Objective 1                       MSC:  Remembering

 

2. For her research methods class, Serena plans to interview several teachers about their attitude toward teaching children who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is an example of what type of measurement?

a.	Self-report measurement	c.	Physiological measurement
b.	Observational measurement	d.	Archival measurement

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Three Common Types of Measures: Self-Report Measures

OBJ:   Learning Objective 2                       MSC:  Applying

 

3. For his research methods class, Felipe plans to watch how teachers treat children in their classrooms who have ADHD. He will evaluate how positively or negatively the children are treated. This is an example of what type of measurement?

a.	Self-report measurement	c.	Physiological measurement
b.	Observational measurement	d.	Archival measurement

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Three Common Types of Measures: Observational Measures

OBJ:   Learning Objective 2                       MSC:  Applying

 

4. Which of the following is NOT an example of physiological measurement?

a.	Measurements of hormones in the bloodstream
b.	Blood pressure measurements
c.	Number of panic attacks a patient reports
d.	A brain scan made using an fMRI

 

 

ANS:  C                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Three Common Types of Measures: Physiological Measures

OBJ:   Learning Objective 2                       MSC:  Applying

 

5. Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is a categorical way to operationalize caffeine consumption?

a.	The number of glasses of soda consumed in a day
b.	The number of milligrams of caffeine consumed during the study
c.	The frequency of buying coffee drinks
d.	Whether the participant drank a soda in the 24 hours prior to the study

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement: Categorical vs. Quantitative            Variables OBJ:           Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Applying

 

6. Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is a quantitative way to operationalize problem-solving ability?

a.	The time spent solving a math problem
b.	The type of puzzle solved (Sudoku puzzle or a crossword puzzle)
c.	Whether participants used insight or trial-and-error techniques to solve the problem
d.	The report of a teacher about whether a student is a good or bad problem solver

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement: Categorical vs. Quantitative              Variables          OBJ:           Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Applying

 

7. How many subcategories of quantitative variables exist?

a.	Two	c.	Four
b.	Three	d.	Five

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement: Three Types of Quantitative                 Variables       OBJ:           Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Understanding

 

8. Naomi is studying the effect of popularity on academic success for her research methods project. To do this, she has elementary school students rate how popular each member of their class is. She then uses this information to rank the students on popularity (e.g., John is the most popular, Vanessa is the second-most popular). Which of the following best describes this variable?

a.	An ordinal scale of measurement	c.	A categorical measurement
b.	A self-report measurement	d.	An interval scale of measurement

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement: Three Types of Quantitative               Variables         OBJ:           Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Applying

 

9. Todd is also studying the effect of popularity on academic success for his research methods project. He decides to measure popularity by asking each elementary school student to tell him how many friends he or she has. He assumes that more friends means the student is more popular. Which of the following best describes this variable?

a.	A ratio scale of measurement	c.	An other-report measure
b.	A qualitative variable	d.	A categorical variable

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement: Three Types of Quantitative                Variables        OBJ:           Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Applying

 

10. What is the difference between a ratio scale of measurement and an interval scale of measurement?

a.	A ratio scale of measurement has a zero value that actually means “nothing” or “the absence of something,” but an interval scale does not.
b.	An interval scale of measurement is a type of measurement used for categorical measurements, but a ratio scale is used for quantitative measurements.
c.	An interval scale has equal intervals, but a ratio scale does not.
d.	A ratio scale of measurement cannot be used to compare people’s scores, but interval scales can (e.g., Phillip is twice as fast).

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement: Three Types of Quantitative               Variables         OBJ:           Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Analyzing

 

RESEARCH STUDY 5.1

Dr. Valencia is considering conducting a study examining whether narcissistic people have poorer social interactions than those who are not narcissistic. One of her first tasks is to determine which of her participants are narcissistic and which are not. She decides to use the scale created by a colleague, the Mayo scale. Question 1 reads, “I tend not to think about other people as much as I think about myself.” Question 2 reads, “I do not have a high opinion of myself.” Question 3 reads, “I think other people think I am really special.”

 

Refer to Research Study 5.1 to answer the following seven questions.

 

11. Dr. Valencia is concerned whether her measure will really measure narcissism or if it will measure some other related concept. She is concerned about the scale’s ________.

a.	Operational definition	c.	Reliability
b.	Validity	d.	Convenience

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?     OBJ:   Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Applying

 

12. Before using the measure in her study, Dr. Valencia gives the measure to a group of students on Tuesday. She gives the measure to them again on Thursday. She then compares the scores between the two days. This is a test of which of the following?

a.	Interrater reliability	c.	Test-retest reliability
b.	Internal reliability	d.	Construct reliability

 

 

ANS:  C                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Introducing Three Types of Reliability: Test-Retest Reliability                 OBJ:   Learning Objective 5

MSC:  Applying

 

13. Before using the measure in her study, Dr. Valencia gives the measure to a group of students on Tuesday. She gives the measure to them again on Thursday. Dr. Valencia is examining the scatterplot of the data she collected on day 1 and day 2. On the scatterplot, she sees that the dots are very close to forming a diagonal line. This indicates which of the following?

a.	A strong relationship	c.	A valid finding
b.	A nonrelationship	d.	A negative finding

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Using a Scatterplot to Evaluate Reliability           OBJ:           Learning Objective 6                       MSC:  Applying

 

14. Before using the measure in her study, Dr. Valencia analyzes the data she gets from her students. She looks at the relationship between each of the individual questions. She sees that participants who agree with Question 1 also agree with Question 3 and disagree with Question 2. This is a test of which of the following?

a.	Interrater reliability	c.	Test-retest reliability
b.	Internal reliability	d.	Construct reliability

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Introducing Three Types of Reliability: Internal Reliability                 OBJ:   Learning Objective 5

MSC:  Applying

 

15. Dr. Valencia calculates a correlation coefficient (r) to examine the relationship between Question 1 and Question 2 and between Question 1 and Question 3. She finds a correlation coefficient of

r = -0.73 between Questions 1 and 2 and a correlation coefficient of r = 0.74 between Questions 1 and 3. Which of the following is true of her findings?

a.	There appears to be good internal reliability in the scale.
b.	The correlation between Questions 1 and 2 and Questions 1 and 3 are in the same direction.
c.	The correlation between Questions 1 and 2 is much weaker than between Questions 1 and 3.
d.	The negative correlation between Question 1 and Question 2 is bad for Dr. Valencia.

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Using the Correlation Coefficient r to Evaluate Reliability                            OBJ:              Learning Objective 7

MSC:  Applying

 

16. Dr. Valencia is concerned about the validity of the measure of narcissism recommended by her colleague. She sends a copy of the measure to the faculty members in her psychology department to look at and they all tell her it looks like it will measure narcissism. She now has evidence of which of the following?

a.	Content validity	c.	Discriminant validity
b.	Face validity	d.	Concurrent validity

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Face Validity and Content Validity: Does It Look Like a Good Measure?       OBJ:               Learning Objective 8

MSC:  Applying

 

17. Dr. Valencia decides to test the internal reliability of her measure. Which of the following results would make her happy?

a.	a = 0.10	c.	a = 0.95
b.	a = -0.03	d.	a = -0.98

 

 

ANS:  C                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Introducing Three Types of Reliability    OBJ:           Learning Objective 5                       MSC:  Applying

 

18. Which of the following is NOT true of scatterplots?

a.	They can be used to examine interrater reliability.
b.	They can be used to examine internal reliability.
c.	They should not be used for examining reliability.
d.	They are the preferred method for examining all types of reliability.

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Using a Scatterplot to Evaluate Reliability           OBJ:           Learning Objective 6                       MSC:  Analyzing

 

19. A correlation-based statistic called ________ is commonly used to determine internal reliability.

a.	Cronbach’s alpha	c.	A scatterplot
b.	Kappa	d.	Pearson’s r

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Introducing Three Types of Reliability    OBJ:           Learning Objective 5                       MSC:  Remembering

 

20. Asking many similar questions when trying to measure a concept is done to:

a.	Ensure validity	c.	Make sure participants are not lying
b.	Cancel out measurement error	d.	Allow participants to skip questions

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Introducing Three Types of Reliability: Internal Reliability                 OBJ:   Learning Objective 5

MSC:  Remembering

 

21. Which of the following NOT is possible?

a.	A measure is neither reliable nor valid.	c.	A measure is reliable but not valid.
b.	A measure is both valid and reliable.	d.	A measure is valid but not reliable

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?:  The Relationship Between Reliability and Validity                              OBJ:   Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Analyzing

 

22. Establishing construct validity is most important for which of the following?

a.	A concrete construct	c.	Physical measurements (e.g., length)
b.	A behavior that is directly observable	d.	An abstract concept

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?:         Measurement Validity of Abstract Constructs              OBJ:              Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Remembering

 

23. Establishing construct validity would probably be most important for which of the following?

a.	A measure of blood pressure
b.	A measure of the number of seizures a person has per week
c.	A measure of religiosity
d.	A measure of obesity

 

 

ANS:  C                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?:           Measurement Validity of Abstract Constructs              OBJ:              Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Applying

 

24. In which of the following ways are content and face validity similar?

a.	Both involve subjective judgments.
b.	Both involve judgments based on participants’ opinions.
c.	Both are preferred by psychologists as measures of validity.
d.	Both are necessary for predictive validity.

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?:  Face           Validity and Content Validity: Does It Look Like a Good Measure?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 8                       MSC:  Analyzing

 

RESEARCH STUDY 5.2

Dr. Sheffield is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is defined as being unable to resist impulses to gamble. Bothered by not having a good measure that he can give to clients to determine whether they are suffering from this condition, he creates a new measure of pathological gambling. The measure has 15 questions, and it takes 20 minutes to complete.

 

Refer to Research Study 5.2 to answer the following nine questions.

 

25. If Dr. Sheffield’s measure does not actually measure pathological gambling, his measure is said to lack which of the following?

a.	Validity	c.	Conceptualization
b.	Reliability	d.	Operationalization

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 4                       MSC:  Applying

 

26. Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to his supervisor, who is also an expert in pathological gambling. His supervisor says that his measure appears to test all the components of pathological gambling, including feeling restless when attempting to stop gambling, jeopardizing jobs in order to keep gambling, and using gambling to escape from problems and a bad mood. Given this information, Dr. Sheffield’s measure has evidence of which of the following?

a.	Content validity	c.	Criterion validity
b.	Predictive validity	d.	Discriminant validity

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Face Validity and Content Validity: Does It Look Like a Good Measure?       OBJ:               Learning Objective 8

MSC:  Applying

 

27. To test his measure, Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to a group of people in Gamblers Anonymous (GA) and another group in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He finds that people in the GA group have higher scores on his new measure than people in the AA group. Why did Dr. Sheffield do this?

a.	To obtain evidence for face validity
b.	To obtain evidence for content validity
c.	To obtain evidence for convergent validity
d.	To obtain evidence for criterion validity

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Applying

 

28. To test his measure, Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to a group of people in Gamblers Anonymous (GA) and another group of people in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He finds that people in the GA group have higher scores on his new measure than people in the AA group. This procedure is known as a:

a.	Test-retest paradigm	c.	Prediction paradigm
b.	Known-groups paradigm	d.	Group evaluation paradigm

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Easy

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Applying

 

29. To test his measure, Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to a group of his clients and at the same time measures how many times they have been gambling in the past month. He predicts that clients who score higher on his measure will also report gambling more times in the past month. This procedure is meant to provide evidence for which of the following?

a.	Face validity	c.	Criterion validity
b.	Content validity	d.	Discriminant validity

 

 

ANS:  C                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Applying

 

30. Dr. Sheffield decides to test the criterion validity of his measure. Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to a group of people that includes suspected problem gamblers and nongamblers. Which of the following options below does he also need to do to get evidence for criterion validity?

a.	Give the measure to a group of people attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings
b.	Two months later, ask the same group of people to report how many times they have gambled recently
c.	Ask the participants to give their opinion on whether the measure is valid
d.	Give a measure of alcohol addiction to the same group of clients

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Applying

 

31. Dr. Sheffield has now decided that he wants to test his measure on some university students (who some estimates say have a 6% prevalence rate of compulsive gambling). He has a group of 100 university students complete his measure. He also has them complete two other measures (one that measures addictive behavior in general and one that measures general attitudes toward gambling). He finds that his new measure is positively associated with each of these other measures. This procedure has provided evidence for the ________ of Dr. Sheffield’s measure.

a.	Content validity	c.	Convergent validity
b.	Predictive validity	d.	Discriminant validity

 

 

ANS:  C                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity: Does the Pattern Make Sense?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 9                       MSC:  Applying

 

32. Dr. Sheffield has decided to test the discriminant validity of his new measure. He has a group of first-time Gamblers Anonymous (GA) attendants complete his measure and finds that they score higher than a group of people who do not attend the group. Which of the following results would provide evidence for discriminant validity?

a.	He finds that the GA attendees score higher on his measure than the non-GA attendees.
b.	He finds that the measure of gambling is not correlated with a measure of life satisfaction in the same two groups of people.
c.	He finds that more recent GA joiners score higher than veteran GA attendees, who are more recovered.
d.	He finds that the measure he used is also associated with people’s past diagnoses of pathological gambling.

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity: Does the Pattern Make Sense?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 9                       MSC:  Applying

 

33. Dr. Sheffield wants to establish the discriminant validity of his pathological gambling measure. He gives his measure and three others to a group of 100 people. Which of the following provides the best evidence for discriminant validity?

a.	That his measure is not strongly correlated with a measure of impulsivity
b.	That his measure is not strongly correlated with the number of friends people have
c.	That his measure is strongly correlated with a measure of alcohol addiction
d.	That his measure is strongly correlated with a measure of self esteem

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity: Does the Pattern Make Sense?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 9                       MSC:  Applying

 

34. Another word for discriminant validity is ________ validity.

a.	Convergent	c.	Divergent
b.	Asymmetrical	d.	Multiple

 

 

ANS:  C                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity: Does the Pattern Make Sense?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 9                       MSC:  Remembering

 

35. An educational psychologist is testing the discriminant validity of a new measure of numerical learning difficulties. He gives his measure to a group of students along with another measure of verbal learning difficulties, which he predicts should not be strongly related to numerical learning difficulties. Which of the following correlations would the psychologist hope to find in order to establish discriminant validity?

a.	r = 1.0	c.	r = 0.83
b.	r  = -1.0	d.	r = -0.18

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity: Does the Pattern Make Sense?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 10                     MSC:  Applying

 

36. Why are convergent and discriminant validity often evaluated together?

a.	Both terms mean the same thing.
b.	Both involve collecting information from a lot of psychological measures of theoretical interest.
c.	Both require the use of scatterplots.
d.	Both have to be determined by a panel of experts.

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Convergent Validity and Discriminant Validity: Does the Pattern Make Sense?

OBJ:   Learning Objective 9                       MSC:  Analyzing

 

37. Your friend Dominic is complaining about having to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), a test similar to the ACT and SAT that is required to go to graduate school. He complains that it doesn’t really measure how well he will likely do in graduate school. Dominic is questioning the ________ of the test.

a.	Discriminant validity	c.	Convergent validity
b.	Content validity	d.	Criterion validity

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Applying

 

38. Your friend Dominic is complaining about having to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), a test similar to the ACT and SAT that is required to go to graduate school. Your friend Shakendra tells him he shouldn’t complain, as statistics show that GRE scores are related to graduate school GPA. Shakendra is speaking to the ________ of the test.

a.	Discriminant validity	c.	Convergent validity
b.	Content validity	d.	Criterion validity

 

 

ANS:  D                    DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Applying

 

39. In interrogating the construct validity of a measure, which question should a researcher ask?

a.	Is there enough evidence that this measure is valid?
b.	Do I know that this measure is valid?
c.	Does this measure have the right kind of validity?
d.	Has an expert said that this measure is valid?

 

 

ANS:  A                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Measurement Validity of Abstract Constructs                OBJ:   Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Analyzing

 

40. What does it mean that “reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity”?

a.	If a measure is reliable, it is also valid.
b.	If a measure is valid, it is also reliable.
c.	Reliability and validity are unrelated concepts.
d.	Reliability and validity are the same concept.

 

 

ANS:  B                    DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: The        Relationship Between Reliability and Validity                              OBJ:   Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Analyzing

 

SHORT ANSWER

 

1. Explain why your textbook argues, “In fact, operationalizations are one place where creativity comes into the research process.”

 

ANS:

Students should say that this statement stems from the fact that there is no one way to operationalize a concept in psychology. The choice of how to operationalize an abstract concept allows the researchers to think outside the box and think of ways to observe something that is not necessarily easily observed. In addition, students may also state that researchers strive to improve existing operationalizations or create new ones even though an operationalization already exists, thus adding to the continuing creativity of the research field. Students may also say that this adds to the creativity of the research process because different researchers may generate different operationalizations, ensuring that the field has great variety.

 

DIF:    Medium         REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Three Common Types of Measures

OBJ:   Learning Objective 1                       MSC:  Understanding

 

2. Imagine that you are trying to measure people’s stress. Provide an example of measuring stress using a self-report measure, a physiological measure, and a behavioral measure.

 

ANS:

Students must provide an actual measure of measuring behavior and not simply provide a conceptual definition. A self-report measure must involve asking a person how stressed they are in some way (the person must report on themselves). A physiological measure must involve collecting some biological information (e.g., heart rate, cortisol levels). A behavioral measure must involve collecting data that can be directly observed (e.g., number of times a person looks at the clock during an exam, how long a student waits to speak to a professor).

 

DIF:    Medium         REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Three Common Types of Measures

OBJ:   Learning Objective 2                       MSC:  Applying

 

3. Imagine that you are trying to measure people’s stress. Provide three quantitative definitions of stress: one that is ordinal, one that is interval, and one that is ratio.

 

ANS:

Students should create definitions that are quantitative (numerical), not categorical. They should make an ordinal definition that involves ranking people (e.g., the most stressed people in the class). Their interval definition should be something that has a nonsignificant 0 (e.g., the rating of stress on a 1–10 scale). Their ratio definition should be something that involves a meaningful 0 (e.g., number of stressful days experienced in the past week).

 

DIF:    Medium         REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement

OBJ:   Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Applying

 

4. Explain why many people feel that physiological measurements are the best way to operationalize a variable but why they may not, in fact, be the best.

 

ANS:

Students should say that many people may feel that physiological measurements are best because they tend to be very accurate and based on biological components. Students should also say that although physiological measurements are good and accurate, just like the other measures they must be validated with other measures.

 

DIF:    Medium

REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: More About Conceptual and Operational Variables: Operationalizing Other Conceptual Variables           OBJ:              Learning Objective 2

MSC:  Understanding

 

RESEARCH STUDY 5.3

Lauren, Sarah, and Jennifer are students in Dr. Shaffer’s Research Methods class. For a class assignment, they are asked to devise an operational definition for romantic attachment, or love. Lauren decides to ask a group of married couples to report if they are in love with their spouse (1 indicates “Yes, I am in love” and 2 indicates “No, I am not in love”). Sarah decides to watch couples sitting on campus and measure how close they sit together, assuming that people who sit closer together are more in love. Jennifer decides to recruit a group of newlyweds and measure the change in heart rate that occurs between the start of the study (when the person is alone) and the moment they see their spouse walk into the room.

 

Refer to Research Study 5.3 to answer the following two questions.

 

5. For each student described above, indicate whether the operational definition of her variable is categorical or quantitative. If a student’s operational variable is categorical, explain whether it could or could not be made quantitative and how you would do that.

 

ANS:

Lauren’s operational definition is categorical. To make this quantitative, the student should say that Lauren could ask participants to rate how in love they are, rather than just saying they are in love or are not in love. Sarah’s operational definition is quantitative. Jennifer’s operational definition is quantitative.

 

DIF:    Easy               REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement

OBJ:   Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Applying

 

6. For each student described above, indicate whether the operational definition of her variable is self-reported, observational, or physiological.

 

ANS:

Lauren’s operational definition is self-reported. Sarah’s operational definition is observational. Jennifer’s operational definition is physiological.

 

DIF:    Easy               REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Three Common Types of Measures

OBJ:   Learning Objective 2                       MSC:  Applying

 

7. Dr. Sarolli is planning on measuring literacy (defined as the ability to read and write written text in one’s native language). He decides he wants to create a quantitative operational definition. Create an ordinal, interval, and ratio way to measure literacy.

 

ANS:

Students should create definitions that are quantitative (numerical), not categorical. They should make an ordinal definition that involves ranking people, so that people with the highest literacy skills are rated highest and people with the lowest literacy skills are rated lowest, for example. Their interval definition should be something that has a nonsignificant 0, such as a 10-point scale on which people’s levels of literacy are rated by themselves or by another observer. Their ratio definition should be something that involves a meaningful 0, such as the number of words a person can read in a given amount of time.

 

DIF:    Medium         REF:   Ways to Measure Variables: Scales of Measurement

OBJ:   Learning Objective 3                       MSC:  Applying

 

8. Explain the difference between validity and reliability. Explain whether they are related or independent concepts.

 

ANS:

Students should state that reliability is the consistency of a measure, or the ability of a researcher to trust a measure. They should state that by contrast, the validity of a measure is belief that a measure is actually a measure of what it is purported to measure. Students should explain that they are fairly independent concepts, meaning that a measure can be reliable but not valid, or neither valid nor reliable. They may also state that reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity, or that if a measure is valid, it is also reliable.

 

DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: The Relationship Between Reliability and Validity                                OBJ:   Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Analyzing

 

9. Name the three types of reliability and the four types of validity.

 

ANS:

The student should state the three types of reliability: test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, and internal validity. The student should also state the four types of validity: external validity, statistical validity, internal validity, and construct validity. Note that the students do not need to provide these in any order or provide definitions.

 

DIF:    Easy

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?  |  Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?                                OBJ:   Learning Objective 4

MSC:  Understanding

 

RESEARCH STUDY 5.4

Dr. Li is interested in creating a measurement of religiosity. According to the dictionary, religiosity is “the quality of being religious; piety; devoutness.” He creates a measure comprising 10 statements. People respond to each statement using the following scale (1 = strongly disagree,     3 = neither agree nor disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Some of the statements are below.

Statement 1: “I believe in a religion.”

Statement 2: “Part of who I am stems from my religious beliefs.”

Statement 3: “I believe that religion is unnecessary.”

 

Refer to Research Study 5.4 to answer the following six questions.

 

10. Name two types of reliability that apply to Dr. Li’s measure and how each one could be established, given the above scenario.

 

ANS:

Students should name test-retest reliability and internal reliability. If students name interrater reliability that is technically wrong, as it is unlikely that it is necessary given this measurement. The first reliability is test-retest reliability and is established by giving the measure to a group of people at one time and then again after some time has elapsed. The second type of reliability is internal reliability and is established by looking at the relationship between each of the 10 items. Students may also simply say that it can be established by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. They may not simply say that it can be calculated with a scatterplot or a correlation coefficient, because those can be used for all types of reliability.

 

DIF:    Medium

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Introducing Three Types of Reliability    OBJ:           Learning Objective 5                       MSC:  Applying

 

11. Dr. Li gives his new measure to a group of 100 adults in order to test the internal validity of his measure. Draw two scatterplots: one that demonstrates the likely relationship between Statement

1 and Statement 2 and one that demonstrates the likely relationship between Statement 1 and Statement 3. Explain why you have drawn each scatterplot as you have.

 

ANS:

Students should draw two scatterplots. The first scatterplot (S1 and S2) should depict a positive slope/relationship, and the second scatterplot (S1 and S3) should depict a negative slope/relationship. Students may depict moderate or strong relationships but not weak relationships or nonrelationships. Students should explain that a person who says “yes” to S1 will probably say “yes” to S2 (positive relationship) and that a person who says “yes” to S1 will probably say “no” to S3 (negative relationship).

 

DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Using a Scatterplot to Evaluate Reliability           OBJ:           Learning Objective 10                     MSC:  Applying

 

12. Dr. Li gives his new measure to a group of 100 adults in order to test the internal validity of his measure. What type of correlation coefficients (r) would Dr. Li expect to find between Statement 1 and Statement 2 and between Statement 1 and Statement 3? What would these correlation coefficients tell Dr. Li about the internal reliability of his measure?

 

ANS:

The first correlation coefficient (S1 and S2) should be a positive r. The second correlation coefficient (S1 and S3) should be a negative r. Students may describe moderate or strong relationships (r values of at least 0.5 or higher), but not weak relationships or nonrelationships. Students should explain that a person who says “yes” to S1 will probably say “yes” to S2 (positive relationship) and that a person who says “yes” to S1 will probably say “no” to S3 (negative relationship).

 

DIF:    Medium

REF:   Reliability of Measurement: Are the Scores Consistent?: Using the Correlation Coefficient r to Evaluate Reliability                            OBJ:              Learning Objective 10

MSC:  Applying

 

13. Provide a suggestion for how Dr. Li could establish the face validity of his measure and a suggestion for how he could establish the content validity of his measure.

 

ANS:

Students should say that the face validity could be established by giving his measure to experts (they can state several examples of experts) and having them look at whether the items make sense (look like they measure religiosity). Students should say that the content validity could be established by giving his measure to experts (again, they can state several examples of experts) and have them look at whether the statements measure the components of religiosity (which, from the definition, may include devotion and piety, although the students do not have to be this specific).

 

DIF:    Easy

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Face Validity and Content Validity: Does It Look Like a Good Measure?       OBJ:               Learning Objective 8

MSC:  Applying

 

14. Provide a suggestion for how Dr. Li could establish the criterion validity of his measure.

 

ANS:

Criterion validity could be established by asking people to take his measure and collecting data at the same time about something that would be related to religiosity (examples could include frequency of church attendance, amount donated to religious causes, self-reports of whether they believe in a higher power or not, etc.). The criterion validity could also be established using the known-groups paradigm, which would involve giving the measure to a group of people known to be religious (perhaps church attendees) and those known not to be religious (maybe a group of known atheists) and determine whether the two groups score differently. Students may also state that criterion validity could be established by asking people to take his measure now and collecting data after some time has elapsed. The data collected in the future can be the same type of data collected concurrently.

 

DIF:    Medium

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Applying

 

15. Given the above situation, explain the difference between criterion validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Why is each one important?

 

ANS:

Criterion validity is a measure’s ability to forecast an outcome that is related to the measure. For example, if the measure has criterion validity, it would be correlated with future behaviors (church attendance, amount donated to the church in the next month). Convergent validity is whether a measure is related to similar measures, such as spirituality. Discriminant validity is whether a measure is unrelated to concepts it should be unrelated to, such as health. All three types are important. Criterion validity is important because it indicates the measure’s ability to predict things that Dr. Li cares about. Convergent validity is important because Dr. Li needs to make sure that his measure is related to similar concepts. Divergent validity is important because Dr. Li wants to make sure that the measure is not related to everything, but only to those things that make sense.

 

DIF:    Difficult

REF:   Validity of Measurement: Does It Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?: Criterion Validity: Does It Correlate with Key Behaviors?                              OBJ:               Learning Objective 9

MSC:  Analyzing