Psychological Statistics and Research Methods
Test Preparation
Course Introduction
This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and methods of psychological research, emphasizing the role of statistics in the interpretation and analysis of data. Students will learn about research design, hypothesis formulation, data collection techniques, descriptive and inferential statistics, and the ethical considerations of conducting psychological studies. The course combines theoretical instruction with hands-on experience in designing experiments, analyzing real psychological data using statistical software, and interpreting results. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the skills necessary to critically evaluate psychological research and conduct basic independent research projects.
Recommended Textbook
Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences 4th Edition by Frederick J Gravetter
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Chapter 1: Introduction, Acquiring Knowledge, and the Scientific Method
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Sample Questions
Q1) A researcher conducts a study in which 50 college students are assigned to different treatments and tested.In the study,the students are called
A)research associates.
B)research cohorts.
C)research participants.
D)research subjects.
Answer: C
Q2) Visual illusions,such as the vertical/horizontal illusion,provide a demonstration of one problem with the _________ of knowing or acquiring knowledge.
A)rational method
B)method of authority
C)empirical method
D)scientific method
Answer: C
Q3) Using a hypothesis to predict how people will behave is an example of induction (or inductive reasoning).
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Research Ideas
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Q1) A researcher initiates a study to determine whether there is a significant decrease in student stress if class quizzes are announced rather than given on a "pop" basis.This study can be classified as
A)basic.
B)applied.
C)systematic.
D)necessary.
Answer: B
Q2) Although it is best to start with a specific research idea in mind,it also is possible to find ideas by reading other research reports.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) One goal of your background reading is to find an unanswered research question. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Defining and Measuring Variables
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Q1) Suppose a researcher wants to evaluate a self-esteem program by measuring students' self-esteem before and after a self-esteem program is administered.If all of the students score very high in self-esteem before the program begins,then the measurement procedure has a sensitivity problem known as A)a floor effect.
B)a ceiling effect.
C)a hypersensitive effect.
D)a hyposensitive effect.
Answer: B
Q2) Operational definitions are necessary to convert hypothetical constructs into observable variables.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) To establish split-half reliability you must administer the same measurement to the same group of people at two different times.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Ethics in Research
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Q1) Which of the following is NOT part of the guidelines for using deception in a research study?
A) Individuals must be informed that deception is involved before they consent to participate.
B)Individuals must be debriefed about the deception as soon as possible after the study.
C)The deception must be justified.
D)The deception cannot conceal a real risk or danger to participants.
Q2) Researchers often use a coding system to identify data during the course of a research study.The reason for using codes is
A)to ensure that participants have complete informed consent.
B)to help protect confidentiality.
C)to help with data analysis.
D)it is a required part of all research with human participants.
Q3) Which of the following forms of deception is not permitted?
A)lying to the participants about the purpose of the study
B)not telling participants about a possible risk in the study
C)observing participants who don't know they are being observed
D)causing participants to misunderstand the study
Q4) Explain the role of the IRB.
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Chapter 5: Selecting Research Participants
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Questions
Q1) The workers in a factory are organized into 5-person teams.When conducting a work-environment survey,a researcher randomly selected 10 teams to obtain a total sample of 50 workers.The researcher used A)simple random sampling.
B)stratified random sampling.
C)proportionate stratified random sampling.
D)cluster sampling.
Q2) Describe the basic distinction between probability sampling and nonprobability and explain why most psychology research uses nonprobability methods.
Q3) Explain why you are more likely to obtain a representative sample with proportionate stratified random sampling than with either stratified random sampling or simple random sampling.
Q4) A cluster sample usually does not qualify as a true random sample because A)the individual groups selected are not determined by a random process.
B)the selections are not independent of each other.
C)the individuals within each group are usually not independent.
D)all of the other choices are correct.
Q5) Under what circumstances is a proportionate stratified random sample the most appropriate sampling method?
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Chapter 6: Research Strategies and Validity
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Q1) When one treatment condition has a lasting effect on individuals that influences their scores in future treatments,the study is confounded by A)history.
B)instrumentation.
C)carry-over effects.
D)progressive error.
Q2) In studies with a group of individuals being tested in a series of treatment conditions,factors such as history,instrumentation,and maturation threaten
A)internal validity.
B)external validity.
C)both internal and external validity.
D)neither internal nor external validity.
Q3) As the values for one variable decrease from one person to another,the values for a second variable also tend to decrease.This is an example of a __________ relationship.
A)positive
B)negative
C)curvilinear
D)These data show no consistent relationship.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: The Experimental Research Strategy
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Q1) What is the general purpose for using simulations and field studies?
A)to increase external validity
B)to increase internal validity
C)to verify that the manipulation of the independent variable was successful
D)to prevent extraneous variables from becoming confounding variables
Q2) In an experiment,a researcher manipulates people's mood to determine what changes in mood cause changes in memory performance.However,the researcher is not sure that the manipulation is really causing people's mood to change.In this case,the research should
A)control mood by holding it constant.
B)control mood by matching it across treatment conditions.
C)add a no-treatment control group in which mood is not manipulated.
D)add a manipulation check by measuring mood.
Q3) In order to establish an unambiguous cause-and-effect relationship between two variables,it is necessary to eliminate the possible influence of extraneous variables.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe and differentiate the three methods to control extraneous variables.
Q5) Explain how simulation and field studies increase external validity.
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Chapter 8: Experimental Designs: Between-Subjects Design
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Q1) In a between-subjects design
A)each participant experiences only one level of the independent variable.
B)all participants experience every level of the independent variable.
C)each participant is investigated in great detail with multiple measures.
D)behavioral observation is used.
Q2) Which of the following is not a risk when participants in one group have an opportunity to talk with participants in the other groups in a between-subjects experiment?
A)resentful demoralization
B)compensatory equalization
C)diffusion
D)differential attrition
Q3) Holding a variable constant guarantees that the variable cannot become a confounding variable.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe the basic characteristics of a between-subjects experiment.
Q5) Explain the benefit of independent scores in a between-subjects design.
Q6) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of matching groups of participants in a between-subjects experiment.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Experimental Designs: Within-Subjects Design
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Q1) A matched-subjects design attempts to eliminate the problems associated with _______ that are a concern for between-subjects designs and also eliminate the problems associated with ______ that are a concern for between-subjects designs.
A)order effects,order effects
B)order effects,individual differences
C)individual differences,individual differences
D)individual differences,order effects
Q2) A way to control for order effects in a within-subjects experiment is to use A)matching.
B)randomization.
C)holding order constant.
D)counterbalancing.
Q3) A Latin square is used with A)partial counterbalancing.
B)complete counterbalancing.
C)matched-subjects designs.
D)all within-subjects designs.
Q4) Outline the major advantages and disadvantages of between-subjects designs and within-subjects designs.
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Chapter 10: The Nonexperimental and Quasi-Experimental Strategies: Nonequivalent Group, Pre-Post, and Developmental Designs
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Q1) For which of the following studies does the researcher not control which individuals are assigned to which group?
A)between-subjects experiment
B)within-subjects experiment
C)nonequivalent group design
D)pre-post design
Q2) Which kind of research uses a non-manipulated participant variable such as age or gender to define the groups being compared?
A)time-series
B)differential
C)one-group pretest-posttest
D)pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group
Q3) A cross-sectional design comparing three different ages would require three separate groups of participants.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe how the relationship between memory ability and age could be examined using a cross-sectional design.How would the relationship be examined with a longitudinal design?
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Chapter 11: Factorial Designs
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Q1) Explain why the existence of an interaction limits the interpretation of the main effects in a two-factor study.
Q2) A two-factor study comparing task performance for males versus females (factor 1)for three different levels of task difficulty (factor 2)would be described as a 2*3 design.
A)True B)False
Q3) There are four levels of the second factor in a 3*4*4 factorial design.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In a factorial experimental design,independent variables are commonly called factors.
A)True B)False
Q5) In a two-factor study,it is possible to have one experimental factor and one nonexperimental factor.
A)True B)False
Q6) For a two-factor design,describe what is meant by a "main effect" and an "interaction."
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Chapter 12: The Correlational Research Strategy
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Q1) With a very large sample,even a very small correlation can be statistically significant.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A Pearson correlation of r = ?1.00 means that all the data points fit perfectly on a straight line.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The strength or consistency of a relationship between variables is indicated by A)the sign of the correlation.
B)the numerical value of the correlation.
C)the type of correlation (Pearson or Spearman).
D)the other three choices are all indications of the strength or consistency of a relationship.
Q4) A scatter plot shows a set of data points that are clustered close to a line that slopes down to the right.Which of the following values would be closest to the correlation for these data?
A)0.80
B)0.40
Q5) Describe the use of a scatter plot in graphing data from a correlational study.
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Chapter 13: Descriptive Research Strategy
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Q1) In an observational study of children in a daycare center,you alternate 1 minute of observation with 1 minute of recording behavior.This is an example of ________ sampling.
A)time
B)individual
C)event
D)alternating-interval
Q2) Which type of question is a Likert-type question?
A)open-ended
B)restricted
C)rating scale
D)physiological
Q3) The goal of the descriptive research strategy is to describe the relationships that exist between variables.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Archival research involves applying the techniques of behavioral observation to record behaviors in books or movies.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Single-Subject Research Designs
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Q1) A treatment phase is defined as
A)a series of observations made when a treatment is being administered.
B)the first observation made after a treatment is administered.
C) the amount of change between the final observation before treatment and the first observation after treatment.
D)the boundary between pre-treatment observations and post-treatment observations.
Q2) The data obtained from a single-subject research study are
A)displayed in a graph.
B)statistically evaluated.
C)displayed in a graph and statistically evaluated.
D)displayed in a graph and visually inspected.
Q3) A baseline phase consists of a series of observations made immediately after a treatment is introduced.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In the notation for single-subject designs (e.g.ABAB),the letter A represents the baseline phase.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Statistical Evaluation of Data
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Q1) A researcher reports a significant correlation using an alpha level of .01.In this situation
A)the probability that the researcher is making a Type I error is p > .01.
B)the probability that the researcher is making a Type I error is p < .01.
C)the probability that the researcher is making a Type II error is p > .01.
D)the probability that the researcher is making a Type II error is p < .01.
Q2) The median is the most commonly used measure of central tendency.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Of the following research statistics,which one is designed to correct for chance agreement between two raters when measuring inter-rater reliability?
A)Cohen's kappa
B)Cronbach's alpha
C)Kuder-Richardson formula 20
D)Spearman-Brown formula
Q4) In a distribution with a mean of M = 36 and a standard deviation of SD = 8,a score of 40 would be considered an extreme value.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Writing a Research Report
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Q1) Most journals in psychology follow the writing style established by the A)American Psychiatric Association.
B)American Psychic Association.
C)American Psychological Association.
D)Association for Psychology.
Q2) A poster for a conference simply involves posting your written research report.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The proper way to cite a source in a research report,when the author's name appears outside the body of the sentence,is (Smith,2005).
A)True
B)False
Q4) A research report title should
A)be a maximum of 50 characters.
B)begin with the words "A study of".
C)describe the study as completely as possible in no more than 12 words.
D)none of the other three choices is a characteristic of a research report title.
Q5) What is the purpose of a research report?
Q6) What is the purpose of a research proposal?
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