Ninth Edition CoverGraziano & Raulin
Research Methods (9th edition)

Chapter 2 Multiple-Choice Questions
Research is a Process of Inquiry

Test yourself on these multiple-choice questions. Clicking on the letter of your choice will give you immediate feedback on whether you are correct. Even when you are incorrect, you will receive feedback that will help you learn the material better so that you do well on the exam.

  1. Research is scientific if
    (a) it is carried out by a well-trained research scientist.
    (b) it involves both empirical and rational processes.
    (c) it uses models and constructs to generate ideas.
    (d) the purpose is to understand the universe around us.

  2. Which of the following is NOT true about the basic assumptions of science?
    (a) We often do not know if the assumptions we make are true.
    (b) The scientist treats the assumption as if it were true in order to proceed with further investigation.
    (c) Some assumptions are shared by all scientists regardless of their discipline.
    (d) Assumptions are usually tested directly.

  3. Constructs are to inference as facts are to
    (a) models.
    (b) behavior.
    (c) observation.
    (d) science.

  4. Which of the following represents the major category of facts in psychology?
    (a) Behavior of organisms.
    (b) Human behavior.
    (c) Motives and learned responses.
    (d) Psychological theories.

  5. Which of the following would NOT be a fact?
    (a) A person's IQ score.
    (b) The response of a participant to an anxiety producing situation.
    (c) A person's memory.
    (d) The time it takes a participant to complete a difficult task.

  6. An inference
    (a) often assumes that an observed behavior is the result of some unseen process.
    (b) will be accurate if the behavioral observations on which the inference is based are accurate.
    (c) follows directly from a given set of observations.
    (d) is indistinguishable from the facts on which the inference is based.

  7. Which of the following is NOT a construct?
    (a) intelligence
    (b) gravity
    (c) the ego
    (d) age

  8. A construct
    (a) is an idea created by the researcher.
    (b) is often designed to explain and/or predict behavior.
    (c) is often used by the researcher as if it were actually true.
    (d) all of the above

  9. Many of the therapists who use psychoanalytic techniques have been accused of actually believing that there is an ego, superego, and an id. If this accusation were true, they would have committed a logical error known as
    (a) reification of a construct.
    (b) construct validity.
    (c) construct confusion.
    (d) none of the above

  10. Which of the following is true about models in science?
    (a) A model must be true in order to be scientifically useful.
    (b) A model is always an incomplete representation of reality.
    (c) Only true or accurate models will produce accurate predictions.
    (d) none of the above

  11. Which of the following is an example of inductive thinking?
    (a) Reasoning that a man will be able to hit a golf ball further than a woman because men generally have greater muscle development than women.
    (b) Assuming that the sun will rise tomorrow morning because it rises every morning.
    (c) Assuming that there is something that we name intelligence because we notice that problem solving measures show differences between people that seem to be consistent over time.
    (d) none of the above

  12. Which of the following is an example of deductive thinking?
    (a) Figuring out who was the killer in a mystery story by carefully considering all of the clues.
    (b) Predicting what a friend would do in a particular situation based on your thorough knowledge of how this friend reacts.
    (c) Developing a theory of planetary motion by observing the movement of planets in the night sky.
    (d) None of the above are examples of deductive thinking.

  13. When we are reasoning from the specific to the general, we are using ______ reasoning. In contrast, when we are reasoning from the general to the specific, we are using ______ reasoning.
    (a) theoretical; predictive
    (b) deductive; inductive
    (c) inductive; deductive
    (d) predictive; theoretical

  14. In which of the following phases of research is the researcher actually in contact with the participants under study?
    (a) problem-definition phase
    (b) procedures design phase
    (c) observation phase
    (d) communication phase

  15. In which of the following phases of research does the researcher primarily use inductive reasoning?
    (a) idea-generating phase
    (b) problem-definition phase
    (c) data-analysis phase
    (d) interpretation phase

  16. In which of the following phases of research does the researcher primarily use deductive reasoning?
    (a) problem-definition phase
    (b) procedures design phase
    (c) data-analysis phase
    (d) interpretation phase

  17. In what phase of research is the empirical component of science most clearly visible?
    (a) procedures design phase
    (b) observation phase
    (c) interpretation phase
    (d) communication phase

  18. In which of the following phases of research is the public aspect of science most obvious?
    (a) idea-generating phase
    (b) observation phase
    (c) interpretation phase
    (d) communication phase

  19. Which two levels of constraint involve the direct comparison of two or more groups?
    (a) naturalistic and case-study
    (b) case-study and experimental
    (c) experimental and differential
    (d) correlational and differential

  20. The level of constraint that employs the greatest level of control is
    (a) differential.
    (b) experimental.
    (c) case study.
    (d) correlational.