Question 1

Read the following statement: There is no measurable difference in incidence of incarceration for adolescent children whose mothers work outside the home in comparison with those whose mothers do not work outside the home. How is this statement best defined?

Accepted Answer

A)  Null hypothesis
B)  Confounding variable
C)  Research objective
D)  Research question A

Question 2

The intervention that the researcher manipulates is the:

Accepted Answer

A)  demographic variable.
B)  independent variable.
C)  dependent variable.
D)  extraneous variable. B

Question 3

A research hypothesis states: "There is no measurable difference in incidence of acne in 15-year-olds who are placed on a chocolate-free diet." What is the dependent variable in this hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A)  15-year-olds
B)  No chocolate in the diet
C)  Chocolate in the diet
D)  Acne D

Question 4

A pediatric nurse, who has worked on the inpatient unit for 7 years, is enrolled in a master's program. The nurse notes that children who are homeless and who are admitted to the inpatient setting seem to have longer lengths of hospital stay, appear to have poorer verbal skills, and seem to be more fearful of separation from their parents. The nurse designs a study to measure these variables in homeless children and to compare the findings with the average patients on the same unit. What is the research objective?

Accepted Answer

A)  To answer the research question
B)  To determine the strength of the statistical relationship among the variables
C)  To determine whether homeless children seem to have longer length of hospital stay, poorer verbal skills, and more fear of separation from their parents than do other children
D)  To measure length of stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents in homeless children admitted to the hospital

Question 5

An experimental psychologist studies rat behavior. The psychologist runs rats through a maze, under different scent conditions. At the end of the maze is cheese. Sometimes the maze is lit, and sometimes it is dark. During each run, the rats are subjected to different scents (cat pheromone, the smell of cheddar cheese, tiger pheromone, the smell of rat feces) at crucial decision points in the maze. The psychologist measures the time it takes the rats to finish the maze. What could be considered independent variables in this study?

Accepted Answer

A)  The rats
B)  Light versus dark
C)  The psychologist
D)  The amount of time the rats take to finish the maze
E)  The scentsF) The cheese at the end of the mazeG) Rat behavior

Question 6

Simple descriptive statistics may be used to depict the sample characteristics, reflecting demographic variable values, in which kind of research?

Accepted Answer

A)  Quantitative research only
B)  Qualitative research only
C)  Both quantitative and qualitative research
D)  Only when data have been extracted from an electronic database

Question 7

What could be an independent variable in an experimental study?

Accepted Answer

A)  Quality of life
B)  The percentage of moisture in the inspired air the subject breathes
C)  The researcher's preference for quantitative versus qualitative methodologies
D)  Wearing a hat with a large brim
E)  Seizure activity during the experiment

Question 8

A research hypothesis states: "The number of minutes a 16-year-old girl spends applying her makeup in the morning is related to her perceived personal attractiveness." What type of hypothesis is this?

Accepted Answer

A)  Simple hypothesis
B)  Complex hypothesis
C)  Causal hypothesis
D)  Associative hypothesis
E)  Nondirectional hypothesisF) Directional hypothesis

Question 9

A research hypothesis states: "Taking lessons to learn how to play bridge and weekly practice in playing bridge have an effect on beginning bridge players' win-loss ratio." What type of hypothesis is this?

Accepted Answer

A)  Simple hypothesis
B)  Complex hypothesis
C)  Causal hypothesis
D)  Associative hypothesis
E)  Nondirectional hypothesisF) Directional hypothesis

Question 10

A cook wants to know what happens to bacon when it is fried in a frying pan, versus microwaving it. Specifically, the cook wonders if the bacon ends up moister and more flavorful when fried or when microwaved. What are the dependent variables?

Accepted Answer

A)  Frying bacon
B)  Microwaving bacon
C)  Consistent cooking temperature
D)  Variable cooking temperature
E)  Moistness of baconF) Kitchen burnsG) Flavor of bacon

Question 11

A research hypothesis states: "The number of children in the home is associated with noise level in that home and with parental stress." What type of hypothesis is this?

Accepted Answer

A)  Simple hypothesis
B)  Complex hypothesis
C)  Causal hypothesis
D)  Associative hypothesis
E)  Nondirectional hypothesisF) Directional hypothesis

Question 12

A professor of medical-surgical nursing researches the effect of special tutoring sessions offered once weekly to students, in hopes of improving student performance on examinations. In the fall semester, student exam scores were significantly improved over those of the previous term, when tutoring was not offered. The performance of the spring term students does not show a significant improvement over students without tutoring. The professor's colleague identifies a confounding variable. Which variable is the confounding variable?

Accepted Answer

A)  The same professor provided tutoring in both fall and spring semesters.
B)  The fall semester students had a lower admission grade point average than the spring semester students.
C)  The fall semester students were, on average, older than the spring students.
D)  The fall tutoring sessions were conducted on Mondays after the medical-surgical class and the spring sessions were held on Fridays, after a different class.

Question 13

The research question states: "Can diabetics on oral antiglycemic medications achieve better control of blood sugar, as measured by Hemoglobin A1C, if they are taught to meditate and do this on a daily basis?" What is the independent variable in this research question?

Accepted Answer

A)  Oral antiglycemic medications
B)  Hemoglobin A1C
C)  Meditation
D)  Blood sugar

Question 14

A researcher identifies three variables and formulates a hypothesis that links them. That hypothesis is testable. What does it mean that the hypothesis is testable?

Accepted Answer

A)  All the variables in the hypothesis are measurable.
B)  The hypothesis must be replaced by a research question.
C)  The value of the hypothesis is low.
D)  The hypothesis is causational.

Question 15

A research hypothesis states: "Number of hours spent daily playing videogames is negatively related to student achievement in high school history class." What type of hypothesis is this?

Accepted Answer

A)  Simple hypothesis
B)  Complex hypothesis
C)  Causal hypothesis
D)  Associative hypothesis
E)  Nondirectional hypothesisF) Directional hypothesis

Question 16

A researcher identifies an important extraneous variable after a study is under way. What is the best action for the researcher to take now?

Accepted Answer

A)  Determine whether the extraneous variable is an independent or dependent variable.
B)  Stop the study, then redesign it so as to control for this extraneous variable.
C)  Attempt to measure the extraneous variable so that its effect may be determined during the analytic phase.
D)  Nothing now. Plan to identify this as a limitation during the dissemination phase.

Question 17

A research hypothesis states: "Patients with recurrent bowel obstruction due to Crohn's disease who are assigned to be treated in an emergency room complain less frequently of pain and require less pain medication than those patients admitted, in the usual fashion, and treated on a medical floor." What is the independent variable in the hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A)  Bowel obstruction due to Crohn's disease
B)  Place treated
C)  Number of complaints of pain
D)  Number of doses of pain medication

Question 18

A research hypothesis states: "Decreasing the time allotted for weekly, in-class pop quizzes increases student anxiety and decreases student grades." What type of hypothesis is this?

Accepted Answer

A)  Simple hypothesis
B)  Complex hypothesis
C)  Causal hypothesis
D)  Associative hypothesis
E)  Nondirectional hypothesisF) Directional hypothesis

Question 19

A pediatric nurse, who has worked on the inpatient unit for 7 years, is enrolled in a master's program. The nurse notes that children who are homeless and who are admitted to the inpatient setting seem to have longer lengths of hospital stay, appear to have poorer verbal skills, and seem to be more fearful of separation from their parents. The nurse designs a study to measure these variables in homeless children, and to compare the findings with the average patients on the same unit. What is the research question?

Accepted Answer

A)  Are longer hospital stays, poorer verbal skills, and increased fear of separation from parents made worse by children's homelessness?
B)  Does children's homelessness affect length of hospital stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents?
C)  Was homelessness related to length of hospital stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents in this study?
D)  Is homelessness in children related to length of hospital stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents?

Question 20

What could be a dependent variable in an experimental study?

Accepted Answer

A)  Medication A
B)  The number of times the gerbil rings the bell
C)  Quality of life
D)  The number of times the subject is instructed in how to use the experimental equipment
E)  Vomiting

Exam 6: Objectives, Questions, Hypotheses, and Study Variables

Read the following statement: There is no measurable difference in incidence of incarceration for adolescent children whose mothers work outside the home in comparison with those whose mothers do not work outside the home. How is this statement best defined?

The intervention that the researcher manipulates is the:

A research hypothesis states: "There is no measurable difference in incidence of acne in 15-year-olds who are placed on a chocolate-free diet." What is the dependent variable in this hypothesis?

Simple descriptive statistics may be used to depict the sample characteristics, reflecting demographic variable values, in which kind of research?

What could be an independent variable in an experimental study?

A research hypothesis states: "The number of minutes a 16-year-old girl spends applying her makeup in the morning is related to her perceived personal attractiveness." What type of hypothesis is this?

A research hypothesis states: "Taking lessons to learn how to play bridge and weekly practice in playing bridge have an effect on beginning bridge players' win-loss ratio." What type of hypothesis is this?

A cook wants to know what happens to bacon when it is fried in a frying pan, versus microwaving it. Specifically, the cook wonders if the bacon ends up moister and more flavorful when fried or when microwaved. What are the dependent variables?

A research hypothesis states: "The number of children in the home is associated with noise level in that home and with parental stress." What type of hypothesis is this?

The research question states: "Can diabetics on oral antiglycemic medications achieve better control of blood sugar, as measured by Hemoglobin A1C, if they are taught to meditate and do this on a daily basis?" What is the independent variable in this research question?

A researcher identifies three variables and formulates a hypothesis that links them. That hypothesis is testable. What does it mean that the hypothesis is testable?

A research hypothesis states: "Number of hours spent daily playing videogames is negatively related to student achievement in high school history class." What type of hypothesis is this?

A researcher identifies an important extraneous variable after a study is under way. What is the best action for the researcher to take now?

A research hypothesis states: "Decreasing the time allotted for weekly, in-class pop quizzes increases student anxiety and decreases student grades." What type of hypothesis is this?

What could be a dependent variable in an experimental study?