Multiple-Choice Questions (32 items)
1. High quality research has which of the following characteristics?
a) difficult to replicate
b) typically influenced by special interest groups
c) is linear in nature
d) based on the work of others
2. How are research questions most often described?
a) arising within a laboratory setting
b) posed after important factors are identified
c) may arise from our everyday life experiences
d) always answered if we follow a scientific method of inquiry
3. In general, when selecting factors for a study, you want to be sure of which of these?
a) they have been investigated before
b) they are available to investigate
c) they are not of interest to you
d) they do not lead to another question
4. Which of the following best describes a hypothesis?
a) statement that you set out to prove
b) tested by collecting only the data that support it
c) proposed before a good research question can be developed
d) posits a clear relationship between different factors
5. Experimental methods can typically be described by which of the following?
a) descriptive
b) cause-and-effect
c) correlational
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 which of the following?
a) the relationship between two or more things
b) historical trends
c) cause-and-effect relationships
d) general human behaviors in the context in which they occur
8. What type of research do you use to determine the causal relationship between variables?
a) experimental research
b) descriptive research
c) correlational research
d) qualitative research
9. Identify and select the correct order of steps in scientific inquiry.
a) formulating a hypothesis, collecting relevant information, testing the hypothesis, working with the hypothesis
b) reconsidering the theory, asking new questions, identifying the important factors, collecting relevant information
c) asking the question, identifying the important factors, asking new questions, testing the hypothesis
d) asking new questions, reconsidering the theory, working with the hypothesis, testing the hypothesis
10. Qualitative research can be defined by which of the following?
a) directly tests the quality of a cause and effect relationship
b) examines human behavior in the contexts in which they occur
c) typically leads to high-quality numeric data
d) one of the oldest formalized types of research used in the social and behavioral sciences
11. Which of the following is true of the scientific method of inquiry?
a) complete once the hypothesis has been tested
b) will vary depending on the specific research question
c) systematic process that is used to answer questions
d) different in basic research than in applied research
12. Which of the following is a characteristic of experimental research?
a) survey of the current state of events
b) high level of control over variables
c) provides a broad picture of a concept
d) describes a group's characteristics
13. Nonexperimental research methods consist of which of the following?
a) test causal relationships between variables
b) only describe characteristics of existing phenomenon
c) can be descriptive, historical, or correlational
d) examine factors that are not related
14. 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
15. Emily's school has implemented an early intervention program for at-risk students. In
order to monitor its effectiveness on student performance, she would use which
research method?
a) historical
b) descriptive
c) longitudinal
d) quasi-experimental
16. Hannah assigns children to different teaching method groups and tests their math
performance after six weeks. This is an example of what type of research?
a) descriptive
b) historical
c) experimental
d) uncontrolled
17. Joshua wants to compare past and present trends in the education of gifted children.
This is an example of what type of research?
a) historical
b) longitudinal
c) experimental
d) correlational
18. In true experimental designs, what does research attempt to isolate and control?
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) answers of the people in the study
19. What is the major difference between applied and basic research?
a) basic research takes longer to complete
b) applied research is less important
c) basic research is more traditional
d) basic research has no immediate application
20. What is a characteristic of quasi-experimental research?
a) does not establish cause and effect relationships
b) assignment to groups based on some pre-determined characteristic
c) has the highest degree of control over the factors being examined
d) assignment to groups is random in nature
21. Which of the following methods provides information about past trends?
a) historical
b) correlational
c) experimental
d) descriptive
22. What is another term for basic research?
a) real research
b) pure research
c) applied research
d) baseline research
23. What is one characteristic of poor research?
a) based on the work of other researchers
b) incremental
c) a political activity
d) leads to additional questions
24. How many steps are included in the research process?
a) 4
b) 6
c) 8
d) 9
25. What is the most important step in the research process?
a) testing the hypothesis
b) data collection
c) formulating the hypothesis
d) asking the question
26. Madison is interested in how many of the children in her school come from single-parent,
intact, and blended families. What method of research would she use?
a) correlational
b) quasi-experimental
c) experimental
d) descriptive
27. Matthew thinks that there is a relationship between parenting style and self-esteem in
children. Which research method should he use?
a) correlational
b) quasi-experimental
c) descriptive
d) historical
28. Samantha is interested in studying the relationship between gender differences and
verbal ability. This is an example of what type of research?
a) descriptive
b) quasi-experimental
c) correlational
d) gender research
29. Ann divides her classes into two groups - a treatment group and a non-treatment group
to test whether her new method of teaching subtraction is better than her old method.
This is an example of what type of research?
a) historical
b) quasi-experimental
c) correlational
d) experimental research
30. The scientific method is described in the textbook as:
a) restricted to use in correlational research
b) having no immediate application at the time research is completed
c) a standard sequence of steps in formulating and answering a question
d) the study of phenomena within the social and cultural context in which they occur