Exam 4: Elements of Research Design

Based on a random sample survey of a college student body, you find that the correlation between the frequency of reported church attendance and the frequency of reported alcohol consumption is −.12. This correlation was significant at p < .01. This means that

Suppose you find that the more educated people are, the more likely they are to vote. When you analyze the impact of the variable "interest in politics," you find that education is associated with interest in politics, and people who are interested in politics are more likely to vote. As a (an) __________ variable, interest in politics __________.

In which of the following lists does each term denote a variable?

In a study of the impact of gender on aggression, the direction of influence is clear.

In which of the following hypotheses is the independent variable (in other words, the temporal order or direction of influence) most clear?

To state that a good research question should be "interesting" means that it should

A given hypotheses may be stated properly in several different ways.

According to the text, good research questions should be

In a study comparing acceptance rates with graduate rates at numerous colleges, the unit of analysis is individual students.

A correlation coefficient indicates whether a relationship is statistically significant.

Consider the following hypothesis: Members of the Congress who belong to the same political party as the president are more likely to vote for legislation supported by the president than congressional members who belong to a different party. The unit of analysis implied by this hypothesis is

An independent variable in one study may be a dependent variable in another study.

Which of the following was not mentioned in the text as a source of topic selection in social research?

Tests of statistical significance indicate that which of the following criteria for establishing causality has been met?