Guided Reading Questions for the second half of chapter two
Psy 201 Andrew Gummow
Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental research (p. 50)
1. What is the major strength of the experimental method?
2. What is the weakness of the experimental method?
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Looking for links (pp. 51 –53)
3. If a researcher cannot control variables, for practical or ethical reasons, what type of research
would he or she do?
4. One type of descriptive/ correlational research is naturalistic observation. Define it.
5. What must you be careful to not do in naturalistic observation? Why?
6. What type of research is used to complete and in depth study of one individual?
Advantages/Disadvantages (pp. 54)
7. What is the major advantage of descriptive/ correlational research?
9. What is the major disadvantage of descriptive/ correlational research?
Looking for Conclusions (pp. 55-59)
10. List and define the three measures of central tendency.
11. Look at the data in figure 2.11. Why is the mean not representative of the sample here?
12. What is a correlation?
13. What is the possible range of correlation?
14. Figure 2.13 gives examples of a positive and negative correlation. Below, provide your own
example of two variables you think would be positively correlated and two variables you
think would be negatively correlated.
15. We can make predictions based on correlation. Can we make cause and effect statements
based on correlation? Why or why not?
16. How much error is allowed in scientific research?
Looking for Flaws (pp. 5917. Describe the relationship between a sample and a population.
18. What term do we use if the sample is not representative of the population?
19. What would we do to control for placebo effect? Write your own example for placebo
effect.
20. What do we call is when people give socially approved answers to questions in research?
21. What do we do to control for experimenter bias? How would this work?