Quiz

QUIZ

1. What is true of asking a question as part of the scientific method?

a. It is usually based on prior work you have done. b. It needs to be an open-ended question. c. It should be based on an observation you have made. d. It must be able to be answered by collecting data.

Answer: d. The question can be of any type; however, it needs to be a question that can be answered by collecting data in your experiment.

2. In the scientific method, what is the hypothesis?

a. A question you want to have answered. b. An idea of what the answer to the question is. c. The data points collected in the experiment. d. The answer proven true by the experiment.

Answer: b. A hypothesis is an idea or conjecture that is what the researcher wants the answer to the question to be or what they believe the answer to the question is.

3. What is the name for the variable that is intentionally changed as part of a scientific experiment?

a. Independent variable b. Controlled variable c. Confounding variable d. Dependent variable

Answer: a. Ideally, the independent variable is the only variable that is changed in the experiment. Because it is the only changed variable, it is hoped that the results of the experiment are solely based on the variable that has been changed.

4. What is specifically true of a naturalistic observational study?

a. The researcher participates in the group process. b. The independent variable is changed at the beginning of the study. c. There does not have to be intra-observational reliability. d. It is highly ecologically valid.

Answer: d. Naturalistic studies are highly ecologically valid because it involves the unobtrusive observation of subjects in their natural state. It does not involve any type of manipulation of the environment and there is no researcher participation.

5. What type of research study is done on existing data that can be collected from past studies or existing pieces of information?

a. Observational study b. Archival study c. Naturalistic study d. Longitudinal study

Answer: b. An archival study is done using data that can be collected from existing sources. The downside is that the researcher cannot always find the data one wants to make use of.

6. What type of study was the Strange Situation study done to look at what type of attachment a child had with their caregiver?

a. Naturalistic study b. Longitudinal study c. Cross-sectional study d. Structured observational study

Answer: d. This type of study was a structured observational study in which infants were exposed to a stranger and their reactions observed.

7. What type of experiment is used to test several different hypotheses?

a. Crucial experiment b. Field experiment c. Pilot study d. Cross-sectional experiment

Answer: a. A crucial experiment is one that tests several different hypotheses at the same time. In general, the idea is to confirm one hypothesis and reject all of the others.

8. What type of validity in an experiment refers to the lack of extraneous variables in the study that might have confounded the conclusion?

a. External validity b. Conceptual validity c. Internal validity d. Construct validity

Answer: c. Internal validity depends on whether or not there are extraneous variables in the study that haven t been accounted for prior to the study.

9. What type of research study will eliminate both experimenter bias and the placebo effect?

a. A single-blind study b. A double-blind study c. Neither a single-blind study nor a double-blind study will do this d. Either a single-blind study or a double-blind study can do this

Answer: b. A double-blind study will eliminate both the experimenter bias and the placebo effect.

10. When in the experimental process do you deal with the 95 percent confidence limit in an experiment?

a. Study design b. Sample gathering c. Random assignment d. Statistical analysis

Answer: d. The statistical analysis looks for the 95 percent confidence limit, which indicates that the same findings will be found if the study was repeated 95 times out of a hundred.