Applied Research Methods in Psychology
Final Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the core research methodologies used in psychological science, focusing on the application of quantitative and qualitative approaches to real-world problems. Students will learn how to design, conduct, analyze, and interpret empirical studies, including experiments, surveys, case studies, and observational research. Emphasis is placed on ethical considerations, data collection techniques, statistical analysis, and the critical evaluation of published research. Through hands-on projects and practical examples, students will develop skills necessary to apply research methods to psychological issues, preparing them for advanced study and professional practice in the field.
Recommended Textbook Research Methods In Psychology 9th Edition by
John J Shaughnessy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
13 Chapters
754 Verified Questions
754 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3193 Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
45 Verified Questions
45 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63253
Sample Questions
Q1) Prior to conducting a research project,scientists form a ___________,a tentative explanation for the phenomenon they seek to investigate.
A)hypothesis
B)theory
C)colloquium
D)subjective judgment
Answer: A
Q2) When using an empirical approach,psychologists focus on
A)using computers and other technology to understand people.
B)pseudoscientific topics such as clairvoyance and telepathy.
C)behaviors and experiences that can be observed directly.
D)the "black box" between a stimulus and a response.
Answer: C
Q3) In order to make decisions about ethical dilemmas in research,psychologists consult A)the American Psychological Association's ethical principles.
B)the psychological literature related to their topic.
C)the local,state,and federal agencies most relevant to their work.
D)their attorneys.
Answer: A
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: The Scientifi C Method
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
76 Verified Questions
76 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63248
Sample Questions
Q1) When scientists report their findings they strive to describe
A)only the aspects of what they have observed that differ from what they expected to observe.
B)only their personal interpretations.
C)only what they have observed.
D)what they have observed along with their personal interpretations.
Answer: C
Q2) An operational definition of a construct is
A)reliable,because it is consistent.
B)valid,because it is truthful.
C)an intervening variable that connects independent and dependent variables.
D)a specific procedure for producing or measuring the construct.
Answer: D
Q3) The widespread application of psychological principles in our everyday life is possible because of _________ in the past.
A)basic research
B)time-order relationships
C)idiographic research
D)intervening variables
Answer: A
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 4
Chapter 3: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Psychological Research
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
60 Verified Questions
60 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63247
Sample Questions
Q1) A final step when researchers submit a manuscript for publication in an APA-sponsored journal is to
A)release all informed consent forms completed by participants.
B)complete an Ethical Compliance Checklist.
C)submit a revised proposal to their university IRB.
D)seek the permission of individual research participants.
Answer: B
Q2) Greater risk in a research study is acceptable when A)clear and immediate benefits to the participants are expected.
B)the research has obvious scientific and social value.
C)valid and interpretable results will be produced.
D)all of these
Answer: D
Q3) Debriefing individuals following their participation in research follows directly from the moral principles of A)beneficence and respect.
B)malfeasance and dignity.
C)human interest and gratitude.
D)confidentiality and privacy.
Answer: A
Page 5
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 4: Observation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
74 Verified Questions
74 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63246
Sample Questions
Q1) Identify one factor that decreases interobserver reliability and one factor that increases interobserver reliability.
Q2) Researchers use time sampling to obtain
A)as many observation intervals as possible.
B)an internally valid set of observations.
C)a representative sample of behavior.
D)the highest possible interobserver reliability.
Q3) Low interobserver reliability is likely to result because of A)extensive training of observers.
B)lack of clear definitions of events to be recorded.
C)specific feedback to observers regarding discrepancies between their observations.
D)all of these
Q4) Time sampling and situation sampling are used to increase which of the following characteristics of observational findings?
A)efficiency
B)internal validity
C)interobserver reliability
D)external validity
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 6
Chapter 5: Survey Research
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
79 Verified Questions
79 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63245
Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose the researcher mails the survey to the 100 people in the representative sample and only 50 of the people return a completed survey.Can you state that this sample of 50 represents the population? Why or why not?
Q2) The distinguishing characteristic of the longitudinal design is that
A)several samples from the same population are tested once.
B)samples from several populations are compared.
C)a sample of individuals is asked to complete an especially long survey.
D)the same sample of respondents is surveyed more than once.
Q3) Construct validity can be assessed by determining the degree to which similar measures
A)are not correlated.
B)converge on a construct.
C)show consistency over time.
D)all of these
Q4) A major threat to the interpretation of results from a successive independent samples design is
A)noncomparable successive samples.
B)attrition from the study.
C)stratified random sampling from the population.
D)interviewer bias.
Page 7
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 6: Independent Groups Designs
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
69 Verified Questions
69 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63244
Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose that the researcher finds that the 5<sup>th</sup> graders in the divorce (single-parent)group are less sociable than are 5<sup>th</sup> graders in the intact and remarried groups.The researcher concludes that divorce and living in a single-parent home causes children to be less sociable,and that remarriage causes improvements in sociability.Do you accept this researcher's conclusions? Why or why not?
Q2) A cognitive psychologist wants to do an experiment testing the memory of elderly people.She has the following constraints: only 12 people available as possible participants and the independent variable she is manipulating requires the use of separate groups for each condition.The psychologist has a reliable and valid pretest she plans to use.Which design is this psychologist likely to use?
A)matched groups design
B)natural groups design
C)random groups design
D)placebo control design
Q3) What type of experimental design did this researcher use?
Q4) Identify and briefly define the three primary types of control that are used in experiments.
Q5) Describe the independent variable in this study.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: Repeated Measures Designs
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
36 Verified Questions
36 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63243
Sample Questions
Q1) The best solution when differential transfer is likely in an experiment is to
A)use selected orders in an incomplete repeated measures design.
B)use block randomization in a complete repeated measures design.
C)choose a different independent variable to investigate.
D)conduct a random groups design.
Q2) What potential confounding variable must be balanced in this research? Explain what balancing procedure would be best for this experiment.
B.Ten random sequences of A and B inkblots would counterbalance practice effects.
Q3) In an independent groups design,a separate group of people serves as the control group.In the repeated measures design,
A)there is no control.
B)all participants participate in one condition of the experiment.
C)participants serve as their own controls.
D)test-retest reliability is the main goal of the research.
Q4) If the psychologist would like to have 50 ratings for each inkblot,how many participants will the psychologist need to recruit for the experiment?
Q5) What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 9
Chapter 8: Complex Designs
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63242
Sample Questions
Q1) What are the means for the main effect of the Age variable? [Be sure to specify which mean belongs with each condition.]
Q2) These results would most likely indicate a statistically significant
A)interaction effect between arousal level and personality.
B)main effect of personality.
C)main effect of arousal level.
D)none of these
Q3) A researcher did an experiment testing the effects of noise on students' ability to study effectively in different environments.There were three levels of background noise and two different environments so the design was a 3 × 2.The researcher obtained an interaction effect and decided to try to identify the source of the interaction effect by testing the effects of the noise variable separately at each level of the environment variable.Which of the following types of effects in the analysis of a complex design was the researcher testing?
A)main effect
B)simple main effect
C)moderator effect
D)comparison of two means
Q4) Did the results support the researcher's predictions? Explain why or why not.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Chapter 9: Single-Case Designs and Small-N Research
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
47 Verified Questions
47 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63241
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not an acceptable approach for addressing the problem of excessive baseline variability in single-subject designs?
A)dropping the results for those subjects whose baselines show excessive variability
B)averaging across several data points in the baseline
C)"waiting it out" - continue taking baseline measures until behavior stabilizes
D)removing factors in the situation that might be producing the variability
Q2) An extensive case study of an individual's visual system reveals several important findings.The ability of the researcher to generalize these findings to other individuals can be described as
A)impossible-the findings cannot be generalized because a case study was used.
B)somewhat limited because people's visual systems are likely to vary somewhat.
C)very limited because people's visual systems vary so greatly.
D)not limited at all because the visual system of all organisms is the same.
Q3) Do you think the psychologist's conclusions are correct? Why or why not?
Q4) Describe the common features that are present in both ABAB and multiple-baseline experimental designs.
Q5) What type of research design was used in this study? [Be specific.]
Q6) Identify two advantages and two disadvantages of the case study method.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 11
Chapter 10: Quasi-Experimental Designs and Program Evaluation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63252
Sample Questions
Q1) When,from the outset of a study,differences exist between the kinds of individuals in one group of an experiment and those in another,there is a potential threat to internal validity called A)selection.
B)maturation.
C)additive effect of selection and history.
D)contamination.
Q2) The external validity of research done in natural settings is likely to be emphasized more when the research represents A)social experimentation as the basis for large-scale changes. B)an extension of a specific laboratory finding.
C)an experiment done to address a specific question raised by a specific company. D)a theoretically motivated social psychology experiment.
Q3) How does a time series design with nonequivalent control group differ from a nonequivalent control group design? What threat to internal validity is controlled by adding a nonequivalent control group to a simple interrupted time series design?
Q4) What type of research design was used for this study?
Q5) What major threats to internal validity are controlled by this research design?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: Data Analysis and Interpretation: Part I
Describing Data,confi Dence Intervals, Correlation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63251
Sample Questions
Q1) A confidence interval is basically the same as A)a margin of error.
B)the range.
C)the standard deviation.
D)the difference between two means.
Q2) If a scatterplot shows that most of the points fall on a straight line,we can be confident that the correlation between the two measures is A)weak.
B)strong.
C)unable to be determined.
D)zero.
Q3) When interpreting confidence intervals when there are three or more means,if the intervals overlap such that the sample mean of one group lies within the interval of another group,we may conclude that
A)the population means for the groups are different.
B)the sample means are the same.
C)the population means do not differ.
D)the population mean for another group will be different.
Q4) Explain the phrase,"Correlation does not imply causation."
Page 13
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 12: Data Analysis and Interpretation: Part II Tests of
Statisticalsignifi Cance and the Analysis Story
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63250
Sample Questions
Q1) What values form the numerator and denominator for the F-ratio (F-test)for each statistical effect?
Q2) The most common error associated with null hypothesis testing in psychological research is
A)random sampling.
B)too much power.
C)Type I error.
D)Type II error.
Q3) (a)What is a Type I error and what is a Type II error when using NHST? (b)Which is more common in psychological research?
Q4) A researcher manipulated one independent variable in a complex design experiment using a random groups design and manipulated the second independent variable using a repeated measures design.The researcher's plan for data analysis should include
A)a correlation between the first and second independent variables.
B)a single-factor ANOVA for the first independent variable and a repeated measures t-test for the second independent variable.
C)a two-factor ANOVA for a mixed design.
D)a confidence interval for the overall mean in the experiment.
Page 14
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 13: Communication in Psychology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
20 Verified Questions
20 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63249
Sample Questions
Q1) A written research proposal,unlike the report of a completed research study,generally will not include
A)a method section.
B)an abstract.
C)an appendix.
D)any reference to statistics.
Q2) The most common type of graph in psychology journals is the A)histogram.
B)frequency polygon.
C)line graph.
D)pie chart.
Q3) To avoid unbiased communication when referring to human participants in your study,you should describe them
A)in the most general terms.
B)using the word "subjects."
C)using ethnic labels that make you comfortable.
D)at an appropriate level of specificity.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15