Graziano & Raulin
Research Methods (9th edition)
Chapter 13 Multiple-Choice Questions
A Second Look at Field Research:
Field Experiments, Program Evaluation,
and Survey Research
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.
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Why is naturalistic research NOT useful in answering causal questions?
(a) The participants are not representative of a population.
(b) There is no observational variable.
(c) Naturalistic research does not seek relationships among variables.
(d) It does not rule out alternative hypotheses. -
In which of the following is comparing a pretest-posttest difference score for experimental and control groups a typical strategy?
(a) all experimental studies
(b) all quasi-experimental studies
(c) nonequivalent control-group designs
(d) between-subject designs -
One of the problems in doing field research is that
(a) participants are not available.
(b) random assignment of participants to groups is often impossible.
(c) dependent measures cannot be taken.
(d) score data cannot be used and, therefore, use of ANOVA is not possible. -
Which of the following is similar to a pretest-posttest design, but with more measures?
(a) ex post facto design
(b) general quasi-experimental designs
(c) program evaluation designs
(d) interrupted time-series design -
Testing the external validity of causal inferences that have been found in high-constraint experimentation
(a) is one reason for doing field research.
(b) must be carried out in high-constraint laboratories.
(c) cannot be done.
(d) must be restricted to correlational research. -
Baseline measures are taken
(a) before any manipulations are made.
(b) immediately following the manipulation.
(c) only on the experimental group.
(d) only on the control group. -
If we wanted to determine if hospital admissions for asthmatic attacks were related to air quality, which of the following would be the most appropriate design?
(a) ex post facto
(b) pretest-posttest
(c) interrupted time-series
(d) independent groups -
Which of the following is true for experiments in field settings?
(a) They cannot draw causal inferences.
(b) They can provide only observations of contingencies.
(c) They can allow causal inferences.
(d) They can generate hypotheses but not test them. -
Under what conditions is history a potential confounding factor?
(a) When the pretest measures are at an unusually high level.
(b) When a disproportionate number of participants are lost from one condition.
(c) When participant selection has been biased.
(d) When the study takes a fairly long time to complete. -
In time-series designs, comparison groups
(a) are not possible to include.
(b) are helpful.
(c) always include random assignment.
(d) cannot exceed two groups. -
Which of the following is an accurate statement about high-constraint, laboratory research?
(a) It has high internal validity but may have low external validity.
(b) It is necessarily high in both external and internal validity.
(c) It is so constrained that it has no external validity.
(d) It must include at least four groups for proper controls. -
Program evaluation research
(a) is a specific experimental design.
(b) is a group of research methods.
(c) is carried out under high-constraint, laboratory situations.
(d) is diminishing in importance. -
What term is used for designs that are like experimental designs but not quite equal to them, and from which we can still draw causal inferences?
(a) correlational designs
(b) differential designs
(c) quasi-experimental designs
(d) naturalistic-experimental designs -
What is the term used for the design in which a single group of participants is measured several times both before and after an event or manipulation?
(a) single-subject design
(b) general quasi-experimental design
(c) between-subjects designs
(d) interrupted time-series design -
In time-series designs, what are the two major potential confounding factors that are difficult to control without the addition of a comparison group?
(a) instrumentation and history
(b) regression to the mean and instrumentation
(c) history and attrition
(d) instrumentation and selection -
What is the term used for the potential confounding variable in a time-series study in which the measuring procedures may be inadvertently changed over time?
(a) measurement error
(b) history
(c) instrumentation
(d) attrition -
A survey is most useful in gathering data on
(a) the knowledge base of participants.
(b) the attitudes of participants.
(c) the causes of participants behavior.
(d) both a and b -
If you ask participants a survey question such as, "What is your opinion of the way the economy is being handled by the president?", this is an example of
(a) an open-ended question.
(b) a multiple-choice question.
(c) a Likert scale question.
(d) none of the above -
If you want to get a representative sample for a survey, you should use
(a) a probability sample.
(b) a nonprobability sample.
(c) a nonprobability sample from stratified groups.
(d) none of the above -
The advantage of a stratified random sample over a random sample is that
(a) stratified random samples require less work than random samples.
(b) stratified random samples are more likely to accurately represent a population because stratification on key variables virtually assures accurate representation of those variables.
(c) the random sample is not a probability sample.
(d) stratified random samples provide both a probability and a nonprobability sample in one procedure. -
The smaller the sample size in a survey study, the
(a) greater our confidence in the results.
(b) larger the confidence intervals around the population estimates.
(c) smaller the confidence intervals around the population estimates.
(d) more difficult it is to develop the survey instrument. -
If you wanted to understand how people's attitudes change over time and what factors contributed to the change, you would want to use a
(a) cross-sectional design.
(b) between-subjects design.
(c) factorial design.
(d) longitudinal design.