1 Which of the following is a common data collection method in qualitative research?
a. administering questionnaires with rating scale responses
b. taking multiple physiological measures
c. using computer simulations
d. giving unstructured interviews

2 Qualitative research is meant to do which of the following?
a. generate novel research questions
b. explore people’s “lived experience”
c. address broad questions
d. all of the above

3 Research questions in psychology can come from which of the following?
a previous research
b informal observations
c practical problems to be solved
d all of the above
4 Which of the following is a categorical variable?
a eye color
b IQ
c number of lifetime sexual partners
d shoe size
5 A research methods student conducts a study on the relationship between people’s level of extroversion and the number of close friends they have. She computes Pearson’s r, which comes out to be – 1.70. Which of the following is most clearly true?
a The relationship between the two variables is weak.
b More extroverted people have fewer friends.
c She ought to use a bar graph to display her results.
d She made an error in computing Pearson’s r.
6 When you want to show that Variable X has a direct effect on Variable Y, what is the best kind of study to conduct?
a a nonexperimental study
b an experiment
c an observational study
d a survey
7 The relationship between people’s heights and weights is positive.
a True
b False
8 In a negative relationship, higher scores on one variable are associated with lower scores on another variable.
a True
b False
9 Pearson’s r cannot be negative.
a True
b False
10 What three groups must be taken into account in the consideration of the ethics of a research project?
a society
b clinical practitioners
c the scientific community
d research participants
11 In Milgram’s famous study, who was the confederate?
a the person being shocked
b the experimenter
c the person doing the shocking
d none of the above
12 Which of the following occurred in the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study?
a Research participants were told they had syphilis even though they did not to see how they would react.
b Research participants were denied treatment for their syphilis.
c Research participants were injected with syphilis bacteria.
d Research participants were give experimental treatments for syphilis.
13 Research on the effectiveness of normal educational activities would generally be categorized as which of the following?
a exempt
b minimal risk
c at risk
d none of the above
14 Measuring characteristics of potential participants to identify those who may be at risk of harm in the study is called _____.
a debriefing
b prescreening
c informed consent
d risk reduction
15 The difference between phenomena and theories is essentially the same as the difference between which of the following?
a observations and models
b correlational studies and experiments
c significant and nonsignificant results
d models and hypotheses
16 How does a framework differ from a theory?
a A framework is usually more specific than a theory.
b A framework is usually more general than a theory.
c A framework cannot be tested but a theory can.
d A framework can be tested but a theory cannot.
17 For every _____ there are many plausible _____.
a fact; phenomena
b theory; researchers
c phenomenon; theories
d researcher; variables
18 As a general rule, every phenomenon has which of the following?
a no real explanation
b one clear explanation
c many plausible explanations
d one discoverer
19 Theories in evolutionary psychology tend to take which approach?
a functional
b mechanistic
c typological
d stage
20 A theory that explains a behavior primarily in terms of why it happens is which of the following?
a a mechanistic theory
b a typology
c a functional theory
d a hypothesis
21 The general approach that scientists use to create and test theories is called which of the following?
a the functional-mechanistic method
b the theory-model-phenomenon approach
c the quasi-logical hypothesis
d the hypothetico-deductive method
22 What is the first thing that you should do in constructing a new theory?
a Create a set of mathematical equations that might account for the phenomena of interest.
b Understand the phenomena of interest in detail, along with any existing theories of them.
c Conduct at least four to six new empirical studies.
d Decide which type of theory you want to construct.
23 Measurement is best defined as which of the following?
a directly comparing one individual to a standard reference individual
b the assignment of scores to individuals so the scores represent some characteristic of the individuals
c the use of an established measuring instrument such as a ruler or scale to describe an individual
d an objective method of counting individuals

24. Which of the following is the best example of a construct?
a. depression
b. number of siblings
c. height
d. annual income
25. What is it called when a researcher measures the same construct in different ways?
a. multiple measurement
b. exploratory research
c. inconsistent assessment
d. converging operations
26. There is a single best conceptual definition of every psychological construct.
a. True
b. False
27. There is a single best way to measure every psychological construct.
a. True
b. False
28. Face validity is the extent to which a psychological measure appears to measure the construct of interest.
a. True
b. False
29. A Cronbach’s alpha of .90 would indicate good internal consistency.
a. True
b. False
30. A psychological measure is valid to the extent that the scores it produces are consistent over time.
a. True
b. False
31. Psychological constructs can be observed directly by looking or listening.
a. True
b. False
32. What are the two defining features of an experiment?
a. control of extraneous variables; statistical analysis of the results
b. statistical analysis of the results; a comparison of two groups
c. a comparison of two groups; manipulation of an independent variable
d. manipulation of an independent variable; control of extraneous variables
33. Why are confounding variables bad?
a. They provide an alternative explanation for any observed difference between conditions.
b. They reduce internal validity.
c. They make it difficult to tell if the independent variable was responsible for the effect on the dependent variable.
d. all of the above
34. Why do researchers randomly assign participants to conditions?
a. to control extraneous variables
b. to ensure that they find a strong statistical relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable
c. to discover whether there is a placebo effect
d. to avoid fatigue effects
35. Imagine that you are a participant in an experiment on the effects of morning exercise on mathematics performance. If this study uses a within-subjects design, which of the following would you do?
a. One day you take a math test after having exercised in the morning; another day you take a math test after not having exercised in the morning.
b. Either you exercise in the morning and then take a math test or you do not exercise in the morning and then take a math test.
c. You eat a healthy breakfast consisting of milk, juice, toast, and eggs.
d. You take a math test and then tell the researcher whether or not you exercised that morning.
36. Imagine an experiment with one independent variable: noise level (quiet vs. noisy). If the researcher is using a between-subjects design and wants to have 20 participants per condition, how many participants will he need all together?
a. 10
b. 20
c. 40
d. 400
37. What is the main advantage of conducting an experiment using a within-subjects design rather than a between-subjects design?
a. A within-subjects design eliminates the need for pilot testing.
b. A within-subjects design controls more extraneous variables.
c. A within-subjects design does not require manipulation of an independent variable.
d. A within-subjects design prevents carryover effects.
38. A researcher is conducting a study in which the dependent variable is mental concentration. If it is a within-subjects design with lots of different conditions, then which of the following is most likely to be a problem for the researcher?
a. practice effect
b. fatigue effect
c. context effect
d. floor effect
39. Experimenters manipulate independent variables and control extraneous variables.
a. True
b. False
40. In a between-subjects experiment, each participant is tested in only one condition.
a. True
b. False
41. In a within-subjects experiment, each participant is tested in more than one condition.
a. True
b. False
42. Researcher Robert Rosenthal is known for his work on which of the following?
a. the effect of smiling on helping
b. cultural differences in time perception
c. social anxiety
d. experimenter expectancy effects
43. What is the defining feature of nonexperimental research?
a. It is about personality and individual differences.
b. It lacks the manipulation of an independent variable, random assignment, or both.
c. It involves only one variable.
d. It has high external validity.
44. Which of the following is a reason to conduct nonexperimental research?
a. The researcher is interested in thinking.
b. The researcher wants to maximize the internal validity of the study.
c. The researcher wants to avoid carryover effects.
d. It would be unethical to manipulate the independent variable.
45. Which of the following is a type of nonexperimental research?
a. qualitative studies
b. correlational studies
c. quasi-experiments
d. all of the above
46. Which of the following is the defining feature of correlational research?
a. An independent variable is manipulated while extraneous variables are controlled.
b. One variable is measured and described.
c. Research participants are interviewed in depth about their experiences.
d. Two variables are measured and the relationship between them is assessed.
47. Coding of participant behaviors is generally an important part of which of the following?
a. archival data collection
b. sport psychology
c. quasi-experimental research
d. naturalistic observation
48. Archival data would be least likely to be used in which of the following?
a. an experiment
b. a correlational study
c. a qualitative study
d. a single-variable study
49. A set of beliefs can be said to be pseudoscientific if it lacks one or more of the three features of science and _____.
a its adherents claim or imply that it is scientific
b it has been discredited by scientific research
c it seems “crazy”
d it refers to phenomena that cannot be directly observed
50. Which of the following is NOT one of the three fundamental features of science?
a empirical questions
b public knowledge
c mathematical equations
d systematic empiricism

In this assignment, you will be considering a case study and then applying what you have learned in this module about research and evaluation.

 

Case Study

 

Beginning in March last year, a year-long media-based campaign was aired on radio and television and in print in British Columbia. Aimed at smokers in the age group of twenty to thirty years, it is intended to influence them in ways that will lead them to stop smoking.

 

The logic model for the smoking cessation campaign is quite simple and reflects the prevailing views about program theory that are relevant to this kind of campaign. Given below is a part of that logic model, focusing on outcomes. The components, implementation activities, and outputs are not shown, but they focus on the amounts of media coverage on the radio and television and in newspapers. The campaign is intended to last a year and is intended to be implemented in segments. The first segment begins in March and ends in April, the second one is being implemented in July and August, and the third in October and November.

 

As you can see from the logic model, the campaign is intended to initially reach a group of smokers in British Columbia (awareness of the campaign) and, once they are aware of the campaign, to increase their knowledge of smoking-related issues that might appeal to persons in that age group.

 

One television advertisement, for example, shows a man standing outside a bar smoking a cigarette. As he inhales, he ages. As he exhales, he becomes younger again. The message is that if you quit smoking, most of the effects on your body are reversible. A website is provided so that viewers can get information to help them quit. Exposure to these messages is intended to affect attitudes toward smoking (to make them develop a view that smoking is not good for them and that they want to change their behaviors). Attitude change is expected to lead to changes in behaviors: attempts to quit, cutting back on smoking, and actually quitting.

 

The Evaluation

 

The evaluation of this province-wide program is intended to determine whether the program logic works as intended, i.e., whether people are aware of the campaign, whether the campaign increases their knowledge, whether their attitudes change, and, finally, whether they try or succeed in quitting smoking.

The evaluation of the planned smoking cessation campaign in British Columbia is focused on the effectiveness of the campaign. More specifically, the evaluation is intended to address these questions:

 

• What impact, if any, did the mass media campaign have on:
  • Awareness of the campaign itself.
  • Knowledge of the consequences of smoking.
  • Attitudes toward smoking.
  • Smoking-related behaviors.

The key issue for the evaluation design is to determine how the campaign affected the aforementioned attributes of persons who have self-identified as smokers.

Given that the campaign is province-wide, it will be difficult to find a control group that has not been exposed to the campaign. Given the costs of the campaign, the evaluation will need to focus on British Columbia and not try to find a comparison group in another province.

Population surveys of British Columbia residents suggest that approximately 15%–20% of the people in the age group of twenty to thirty years smoke. These smoking rates vary from one region to another and with sociodemographic characteristics of British Columbia residents.

Tasks:

Design an evaluation report that will be able to assess whether the smoking cessation campaign was successful. An important part of any proposed design is to assess whether the program theory actually worked the way it was intended, i.e., whether persons became aware of the campaign, whether their knowledge increased, whether their attitudes then changed, and whether attitude changes led to smoking cessation behaviors.

To ascertain whether the campaign impacts smokers in the way the program logic is intended, it is important to design an evaluation that actually tracks the way the campaign influences smokers over time. Ideally, the evaluation team wants to be able to see whether the program was visible; if it was, whether knowledge increased; if that happened, whether attitudes changed; and if attitudes changed, whether changes in behavior have been reported.

In a 2- to 3-page paper, explain the following:

• What are the main features of your evaluation design?
• How would it be implemented?
• How does the design deal (if it does) with possible rival hypotheses (internal validity threats)?
• How does the design address statistical conclusions, construct, and external validity?

Submission Details:

• By Wednesday, July 13, 2016