PSY 303 Experimental Psychology Review Questions for Midterm Exam
1. The first step in scientific inquiry is:
a) identifying a need
b) forming a hypothesis
c) asking a question
d) both a and c
2. In general you want to select factors that:
a) have not been investigated before
b) are available to investigate
c) hold some interest for you
d) all of the above
3. a hypothesis does not:
a) answer a research question
b) pose a question in testable form
c) posit a clear relationship between different factors
d) make an educated guess
4) results of a well run study always :
a) confirm the hypothesis
b) provide valuable information
c) is what the researcher expected
d) refute the hypothesis
5) nonexperimental methods do not include:
a) descriptive
b) cause-and-effect
c) correlation
d) qualitative
6) 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
7) correlational research provides information about:
a) the relationship between two or more things.
b) historical trends
c) cause and effect relationships
d) general human behaviors in the in the context in which they occur
8) What type of research do you use to determine the casual relationship between
variables?
a) Experimental research
b) Descriptive research
c) Corelational research
d) Qualitative research
9) The correct order of steps in scientific inquiry include:
a) Formulating a hypothesis, collecting relevant information testing the hypothesis,
working with hypothesis.
b) reconsidering the theory, asking a new questions, identifying the important factors,
Collecting the relevant information.
c) asking the question, identifying the important factors, asking a new question, testing
the hypothesis
d) asking new question, reconsidering the theory, working with the hypothesis, testing the
hypothesis
10) which best describes the term “theory”?
a) a set of related ideas that explain past events and predict future events
b) a set of unrelated ideas that are linked together and used to predict research ideas
c) theories are unrelated to good research
d) a set of related ideas that provide definitive answers to research question
11) the scientific method of inquiry is:
a) a method of research design and analysis
b) a systematic processed that is used to answer question
c) not used by most researchers
d) different for all researchers
12) which of the following is not characteristic of descriptive research?
A) a survey of the current state of events
b) a high level of controls over variables
c) provides a broad picture of concept
d) describes a groups characteristic
13) nonexperimental research methods
a) test casual relationships between variables.
b) only describe characteristic of existing phenomenon
c) can be descriptive, historical, or correlational
d) examine factors that are not related
14) another name for research that occurs post hoc is:
a) experimental
b) correlational
c) quasi-experimental
d) historical
15) Jacob is interested to see if there is a relationship between student absentee rate and
national test scores. Which would be the appropriate research method to use?
a) historical
b) correlational
c) descriptive
d) longitudinal
16) Emily’s school has implemented an early intervention program for at risk students. In
order to monitor its effectiveness n student performance, she would use which research
method?
a) historical
b) descriptive
c) longitudinal
d) quasi-experimental
17) Hannah assigns children to different teaching method grops and test their math
performance after six weeks. This is an example of:
a) descriptive research
b) historical research
c) experimental research
d) uncontrolled research
18) Joshua wants to compare past and present trends in the education of gifted children.
This is an example of __________ research.
a) historical
b) longitudinal
c) experimental
d) correlational
19) true experimental designs isolate and control the:
a) factors, not tested, that could be responsible for any effects except the ones being
tested.
b) statistics that are used to interpret the results
c) laboratory conditions to maximize the validity of the experiment
d) answer of the people in the study
20) how many steps does the research process have?
a) 9
b) 8
c) 4
d) 6
21) what is the most important steps in the research process?
a) testing the hypothesis
b) data collection
c) formulating the hypothesis
d) asking the question
22) which is not variable?
a) hair color
b) blue eyes
c) party affiliation
d) favorite type of m & m
23) in a study of the effect of the amount TV viewing on children’s aggressiveness,
amount of TV viewing would be a/an:
a) independent variable
b) dependent variable
c) control variable
d) extraneous variable
24) in a study on the effect of pleasure reading on vocabulary level, the vocabulary level
is a/an
a) independent variable
b) dependent variable
c) control variable
d) extraneous variable
25) factorial design are experiments that:
a) have on independent variable
b) have one dependent variable
c) have more than one independent variable
d) are tested on math problems
26) a control variable:
a) influences the independent variable
b) has no observe effect
c) cannot be removed or controlled
d) influences the dependent variable
27) a variable that has an unpredictable impact on the dependent variable is:
a) a wild variable
b) an independent variable
c) an extraneous variable
d) a moderator variable
28) a variable that masks the true relationship between the independent and dependent
variable is:
a) an extraneous variable
b) a moderator
c) a control variable
d) a neutral variable
29) the null hypothesis represent:
a) no relationship between the variable under study
b) a positive relationship between the independent and dependent variables
c) a negative relationship between the independent and dependent variable
d) a difference between the variable under study
30) which type of study may not have an implied null hypothesis?
a) correlational
b) descriptive
c) quasi-experiemental
d) experimental
31) a null hypothesis is implied because
a) its always directly tested
b) it can never be directly tested
c) you do not need to test it to know that it is false
d) it is stated in a question form
32) a good research question to pursue is usually
a) a small part of a broad topic
b) a topic unrelated to any other topics
c) the same as the null hypothesis
d) a broad topic
33) the key criterion for selecting a dependent variable is
a) the sensitivity of the variable to changes in the independent variable
b) measurement capabilities in the experiment
c) relationship of the dependent variable to the independent variable
d) preference of the researcher
34) independent variable are
a) not manipulated by the experimenter
b) manipulated to assess the effect of the treatment
c) unrelated to the treatment
d) not necessary
35) sampling allows researchers to overcome the problem of
a) overcrowded laboratories
b) biased subject response
c) not having access to the whole the population
d) not having access to the proper statistical methods
36) the interpretation of difference are significant mean that the differences found are
a) probably not due to chance
b) due to chance
c) creative outcomes
d) not dictated by the hypothesis
37) significance level an experimenter choose determines the risk the experimenter is
allowing for
a) difference to occur
b) error to occur
c) statistics to apply
d) independent variables to be effective
38) it is important to choose a reprehensive sample of the population to maximize
a) statistical precision
b) group differences
c) general ability of result
d) significant result
39) there will be no relationship between children’s time in a day care and later academic
achievement this is an example of
a) a research hypothesis
b) a factorial design
c) correlational hypothesis
d) a null hypothesis
40 the best dependent variable is
a) independent of any other variable in the same study
b) sensitive to change in the treatment
c) the same as the control variable
d) all of the above
41) a research article can best be described as
a) a secondary research source
b) domain non-specific
c) an article published in a commercial periodical
d) a primary research source
42) the significance level reported in a research study is
a) the importance of the result to the benefit of society
b) the statistical methods to determine the result of the study
c) the risk associated with not being 100% confident the difference is do to the treatment
d) the importance of the result to the benefit of an individual
43) the variable that cannot be controlled by the experimenter are
a) constants
b) dependent variable
c) independent variable
d) insignificant
44) Dr Flemming found a statistically significant relationship between gender and
aggressive playground activity Dr Flemming can conclude that
a) gender affects aggressive playground activity at the chance level
b) the relationship is probably coincidence
c) gender affects aggressive playground activity above the chance level
d) gender cause aggressive playground activity
45) the random variability introduced into every study as a function of the group of
subject participating, as well as many other unforeseen factors is known as
a) systematic error
b) non-normality
c) biased sampling
d) chance
46) a nondirectional research hypothesis is similar to a directional hypothesis in that both
a) specify the direction of the difference between groups
b) reflect differences between groups
c) are non-specific regarding the direction of group differences
d) make no allusion to group differences
47) the null hypothesis always refers to the ______ whereas the research hypothesis
always refers to the
a) mean, standard, deviation
b) group differences, group similarities
c) sample, population
d) population, sample
48) which of the following is not true
a) a null hypothesis represents an equality and a research hypothesis repents an inequality
b) a null hypothesis is represented by Greeks symbol and a research hypothesis is
reprented by roman symbols
c) a null hypothesis is tested directly while the research hypothesis is tested indirectly
d) a null hypothesis is implied while the research hypothesis is explicit
49) what is the characteristic of ethical research?
a) subjects are protected from harm
b) subject confidentiality is maintained
c) result are shared with subjects
d) all of the above
50) which of the following is not a fatal error in research problem selection?
a) falling in love with your idea
b) sticking with the first idea that comes to mind
c) selecting a problem you are genuinely interested in
d) doing something trivial
51) which of the following is a good way to find a research topic?
a) personal experience
b) getting an idea from your advisor
c) looking for the next step in the research process
d) all of the above
52) which is not a type of source to consult during a literature review?
a) general sources
b) tertiary source
c) secondary source
d) primary source
53) general sources are not
a) something you should site in your literature review
b) a general introduction to an area
c) a provider of clues to where you can find useful material
d) great browsing material
54) secondary sources are good for
a) finding a scholarly summary of research
b) finding further sources of research
c) sometimes citing in your literature review
d) all of the above
55) what are the most important primary sources of information about a topic?
a) newspapers
b) magazines
c) journals
d) books
56) the average rejection rate for the top journals is
a) 15%
b) 80%
c) 95%
d) 50%
57) an research abstract is
a) a one paragraph summary of a journal article
b) a flavoring
c) a complicated idea
d) a type of painting
58) which is not one of the eight areas of a journal article
a) the review of previous research
b) the monologue
c) the hypothesis
d) the reference
59) which is not an ethical issue in research
a) protection from harm
b) maintenance of privacy
c) fair payment
d) coercion
60) one disadvantage of using on line services is the
a) cost
b) need for extensive equipment
c) time commitment
d) complicated process of computer searches
61) all of the following are needed to begin telecommunication except
a) a computer
b) a modem
c) a fax machine
d) a telephone line
62) a listserv discussion group is
a) the same as email
b) a universal resource locater
c) a search engine
d) an automatic depository for information
63) the internet is a
a) networks of networks
b) collection of computers
c) communication computer program
d) email from one location to another
64) the most common use of the internet is
a) direct research
b) electronic games
c) email
d) advertisement through home pages
65) what is the place where information can be posted and shared among internet users
called
a) electronic newsgroup
b) email
c) browser
d) cd-rom
66) the first step for preparing a successful research proposal is
a) designing an experiment
b) discussing possible outcomes
c) choosing the appropriate statistical test
d) reviewing the literature
67) which of the following is not a search engine?
a) dogpile
b) url
c) lycos
d) ask jeeves
68) Eric would be classified as which of the following
a) miscellaneous source
b) general source
c) primary source
d) secondary source
69) how are entries organized in the readers guide to periodical literature?
a) in order to popularity
b) by the number of times a source has been cited in other sources
c) alphabetically
d) chronologically
70) which is the most comprehensive guide to general literature?
a) the New York times index
b) the readers guide to periodical literature
c) statistical abstract for the united states
d) review of education research
71) which of the following is a secondary source
a) the New York times index
b) the readers guide to periodical literature
c) statistical abstract for the united states
d) review of educational research
72) 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
73) which source allows the researcher to locate articles which cite a specific article
a) educational restrict information center
b) social sciences citation index
c) psychological abstract
d) child development abstracts and bibliography
74) the blind reviews of a journal submission usually requires a minimum of how many
reviewers
a) 1
b) 3
c) 6
d) 9
75) which source provides abstracts of conferences papers and other documents that do
not readily appear in journals?
a) psychological abstract
b) current index to journals in education
c) thesaurus of psychological index terms
d) resources in education
76) which service allows you to secure a copy of a journal that your library does not carry
but another library does carry
a) interlibrary loan system
b) library exchange system
c) national borrowers system
d) u.s library transfer program
77) what is the best way to find a particular home page
a) use a search engine
b) randomly open homepages until you find the right one
c) telephone the organization that operates the homepage
d) none of the above
78) once information is collected, what is the first step in writing a literature review
a) create a unified theme for review
b) build bridges between different areas in the review
c) work from an outline
d) read other literature reviews
79) what statement best defines the term world wide web ?
a) a list of search engines
b) a tool which uses algorithms to find information
c) a collection of graphical documents representing different locations
d) a collection of research institutes and their studies
80) in which sampling type does ach member of the population have an equal and
independent chance of being selected to be part of a sample
a) simple random sampling
b) systematic sampling
c) stratified sampling
d) cluster sampling
Answers
1.d
2.d
3.a
4.b
5.b
6.d
7.a
8.a
9.a
10.a
11.a
12.b
13.c
14.d
15.b
16.d
17.c
18.a
19.a
20.b
21.d
22.b
23.a
24.b
25.c
26.d
27.c
28.b
29.a
30.b
31.b
32.a
33.a
34.b
35.c
36.a
37.b
38.c
39.d
40.b
41.d
42.c
43.b
44.c
45.d
46.b
47.d
48.c
49.d
50.c
51.d
52.b
53.a
54.d
55.c
56.b
57.a
58.b
59.c
60.a
61.c
62.d
63.a
64.c
65.a
66.d
67.b
68.d
69.c
70.b
71.d
72.a
73.b
74.b
75.d
76.a
77.a
78.d
79.c
80.a