Exam 3: Research Methods

When conducting research,it is critical to adhere to the highest ethical standards.Describe the two ethical principles discussed in your text and why it is important to adhere to them.

You have decided to conduct a research study examining the relationship between depression and relationship satisfaction.To do this you have collected a sample of 120 newlywed couples.In 40 of the couples,neither partner is depressed;in 40 of the couples,one partner is depressed;in the remaining 40 couples,both partners are depressed.You plan to assess both members of each couple on relationship satisfaction and depression every 6 months for the first 5 years of marriage.What type of design is this study?

Specific predictions suggested by ________ are called ________.

The disadvantage to _____ measures is that responses may be weakly correlated with the specific construct of interest.

Why would a researcher choose to conduct experimental rather than longitudinal research to understand relationship processes?

Why would a researcher choose to conduct a longitudinal study rather than an experiment to understand relationship processes?

Researchers collecting their own data must choose who they will include in their sample and how to recruit these participants.The specific characteristics of those who participate in the research may limit the _____ of the study's results.

Jacobson and Moore (1981)found that a spouse's rating of a partner's behavior on the Spouse Observation Checklist often did not match the partner's own rating of his or her behaviors.This study suggested that the Spouse Observation Checklist may have a problem with ________.

For Sally's study,one member of a set of married couples carried voice-activated digital recorders for 2 weeks and both spouses made relationship satisfaction ratings at the end of each day.The recordings contained a lot of meaningless information,but they also contained daily conversations that the spouses had with each other.Sally analyzed the conversations and examined whether the positive and negative behaviors on each day predicted the relationship satisfaction ratings on subsequent days.What kind of research is this?

Atiyeh is studying whether violations of expectations about the division of household chores lead to a decline in relationship satisfaction.This is an example of a(n)________ research question.

Your friend Mathilda learns that you are taking a course on the scientific study of relationships.She scoffs that it is not possible to study relationships scientifically.Explain to Mathilda how the scientific method can be applied to the study of intimate relationships.

Ravneet is doing a study on social support in newlyweds and depression.He would like to collect data from a representative sample.This means Ravneet should:

Many relationships researchers collect data from both partners in the relationship (dyadic data)to avoid bias from one partner's report about the relationship and associated variables.Describe the statistical analysis commonly used to analyze the different ways in which partners' variables may be associated.Hint: It may be helpful to draw a picture to show how partners' reports may be associated.

Which is an example of the "showing respect for persons" principle?

Your professor is interested in doing a quick study on understanding how watching Netflix with or without one's partner may be associated with relationship satisfaction.The grant your professor received was for $200,and she needs to have the results within 3 months.What type of measurement strategy would you suggest she use?

Daniella wants to know if the birth of a child is linked to lower marital satisfaction.This is an example of a(n)________ research question.

You are designing an exploratory study on couples who have polyamorous relationships (i.e. ,they have multiple committed relationships at one time).There is very little research in this area,and not much is known about how these couples manage their relationships.What kind of measurement strategy would be the most appropriate for this new research area?

"Do couples who cohabit before marriage have less conflict as newlyweds than couples who do not cohabit before marriage?" This is an example of a(n)________ research question.

Parminder has just finished a 4-year study of engaged couples.Her intention was to find out how relationships with in-laws and the changes in family structures were related to the success or failure of couples' relationships.During the 4 years,about 20 percent of the couples dropped out of the study.Is this a problem for Parminder? Why or why not?