Exam 2: Research Methods

Dr.Baxter conducts an experiment investigating the effectiveness of a new antacid on reducing stomach pain.He recruits 100 chronic sufferers of acid indigestion,and places them in four groups,each receiving a different amount of medication.The first group receives a sham pill because it contains none of the new antacid whatsoever.He is very surprised,however,when he finds that group one reports a statistically significant reduction in stomach pain after taking their pill.Which of the following best explains why the participants in group one showed a response to the pill,even when it had no active ingredient?

When research participants are involved in laboratory observation,they often know that they are being observed.Why is this a potential problem for the results of the study?

A test has __________ validity if the researcher is able to control all extraneous variables so that the only variable influencing the results of the study is the independent variable.

In order to test the effects of social pressure on conformity,Dr.Solomon Asch placed a research participant in a room with four other individuals.Those four other people worked for Asch,even though the real participant did not know this.In research terms,people who pose as research participants but are really working for the researcher are called __________.

When the data produced by one group of participants is compared to the data produced by a different group of participants,it is called a within-group experiment.

A study in which different groups of participants are exposed to different independent variables is referred to as a __________-group experiment.

__________ validity uses a specific procedure that measures or correlates with a theoretical or intangible concept.

Which of the following research studies would take place "in the field?"

Which of the following is one of the two types of statistics that researchers use to analyze the data that they collect?

The best way to conduct descriptive research in a highly controlled setting is to use __________ observation.

Moira checks her weight several times a day.One evening she steps on her bathroom scale and she is surprised when it is 6 pounds higher than her mid-day weigh-in.She steps on the scale again,but this time the weight is 2 pounds less.Puzzled,she steps on the scale again,only to find that she is 5 pounds lighter! Which of the following statements is true with regard to Moira's scale?

Dr.Muhammed wants to know if people will rate facial photographs more or less favorably based on the skin color and facial features of the pictures.He digitally alters photographs and mixes the features on each picture,so that participants in his study do not know exactly what they are looking at.Keeping participants unaware of the exact nature of the study in which they are participating helps reduce __________ effects.

Which type of bias or error most thoroughly explains the phenomenon of Clever Hans?

Dr.Martinez is doing a research study examining the effects of a new headache medication on migraine pain.He decides to divide his participants up into four subject groups,each one of which will receive a different amount of medication to take when they have a migraine.He will ask them to write down their assessment of how much the pain has dropped on a ten-point scale an hour after taking the medication.What is the dependent variable in this study?

Professor Spiegelman's introduction to psychology class has 19 students.On the first exam,the students produce the following set of scores: 100,100,97,97,92,86,86,85,81,80,76,72,72,72,71,68,62,59,and 48.What is the range on this exam?

Dr.Lafferman conducts a research experiment that explores the use of different classroom techniques for helping students earn better grades.After the research is fully complete,he posts a list of all of the students' grades on his office door,along with a description of which of the participant groups each student was in.Which rule of ethical behavior has Dr.Lafferman forgotten to consider?

In terms of validity,which quality of a study gives us the greatest confidence that the results discovered were due strictly to the relationship between the independent and dependent variables?

Why is it difficult to make generalizations based on the results of case study research?

Dr.Hobbes is conducting research that investigates the frequency with which people eat at fast food restaurants.He asks 250 different participants a series of 45 questions,some of which have words like "unhealthy," "fat-containing," and "high-cholesterol" in them.What is a potential problem with Dr.Hobbes's study?

Which of the following is not one of the questions that a researcher should ask themselves before conducting a research study