Name: _____________________________
Research Methods Worksheet
Directions: Read the following situations and write what type of research method is being
described, or which type of research the situation calls for. (Take your time, this can be tricky)
1. Ellen Degeneres is asking Britney Spears some questions. Britney seems confused, so
Ellen modifies her question.
2. Zach has been studying a man for several years who suffers from schizophrenia.
3. Rilie wanted to study the inner workings of Cherry House Cafe. She proceeded to get a
job there so she could observe the employees.
4. Katie works for the FBI. She is watching a man through a 2 way mirror prior to his
interview. The man is biting his nails and seems very nervous and agitated.
5. Matt is doing his semester project on television censorship. He has written 8 questions to
be asked to people.
6. Ally is surveying the color distribution in a bag of M&Ms. In 1 bag, Ally found 8 red
M&Ms.
7. Nathan and his girlfriend Emily are conducting research, but only have a short amount of
time. They do not want their biases to show. What type of research method should they
use?
8. Hailey wants to survey the types of cereal people eat for breakfast. She wants to know
what young people, teenagers, middle aged people, and the elderly prefer. What type of
study should she conduct?
9. Jessica is babysitting her brother Paul, when she finds out Paul is afraid of hamsters.
Jessica decides to buy Paul a hamster to see if his fear goes away as he gets older.
10. Zach desperately wants to work at Red Robin. Ryan is the boss at Red Robin and agrees
to meet with Zach to ask him a few questions. During questioning Ryan asked Zach if he
was allergic to cashews. Zach did not know what a cashew was. Ryan rephrased his
question and asked Zach if he was allergic to nuts.