Educational Research Methods
Exam Answer Key
Course Introduction
Educational Research Methods introduces students to the fundamental principles, techniques, and processes involved in conducting research within the field of education. The course covers both qualitative and quantitative approaches, exploring topics such as research design, data collection and analysis, literature review, and ethical considerations. Students will learn how to formulate research questions, develop hypotheses, choose appropriate methodologies, and interpret findings. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the skills necessary to critically evaluate educational studies and undertake their own research projects, contributing to informed decision-making and improvement in educational practices.
Recommended Textbook
Exploring Research 8th Edition by Neil J. Salkind
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15 Chapters
564 Verified Questions
564 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The Role and Importance of Research
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What can always be a result of a well-run study?
A) confirming the hypothesis
B) providing valuable information
C) supporting researcher expectations
D) refuting the hypothesis
Answer: B
Q2) Michael hands out a survey to find out the average age and schooling level of his class. What type of research is this?
A) historical
B) cause-and-effect
C) quasi-experimental
D) descriptive
Answer: D
Q3) What is the major difference between applied and basic research?
A) basic research takes longer to complete
B) applied research is less important
C) basic research is more traditional
D) basic research has no immediate application
Answer: D
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Research Process: Coming to Terms
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47 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) If you read that a study's finding was significant at the p < .05 level, you could conclude that there is a less than 5% probability that
A) the results will translate to real world situations
B) most researchers in that area would consider the finding to have clinical meaning
C) the researchers used unreliable measures
D) the results were due to chance
Answer: D
Q2) In a study of the effect of pleasure reading on vocabulary level, the vocabulary level is considered what type of variable?
A) independent variable
B) dependent variable
C) control variable
D) extraneous variable
Answer: B
Q3) Research hypotheses are statements of inequality.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 4
Chapter 3: A: Selecting a Problem and Reviewing the Research
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the most popular search engine?
A) Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
B) ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
C) Bibliographic Index Plus
D) Google
Answer: D
Q2) Which source should NOT be cited in a formal literature review?
A) Newsweek
B) Review of Educational Research
C) Handbook of Child Psychology
D) Journal of Educational Finance
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following is a fatal error in research problem selection?
A) refining your idea upon review of the literature
B) sticking with the first idea that comes to mind
C) selecting a problem you are genuinely interested in
D) doing something meaningful
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: B: Ethics: the Basic Principles
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Sample Questions
Q1) List 10 informational elements that should be present in an informed consent letter. Must the letter be signed by the participant?
Q2) Which of the following information should be provided in an informed consent form for any study involving human participants?
A) the findings of the study
B) the number of participants the study plans to use
C) the procedures involved in the study
D) the names of other participants
Q3) What is the role of professional organizations in promoting ethical standards in human research studies?
Q4) Forcing someone to participate in a study is an example of what ethical issue/concern?
A) protection from harm
B) maintenance of privacy
C) informed consent
D) coercion
Q5) Discuss the primary shortcomings of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and what ethical guidelines are in place now to prevent such ethical lapses in the future. Is it enough?
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Chapter 4: Sampling and Generalizability
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Sample Questions
Q1) In which sampling technique are units of individuals selected rather than the individuals themselves?
A) simple random sampling
B) systematic sampling
C) stratified sampling
D) cluster sampling
Q2) Why is the statement "the larger the sample, the better" NOT always accurate?
Q3) Why does increasing the number of people in a sample decrease the sampling error?
Q4) Which of these statements is true regarding cluster sampling?
A) one example of a nonprobability sampling method
B) individuals grouped together based on cluster of profile characteristics
C) minimizes the risk of bias due to a heterogeneous population
D) a great time-saver compared to simple random sampling
Q5) Sampling error can be defined by which of the following statements?
A) increased by increasing sample size
B) larger as the diversity of sample values becomes smaller
C) can be minimized by using simple random sampling
D) becomes equal to zero over many samples
Q6) What is the difference between probability and nonprobability sampling?
Page 7
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Chapter 5: Measurement, Reliability, and Validity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Inter-rater reliability measures consistency_________________.
A) over time
B) from form to form
C) across different tests
D) from rater to rater
Q2) Dr. Baylor is concerned that the items on his test really do adequately represent the universe of items from which he chose. Dr. Baylor's concern is one of ________________________.
A) content validity
B) predictive validity
C) concurrent validity
D) construct validity
Q3) Which of the following statements is false?
A) Validity refers to the results of a test not the test itself.
B) Validity progresses from low to high degrees rather than all or none.
C) A test can lack validity and still be a reliable measure.
D) A test can lack reliability and still be a valid measure.
Q4) Why are repeated scores on most variables always different from one another?
Q5) Name four ways to increase reliability.
Q6) What is the difference between continuous and discrete variables?
Page 8
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Chapter 6: Methods of Measuring Behavior
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is NOT the purpose of a test?
A) assist in placement
B) help researchers determine the outcome of an experiment
C) assist in selection
D) collect detailed and unique information about each test taker
Q2) What is the computed number for how well an item distinguishes between the "knowing" and the "unknowing"?
A) item analysis
B) discrimination index
C) difficulty index
D) attitude index
Q3) With no information, what is the chance that a person can guess correctly on a four-option multiple-choice question?
A) 100%
B) 75%
C) 50%
D) 25%
Q4) What are some advantages and disadvantages to using multiple choice questions?
Q5) Why is it important to be unobtrusive when observing behavior?
Q6) What are some reasons why we use tests?
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Chapter 7: Data Collection and Descriptive Statistics
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the median of 2, 2, 2, 4, 6, 6, 6, and 6?
A) 5
B) 6
C) 4.25
D) 34
Q2) Which measure would be used to determine the average age of college freshmen?
a) mean
b) mode
c) median
d) standard deviation
Q3) Which is NOT one of the Ten Commandments of data collection?
A) think of the type of data you will be collecting
B) think about where you are getting the data
C) make sure the data collection form is easy to use
D) destroy original data when your study is finished
Q4) What is the best code to use when coding gender?
A) male, female
B) 1, 2
C) M, F
D) Joe, Jane
Page 10
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Chapter 8: Introducing Inferential Statistics
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Sample Questions
Q1) What can you conclude if the obtained value of a test statistic exceeds the critical value?
A) The null hypothesis cannot be rejected.
B) You made an error when calculating the test statistic.
C) The null hypothesis can be rejected.
D) Your obtained value is not statistically significant.
Q2) When examining the significance of the relationship between two variables, what test should you use?
A) t-test for dependent means
B) t-test for independent means
C) t-test for the correlation coefficient
D) analysis of variance
Q3) Which of the following statements regarding statistical significance is FALSE?
A) The level of statistical significance and Type I error are the same thing.
B) Statistical significance is the degree of risk you are willing to take that you will reject a null when it is actually true.
C) When your results are found to be statistically significant, you can conclude that they will have a meaningful effect in the clinic.
D) The researcher can determine the level of statistical significance.
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Page 11
Chapter 9: Nonexperimental Research: Descriptive and Correlational Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) If you square a correlation coefficient and subtract this number from 1.00, what is the result?
A) the coefficient of alienation
B) the coefficient of determination
C) the amount of variance NOT explained by the variance in each variable
D) both a and c
Q2) What type of research tool can be either informal or highly structured?
A) interview
B) survey
C) descriptive
D) historical
Q3) If your research does NOT include a treatment or control group, what type of research are you conducting?
A) experimental research
B) causal-comparative research
C) descriptive research
D) quasi-experimental research
Q4) How do you know by looking at the correlation coefficient if there is a strong correlation between one variable and another?
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Chapter 10: Nonexperimental Research: Qualitative Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) You have a diary thought to be written by a confederate soldier during the Civil War. A handwriting expert believes the writing matches other samples that have already been traced to this man. A carbon-dating expert can verify the age of the document. The diary gives an account of a battle, but you have other documents that contradict some of the events as written. Based on this information, what should you question about the diary?
A) authenticity
B) accuracy
C) validity
D) ability to pass a test of external criticism
Q2) What is one of the limitations of the case-study method?
A) cause-and-effect links cannot be established
B) provides more breadth than depth
C) only one technique is used to gather data
D) focus is placed upon several individuals at a time
Q3) How would you describe an ethnography?
A) intense look at an individual
B) explores a culture
C) looks at history
D) looks at relationships between two things
Page 13
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Chapter 11: Pre- and True Experimental Research Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Persian Gulf War might influence internal validity in what way?
A) maturation
B) history
C) selection
D) randomization
Q2) Which is a way to control extraneous variables?
A) matching
B) history
C) instrumentation
D) reactive arrangements
Q3) Dr. Evans was surprised that many of his participants scored much lower than expected on his pretest. When he observed a significant increase in scores on the posttest, he was cautious in attributing the effect to his treatment alone. Which of the following threats to internal validity was Dr. Evans concerned about?
A) instrumentation
B) selection
C) regression
D) testing
Q4) Explain the effects of regression and how it affects internal validity.
Q5) What is the Hawthorne effect?
14
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Chapter 12: Quasi-Experimental Research: a Close Cousin to Experimental Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which design is represented below? Group 1 Treatment Posttest
Group 2 No Treatment Posttest
A) nonequivalent control group design
B) static group comparison
C) Solomon two group design
D) factorial design
Q2) Which of the following statements is false regarding quasi-experimental methodology?
A) The hypothesized cause of differences between groups has already occurred.
B) It is more powerful than experimental research.
C) Group assignment has already taken place.
D) It does not attempt to establish a cause-and-effect relationship.
Q3) Give an example of static group comparison in an experiment.
Q4) Discuss differences between longitudinal and cross sectional methods.
Q5) What is one drawback of longitudinal studies?
A) They assess changes in subjects over time.
B) The subjects act as their own controls.
C) They can have a high mortality rate.
Page 15
D) The researcher does not manipulate any variables.
Q6) What is the difference between ABA and ABAB design?
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Page 16
Chapter 13: Writing a Research Proposal
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following would be found in the method section?
A) introduction
B) running head
C) rationale for the research
D) participants
Q2) When reviewing a test, which of the following is NOT one of the major criteria to consider?
A) basic information
B) design and appearance
C) reliability
D) popularity
Q3) What should you look for when evaluating the hypothesis of a research paper?
Q4) What margin spacing should be used in a proposal?
A) .5 inches
B) 1 inch
C) 1.5 inches
D) 2 inches
Q5) What should you look for when evaluating the method section of a research paper?
Q6) Name some things you should remember when selecting your dependent variable.
Q7) What is an effective way of judging how much time your proposal will take?
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Chapter 14: Writing a Research Manuscript
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which section presents the specific statistical procedures used along with the results of these procedures?
A) discussion
B) method
C) results
D) introduction
Q2) What information is usually included in a discussion section?
Q3) Margins for a manuscript should be _____________________.
A) .5 inches
B) 1 inch
C) 1.5 inches
D) 2 inches
Q4) In a prepared manuscript, what should follow the discussion section?
A) tables
B) title page
C) references
D) abstract
Q5) What are the differences between the results and discussion sections?
Q6) List the parts of a prepared manuscript, in order.
Q7) What are some subsections that may be found in the methods section?
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