Research Methods Quiz

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PART A: PRINCIPLES AND PLANNING FOR RESEARCH

1. Which of the following should not be a criterion for a good research project?

a. Demonstrates the abilities of the researcher

b. Is dependent on the completion of other projects
c. Demonstrates the integration of different fields of knowledge
d. Develops the skills of the researcher

2. Which form of reasoning is the process of drawing a specific conclusion from a set of premises?

a. Objective reasoning
b. Positivistic reasoning
c. Inductive reasoning
d. Deductive reasoning

3. Research that seeks to examine the findings of a study by using the same design but a different
sample is which of the following?

a. An exploratory study
b. A replication study
c. An empirical study
d. Hypothesis testing

4. A researcher designs an experiment to test how variables interact to influence job-seeking

behaviours. The main purpose of the study was:

a. Description
b. Prediction
c. Exploration
d. Explanation

5. Cyber bullying at work is a growing threat to employee job satisfaction. Researchers want to find
out why people do this and how they feel about it. The primary purpose of the study is:

a. Description
b. Prediction
c. Exploration
d. Explanation

6. A theory:

a. Is an accumulated body of knowledge

 b. Includes inconsequential ideas
c. Is independent of research methodology
d. Should be viewed uncritically

7. Which research method is a bottom-up approach to research?

a. Deductive method
b. Explanatory method
c. Inductive method
d. Exploratory method

8. How much confidence should you place in a single research study?

a. You should trust research findings after different researchers have replicated the findings
b. You should completely trust a single research study
c. Neither a nor b
d. Both a and b

9. A qualitative research problem statement:

a. Specifies the research methods to be utilized

b. Specifies a research hypothesis
c. Expresses a relationship between variables
d. Conveys a sense of emerging design

10. Which of the following is a good research question?

a. To produce a report on student job searching behaviours

b. To identify the relationship between self-efficacy and student job searching behaviours
c. Students with higher levels of self-efficacy will demonstrate more active job searching
behaviours
d. Do students with high levels of self-efficacy demonstrate more active job searching
behaviours?

11. A review of the literature prior to formulating research questions allows the researcher to :

a. Provide an up-to-date understanding of the subject, its significance, and structure

b. Guide the development of research questions
c. Present the kinds of research methodologies used in previous studies
d. All of the above

12. Sometimes a comprehensive review of the literature prior to data collection is not recommended
by:

a. Ethnomethodology
b. Grounded theory
c. Symbolic interactionism
d. Feminist theory

13. The feasibility of a research study should be considered in light of:

 a. Cost and time required to conduct the study
b. Access to gatekeepers and respondents
c. Potential ethical concerns
d. All of the above

14. Research that uses qualitative methods for one phase and quantitative methods for the next
phase is known as:

a. Action research
b. Mixed-method research
c. Quantitative research
d. Pragmatic research

15. Research hypotheses are:

a. Formulated prior to a review of the literature

b. Statements of predicted relationships between variables
c. B but not A
d. Both A and B

16. Which research approach is based on the epistemological viewpoint of pragmatism?

a. Quantitative research
b. Qualitative research
c. Mixed-methods research
d. All of the above

17. Adopting ethical principles in research means:

a. Avoiding harm to participants

b. The researcher is anonymous
c. Deception is only used when necessary
d. Selected informants give their consent

18. A radical perspective on ethics suggests that:

a. Researchers can do anything they want

b. The use of checklists of ethical actions is essential
c. The powers of Institutional Review Boards should be strengthened
d. Ethics should be based on self-reflexivity

19. Ethical problems can arise when researching the Internet because:

a. Everyone has access to digital media

b. Respondents may fake their identities
c. Researchers may fake their identities
d. Internet research has to be covert

20. The Kappa statistic:

 a. Is a measure of inter-judge validity
b. Compares the level of agreement between two judges against what might have been
predicted by chance
c. Ranges from 0 to +1
d. Is acceptable above a score of 0.5

PART B: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. Which research paradigm is most concerned about generalizing its findings?

a. Quantitative research
b. Qualitative research
c. Mixed-methods research
d. All of the above

2. A variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable is called:

a. An intervening variable
b. A dependent variable
c. An independent variable
d. A numerical variable

3. Researchers posit that performance-related pay increases employee motivation which in turn
leads to an increase in job satisfaction. What kind of variable is ‘motivation”’ in this study?

a. Extraneous
b. Confounding
c. Intervening
d. Manipulated

4. Which correlation is the strongest?

a. –1.00
b. +80
c. –60
d. +05

5. When interpreting a correlation coefficient expressing the relationship between two variables, it is
important not to:

a. Assume causality
b. Measure the values for X and Y independently
c. Choose X and Y values that are normally distributed
d. Check the direction of the relationship

6. Which of the following can be described as a nominal variable?

a. Annual income
 b. Age
c. Annual sales
d. Geographical location of a firm

7. A positive correlation occurs when:

a. Two variables remain constant

b. Two variables move in the same direction
c. One variable goes up and the other goes down
d. Two variables move in opposite directions

8. The key defining characteristic of experimental research is that:

a. The independent variable is manipulated

b. Hypotheses are proved
c. A positive correlation exists
d. Samples are large

9. Qualitative research is used in all the following circumstances, EXCEPT:

a. It is based on a collection of non-numerical data such as words and pictures

b. It often uses small samples
c. It uses the inductive method
d. It is typically used when a great deal is already known about the topic of interest

10. In an experiment, the group that does not receive the intervention is called:

a. The experimental group

b. The participant group
c. The control group
d. The treatment group

11. Which generally cannot be guaranteed in conducting qualitative studies in the field?

a. Keeping participants from physical and emotional harm

b. Gaining informed consent
c. Assuring anonymity rather than just confidentiality
d. Maintaining consent forms

12. Which of the following is not ethical practice in research with humans?

a. Maintaining participants’ anonymity

b. Gaining informed consent
c. Informing participants that they are free to withdraw at any time
d. Requiring participants to continue until the study has been completed

13. What do we call data that are used for a new study but which were collected by an earlier
researcher for a different set of research questions?

a. Secondary data
 b. Field notes
c. Qualitative data
d. Primary data

14. When each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected, this is called:

a. A snowball sample
b. A stratified sample
c. A random probability sample
d. A non-random sample

15. Which of the following techniques yields a simple random sample of companies?

a. Randomly selecting a district and then sampling all companies within the district
b. Numbering all the elements of a company sampling frame and then using a random number
table to pick companies from the table
c. Listing companies by sector and choosing a proportion from within each sector at random
d. Choosing volunteer companies to participate

16. Which of the following statements are true?

a. The larger the sample size, the larger the confidence interval
b. The smaller the sample size, the greater the sampling error
c. The more categories being measured, the smaller the sample size
d. A confidence level of 95 percent is always sufficient

17. Which of the following will produce the least sampling error?

a. A large sample based on convenience sampling

b. A small sample based on random sampling
c. A large snowball sample
d. A large sample based on random sampling

18. When people are readily available, volunteer, or are easily recruited to the sample, this is called:

a. Snowball sampling
b. Convenience sampling
c. Stratified sampling
d. Random sampling

19. In qualitative research, sampling that involves selecting diverse cases is referred to as:

a. Typical-case sampling
b. Critical-case sampling
c. Intensity sampling
d. Maximum variation sampling

20. A test accurately indicates an employee’s scores on a future criterion (e.g.,

conscientiousness). What kind of validity is this?
 a. Predictive
b. Face
c. Content
d. Concurrent

PART C: DATA COLLECTION METHODS

1. When designing a questionnaire it is important to do each of the following EXCEPT

a. Pilot the questionnaire

b. Avoid jargon
c. Avoid double questions
d. Use leading questions

2. One advantage of using a questionnaire is that:

a. Probe questions can be asked

b. Respondents can be put at ease
c. Interview bias can be avoided
d. Response rates are always high

3. Which of the following is true of observations?

a. It takes less time than interviews

b. It is often not possible to determine exactly why people behave as they do
c. Covert observation raises fewer ethical concerns than overt
d. All of the above

4. A researcher secretly becomes an active member of a group in order to observe their behaviour.
This researcher is acting as:

a. An overt participant observer

b. A covert non-participant observer
c. A covert participant observer
d. None of the above

5. All of the following are advantages of structured observation, EXCEPT:

a. Results can be replicated at a different time

b. The coding schedule might impose a framework on what is being observed
c. Data can be collected that participants may not realize is important
d. Data do not have to rely on the recall of participants

6. When conducting an interview, asking questions such as: "What else? or ‘Could you expand on
that?’ are all forms of:

a. Structured responses
b. Category questions
 c. Protocols
d. Probes

7. Secondary data can include which of the following?

a. Government statistics
b. Personal diaries
c. Organizational records
d. All of the above

8. An ordinal scale is:

a. The simplest form of measurement

b. A scale with an absolute zero point
c. A rank-order scale of measurement
d. A scale with equal intervals between ranks

9. Which term measures the extent to which scores from a test can be used to infer or predict
performance in some activity?

a. Face validity
b. Content reliability
c. Criterion-related validity
d. Construct validity

10. The ‘reliability’of a measure refers to the researcher asking:

a. Does it give consistent results?

b. Does it measure what it is supposed to measure?
c. Can the results be generalized?
d. Does it have face reliability?

11. Interviewing is the favoured approach EXCEPT when:

a. There is a need for highly personalized data

b. It is important to ask supplementary questions
c. High numbers of respondents are needed
d. Respondents have difficulty with written language

12. Validity in interviews is strengthened by the following EXCEPT:

a. Building rapport with interviewees

b. Multiple questions cover the same theme
c. Constructing interview schedules that contain themes drawn from the literature
d. Prompting respondents to expand on initial responses

13. Interview questions should:

a. Lead the respondent

b. Probe sensitive issues
 c. Be delivered in a neutral tone
d. Test the respondents’ powers of memory

14. Active listening skills means:

a. Asking as many questions as possible

b. Avoiding silences
c. Keeping to time
d. Attentive listening

15. All the following are strengths of focus groups EXCEPT:

a. They allow access to a wide range of participants

b. Discussion allows for the validation of ideas and views
c. They can generate a collective perspective
d. They help maintain confidentiality

16. Which of the following is not always true about focus groups?

a. The ideal size is normally between 6 and 12 participants

b. Moderators should introduce themselves to the group
c. Participants should come from diverse backgrounds
d. The moderator poses preplanned questions

17. A disadvantage of using secondary data is that:

a. The data may have been collected with reference to research questions that are not those of
the researcher
b. The researcher may bring more detachment in viewing the data than original researchers
could muster
c. Data have often been collected by teams of experienced researchers
d. Secondary data sets are often available and accessible

18. All of the following are sources of secondary data EXCEPT:

a. Official statistics
b. A television documentary
c. The researcher’s research diary
d. A company’s annual report

19. Which of the following is not true about visual methods?

a. They are not reliant on respondent recall

b. The have low resource requirements
c. They do not rely on words to capture what is happening
d. They can capture what is happening in real time

20. Avoiding naïve empiricism in the interpretation of visual data means:

a. Understanding the context in which they were produced

 b. Ensuring that visual images such as photographs are accurately taken
c. Only using visual images with other data gathering sources
d. Planning the capture of visual data carefully

PART D: ANALYSIS AND REPORT WRITING

1. Which of the following is incorrect when naming a variable in SPSS?

a. Must begin with a letter and not a number

b. Must end in a full stop
c. Cannot exceed 64 characters
d. Cannot include symbols such as ?, & and %

2. Which of the following is not an SPSS Type variable?

a. Word
b. Numeric
c. String
d. Date

3. A graph that uses vertical bars to represent data is called:

a. A bar chart
b. A pie chart
c. A line graph
d. A vertical graph

4. The purpose of descriptive statistics is to:

a. Summarize the characteristics of a data set

b. Draw conclusions from the data
c. None of the above
d. All of the above

5. The measure of the extent to which responses vary from the mean is called:

a. The mode
b. The normal distribution
c. The standard deviation
d. The variance

6. To compare the performance of a group at time T1 and then at T2, we would use:

a. A chi-squared test
b. One-way analysis of variance
c. Analysis of variance
d. A paired t-test
7. A Type 1 error occurs in a situation where:

a. The null hypothesis is accepted when it is in fact true

b. The null hypothesis is rejected when it is in fact false
c. The null hypothesis is rejected when it is in fact true
d. The null hypothesis is accepted when it is in fact false

8. The significance level

a. Is set after a statistical test is conducted

b. Is always set at 0.05
c. Results in a p-value
d. Measures the probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis

9. To predict the value of the dependent variable for a new case based on the knowledge of one or
more independent variables, we would use

a. Regression analysis
b. Correlation analysis
c. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
d. One-way analysis of variance

10. In conducting secondary data analysis, researchers should ask themselves all of the following
EXCEPT:

a. Who produced the document?

b. Is the material genuine?
c. How can respondents be re-interviewed?
d. Why was the document produced?

11. Which of the following are not true of reflexivity?

a. It recognizes that the researcher is not a neutral observer

b. It has mainly been applied to the analysis of qualitative data
c. It is part of a post-positivist tradition
d. A danger of adopting a reflexive stance is the researcher can become the focus of the study

12. Validity in qualitative research can be strengthened by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Member checking for accuracy and interpretation

b. Transcribing interviews to improve accuracy of data
c. Exploring rival explanations
d. Analysing negative cases

13. Qualitative data analysis programs are useful for each of the following EXCEPT:

a. Manipulation of large amounts of data

b. Exploring of the data against new dimensions
c. Querying of data
d. Generating codes
14. Which part of a research report contains details of how the research was planned and
conducted?

a. Results
b. Design
c. Introduction
d. Background

15. Which of the following is a form of research typically conducted by managers and other
professionals to address issues in their organizations and/or professional practice?

a. Action research
b. Basic research
c. Professional research
d. Predictive research

16. Plagiarism can be avoided by:

a. Copying the work of others accurately

b. Paraphrasing the author’s text in your own words
c. Cut and pasting from the Internet
d. Quoting directly without revealing the source

17. In preparing for a presentation, you should do all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Practice the presentation

b. Ignore your nerves
c. Get to know more about your audience
d. Take an advanced look, if possible, at the facilities

18. You can create interest in your presentation by:

a. Using bullet points

b. Reading from notes
c. Maximizing the use of animation effects
d. Using metaphors

19. In preparing for a viva or similar oral examination, it is best if you have:

a. Avoided citing the examiner in your thesis

b. Made exaggerated claims on the basis of your data
c. Published and referenced your own article(s)
d. Tried to memorize your work

20. Grounded theory coding:

a. Makes use of a priori concepts from the literature

b. Uses open coding, selective coding, then axial coding
c. Adopts a deductive stance
d. Stops when theoretical saturation has been reached
Answer

PART A: PRINCIPLES AND PLANNING FOR RESEARCH

1. Which of the following should not be a criterion for a good research project?

a. Demonstrates the abilities of the researcher

b. Is dependent on the completion of other projects
c. Demonstrates the integration of different fields of knowledge
d. Develops the skills of the researcher

Answer:

b: Is dependent on the completion of other projects

2. Which form of reasoning is the process of drawing a specific conclusion from a set of premises?

a. Objective reasoning
b. Positivistic reasoning
c. Inductive reasoning
d. Deductive reasoning

Answer:

d. Deductive reasoning

3. Research that seeks to examine the findings of a study by using the same design but a different
sample is which of the following?

a. An exploratory study
b. A replication study
c. An empirical study
d. Hypothesis testing

Answer:

b: A replication study

4. A researcher designs an experiment to test how variables interact to influence job-seeking

behaviors. The main purpose of the study was:

a. Description
b. Prediction
c. Exploration
d. Explanation
Answer:

d: Explanation
5. Cyber bullying at work is a growing threat to employee job satisfaction. Researchers want to find
out why people do this and how they feel about it. The primary purpose of the study is:

a. Description
b. Prediction
c. Exploration
d. Explanation

Answer:

c: Exploration

6. A theory:

a. Is an accumulated body of knowledge

b. Includes inconsequential ideas
c. Is independent of research methodology
d. Should be viewed uncritically

Answer:

a: Is an accumulated body of knowledge

7. Which research method is a bottom-up approach to research?

a. Deductive method
b. Explanatory method
c. Inductive method
d. Exploratory method

Answer:

c: Inductive method

8. How much confidence should you place in a single research study?

a. You should trust research findings after different researchers have replicated the findings
b. You should completely trust a single research study
c. Neither a nor b
d. Both a and b

Answer:

a: You should trust research findings after different researchers have replicated the findings

9. A qualitative research problem statement:

a. Specifies the research methods to be utilized

b. Specifies a research hypothesis
 c. Expresses a relationship between variables
d. Conveys a sense of emerging design

Answer:

d: Conveys a sense of emerging design

10. Which of the following is a good research question?

a. To produce a report on student job searching behaviours

b. To identify the relationship between self-efficacy and student job searching behaviours
c. Students with higher levels of self-efficacy will demonstrate more active job searching
behaviours
d. Do students with high levels of self-efficacy demonstrate more active job searching
behaviours?

Answer:

d: Do students with high levels of self-efficacy demonstrate more active job searching behaviours?

11. A review of the literature prior to formulating research questions allows the researcher to :

a. Provide an up-to-date understanding of the subject, its significance, and structure

b. Guide the development of research questions
c. Present the kinds of research methodologies used in previous studies
d. All of the above

Answer:

d: All of the above

12. Sometimes a comprehensive review of the literature prior to data collection is not recommended
by:

a. Ethnomethodology
b. Grounded theory
c. Symbolic interactionism
d. Feminist theory

Answer:

b: Grounded theory

13. The feasibility of a research study should be considered in light of:

a. Cost and time required to conduct the study

b. Access to gatekeepers and respondents
c. Potential ethical concerns
d. All of the above
Answer:

d: All of the above

14. Research that uses qualitative methods for one phase and quantitative methods for the next
phase is known as:

a. Action research
b. Mixed-method research
c. Quantitative research
d. Pragmatic research

Answer:

b: Mixed-method research

15. Research hypotheses are:

a. Formulated prior to a review of the literature

b. Statements of predicted relationships between variables
c. B but not A
d. Both A and B

Answer:

c: B but not A

16. Which research approach is based on the epistemological viewpoint of pragmatism?

a. Quantitative research
b. Qualitative research
c. Mixed-methods research
d. All of the above

Answer:

c: Mixed-methods research

17. Adopting ethical principles in research means:

a. Avoiding harm to participants

b. The researcher is anonymous
c. Deception is only used when necessary
d. Selected informants give their consent

Answer:

c: Deception is only used when necessary

18. A radical perspective on ethics suggests that:

a. Researchers can do anything they want

b. The use of checklists of ethical actions is essential
c. The powers of Institutional Review Boards should be strengthened
d. Ethics should be based on self-reflexivity

Answer:

d: Ethics should be based on self-reflexivity

19. Ethical problems can arise when researching the Internet because:

a. Everyone has access to digital media

b. Respondents may fake their identities
c. Researchers may fake their identities
d. Internet research has to be covert

Answer:

b: Respondents may fake their identities

20. The Kappa statistic:

a. Is a measure of inter-judge validity

b. Compares the level of agreement between two judges against what might have been
predicted by chance
c. Ranges from 0 to +1
d. Is acceptable above a score of 0.5

Answer:

b: Compares the level of agreement between two judges against what might have been predicted by
chance

PART B: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. Which research paradigm is most concerned about generalizing its findings?

a. Quantitative research
b. Qualitative research
c. Mixed-methods research
d. All of the above

Answer:

a: Quantitative research
2. A variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable is called:

a. An intervening variable
b. A dependent variable
c. An independent variable
d. A numerical variable

Answer:

c: An independent variable

3. Researchers posit that performance-related pay increases employee motivation which in turn
leads to an increase in job satisfaction. What kind of variable is ‘motivation”’ in this study?

a. Extraneous
b. Confounding
c. Intervening
d. Manipulated

Answer:

c: Intervening

4. Which correlation is the strongest?

a. –1.00
b. +80
c. –60
d. +05

Answer:

a: –1.00

5. When interpreting a correlation coefficient expressing the relationship between two variables, it is
important not to:

a. Assume causality
b. Measure the values for X and Y independently
c. Choose X and Y values that are normally distributed
d. Check the direction of the relationship

Answer:

a: Assume causality

6. Which of the following can be described as a nominal variable?

a. Annual income
 b. Age
c. Annual sales
d. Geographical location of a firm

Answer:

d: Geographical location of a firm

7. A positive correlation occurs when:

a. Two variables remain constant

b. Two variables move in the same direction
c. One variable goes up and the other goes down
d. Two variables move in opposite directions

Answer:

b: Two variables move in the same direction

8. The key defining characteristic of experimental research is that:

a. The independent variable is manipulated

b. Hypotheses are proved
c. A positive correlation exists
d. Samples are large

Answer:

a: The independent variable is manipulated

9. Qualitative research is used in all the following circumstances, EXCEPT:

a. It is based on a collection of non-numerical data such as words and pictures

b. It often uses small samples
c. It uses the inductive method
d. It is typically used when a great deal is already known about the topic of interest

Answer:

d: It is typically used when a great deal is already known about the topic of interest

10. In an experiment, the group that does not receive the intervention is called:

a. The experimental group

b. The participant group
c. The control group
d. The treatment group

Answer:
c: The control group

11. Which generally cannot be guaranteed in conducting qualitative studies in the field?

a. Keeping participants from physical and emotional harm

b. Gaining informed consent
c. Assuring anonymity rather than just confidentiality
d. Maintaining consent forms

Answer:

c: Assuring anonymity rather than just confidentiality

12. Which of the following is not ethical practice in research with humans?

a. Maintaining participants’ anonymity

b. Gaining informed consent
c. Informing participants that they are free to withdraw at any time
d. Requiring participants to continue until the study has been completed

Answer:

d: Requiring participants to continue until the study has been completed

13. What do we call data that are used for a new study but which were collected by an earlier
researcher for a different set of research questions?

a. Secondary data
b. Field notes
c. Qualitative data
d. Primary data

Answer:

a: Secondary data

14. When each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected, this is called:

a. A snowball sample
b. A stratified sample
c. A random probability sample
d. A non-random sample

Answer:

c: A random probability sample

15. Which of the following techniques yields a simple random sample of companies?
 a. Randomly selecting a district and then sampling all companies within the district
b. Numbering all the elements of a company sampling frame and then using a random number
table to pick companies from the table
c. Listing companies by sector and choosing a proportion from within each sector at random
d. Choosing volunteer companies to participate

Answer:

b: Numbering all the elements of a company sampling frame and then using a random number table
to pick companies from the table

16. Which of the following statements are true?

a. The larger the sample size, the larger the confidence interval
b. The smaller the sample size, the greater the sampling error
c. The more categories being measured, the smaller the sample size
d. A confidence level of 95 percent is always sufficient

Answer:

b: The smaller the sample size, the greater the sampling error

17. Which of the following will produce the least sampling error?

a. A large sample based on convenience sampling

b. A small sample based on random sampling
c. A large snowball sample
d. A large sample based on random sampling

Answer:

d: A large sample based on random sampling

18. When people are readily available, volunteer, or are easily recruited to the sample, this is called:

a. Snowball sampling
b. Convenience sampling
c. Stratified sampling
d. Random sampling

Answer:

b: Convenience sampling

19. In qualitative research, sampling that involves selecting diverse cases is referred to as:

a. Typical-case sampling
b. Critical-case sampling
c. Intensity sampling
d. Maximum variation sampling
Answer:

d: Maximum variation sampling

20. A test accurately indicates an employee’s scores on a future criterion (e.g.,

conscientiousness). What kind of validity is this?

a. Predictive
b. Face
c. Content
d. Concurrent

Answer:

a: Predictive

PART C: DATA COLLECTION METHODS

1. When designing a questionnaire it is important to do each of the following EXCEPT

a. Pilot the questionnaire

b. Avoid jargon
c. Avoid double questions
d. Use leading questions

Answer:

d: Use leading questions

2. One advantage of using a questionnaire is that:

a. Probe questions can be asked

b. Respondents can be put at ease
c. Interview bias can be avoided
d. Response rates are always high

Answer:

c: Interview bias can be avoided

3. Which of the following is true of observations?

a. It takes less time than interviews

b. It is often not possible to determine exactly why people behave as they do
c. Covert observation raises fewer ethical concerns than overt
d. All of the above
Answer:

b: It is often not possible to determine exactly why people behave as they do

4. A researcher secretly becomes an active member of a group in order to observe their behaviour.
This researcher is acting as:

a. An overt participant observer

b. A covert non-participant observer
c. A covert participant observer
d. None of the above

Answer:

c: A covert participant observer

5. All of the following are advantages of structured observation, EXCEPT:

a. Results can be replicated at a different time

b. The coding schedule might impose a framework on what is being observed
c. Data can be collected that participants may not realize is important
d. Data do not have to rely on the recall of participants

Answer:

b: The coding schedule might impose a framework on what is being observed

6. When conducting an interview, asking questions such as: "What else? or ‘Could you expand on
that?’ are all forms of:

a. Structured responses
b. Category questions
c. Protocols
d. Probes

Answer:

d: Probes

7. Secondary data can include which of the following?

a. Government statistics
b. Personal diaries
c. Organizational records
d. All of the above

Answer:

d: All of the above

8. An ordinal scale is:

a. The simplest form of measurement

b. A scale with an absolute zero point
c. A rank-order scale of measurement
d. A scale with equal intervals between ranks

Answer:

c: A rank-order scale of measurement

9. Which term measures the extent to which scores from a test can be used to infer or predict
performance in some activity?

a. Face validity
b. Content reliability
c. Criterion-related validity
d. Construct validity

Answer:

d: Construct validity

10. The ‘reliability’of a measure refers to the researcher asking:

a. Does it give consistent results?

b. Does it measure what it is supposed to measure?
c. Can the results be generalized?
d. Does it have face reliability?

Answer:

a: Does it give consistent results?

11. Interviewing is the favoured approach EXCEPT when:

a. There is a need for highly personalized data

b. It is important to ask supplementary questions
c. High numbers of respondents are needed
d. Respondents have difficulty with written language

Answer:

c: High numbers of respondents are needed

12. Validity in interviews is strengthened by the following EXCEPT:

a. Building rapport with interviewees

b. Multiple questions cover the same theme
 c. Constructing interview schedules that contain themes drawn from the literature
d. Prompting respondents to expand on initial responses

Answer:

b: Multiple questions cover the same theme

13. Interview questions should:

a. Lead the respondent

b. Probe sensitive issues
c. Be delivered in a neutral tone
d. Test the respondents’ powers of memory

Answer:

c: Be delivered in a neutral tone

14. Active listening skills means:

a. Asking as many questions as possible

b. Avoiding silences
c. Keeping to time
d. Attentive listening

Answer:

d: Attentive listening

15. All the following are strengths of focus groups EXCEPT:

a. They allow access to a wide range of participants

b. Discussion allows for the validation of ideas and views
c. They can generate a collective perspective
d. They help maintain confidentiality

Answer:

d: They help maintain confidentiality

16. Which of the following is not always true about focus groups?

a. The ideal size is normally between 6 and 12 participants

b. Moderators should introduce themselves to the group
c. Participants should come from diverse backgrounds
d. The moderator poses preplanned questions

Answer:
c: Participants should come from diverse backgrounds

17. A disadvantage of using secondary data is that:

a. The data may have been collected with reference to research questions that are not those of
the researcher
b. The researcher may bring more detachment in viewing the data than original researchers
could muster
c. Data have often been collected by teams of experienced researchers
d. Secondary data sets are often available and accessible

Answer:

a: The data may have been collected with reference to research questions that are not those of the
researcher

18. All of the following are sources of secondary data EXCEPT:

a. Official statistics
b. A television documentary
c. The researcher’s research diary
d. A company’s annual report

Answer:

c: The researcher’s research diary

19. Which of the following is not true about visual methods?

a. They are not reliant on respondent recall

b. The have low resource requirements
c. They do not rely on words to capture what is happening
d. They can capture what is happening in real time

Answer:

b: The have low resource requirements

20. Avoiding naïve empiricism in the interpretation of visual data means:

a. Understanding the context in which they were produced

b. Ensuring that visual images such as photographs are accurately taken
c. Only using visual images with other data gathering sources
d. Planning the capture of visual data carefully

Answer:

a: Understanding the context in which they were produced

PART D: ANALYSIS AND REPORT WRITING

1. Which of the following is incorrect when naming a variable in SPSS?

a. Must begin with a letter and not a number

b. Must end in a full stop
c. Cannot exceed 64 characters
d. Cannot include symbols such as ?, & and %

Answer:

b: Must end in a full stop

2. Which of the following is not an SPSS Type variable?

a. Word
b. Numeric
c. String
d. Date

Answer:

a: Word

3. A graph that uses vertical bars to represent data is called:

a. A bar chart
b. A pie chart
c. A line graph
d. A vertical graph

Answer:

a: A bar chart

4. The purpose of descriptive statistics is to:

a. Summarize the characteristics of a data set

b. Draw conclusions from the data
c. None of the above
d. All of the above

Answer:

a: Summarize the characteristics of a data set

5. The measure of the extent to which responses vary from the mean is called:
 a. The mode
b. The normal distribution
c. The standard deviation
d. The variance

Answer:

c: The standard deviation

6. To compare the performance of a group at time T1 and then at T2, we would use:

a. A chi-squared test
b. One-way analysis of variance
c. Analysis of variance
d. A paired t-test

Answer:

d: A paired t-test

7. A Type 1 error occurs in a situation where:

a. The null hypothesis is accepted when it is in fact true

b. The null hypothesis is rejected when it is in fact false
c. The null hypothesis is rejected when it is in fact true
d. The null hypothesis is accepted when it is in fact false

Answer:

c: The null hypothesis is rejected when it is in fact true

8. The significance level

a. Is set after a statistical test is conducted

b. Is always set at 0.05
c. Results in a p-value
d. Measures the probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis

Answer:

d: Measures the probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis

9. To predict the value of the dependent variable for a new case based on the knowledge of one or
more independent variables, we would use

a. Regression analysis
b. Correlation analysis
c. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
d. One-way analysis of variance
Answer:

a: Regression analysis

10. In conducting secondary data analysis, researchers should ask themselves all of the following
EXCEPT:

a. Who produced the document?

b. Is the material genuine?
c. How can respondents be re-interviewed?
d. Why was the document produced?

Answer:

c: How can respondents be re-interviewed?

11. Which of the following are not true of reflexivity?

a. It recognizes that the researcher is not a neutral observer

b. It has mainly been applied to the analysis of qualitative data
c. It is part of a post-positivist tradition
d. A danger of adopting a reflexive stance is the researcher can become the focus of the study

Answer:

c: It is part of a post-positivist tradition

12. Validity in qualitative research can be strengthened by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Member checking for accuracy and interpretation

b. Transcribing interviews to improve accuracy of data
c. Exploring rival explanations
d. Analysing negative cases

Answer:

b: Exploring rival explanations

13. Qualitative data analysis programs are useful for each of the following EXCEPT:

a. Manipulation of large amounts of data

b. Exploring of the data against new dimensions
c. Querying of data
d. Generating codes

Answer:

d: Generating codes
14. Which part of a research report contains details of how the research was planned and
conducted?

a. Results
b. Design
c. Introduction
d. Background

Answer:

d: Background

15. Which of the following is a form of research typically conducted by managers and other
professionals to address issues in their organizations and/or professional practice?

a. Action research
b. Basic research
c. Professional research
d. Predictive research

Answer:

a: Action research

16. Plagiarism can be avoided by:

a. Copying the work of others accurately

b. Paraphrasing the author’s text in your own words
c. Cut and pasting from the Internet
d. Quoting directly without revealing the source

Answer:

b: Paraphrasing the author’s text in your own words

17. In preparing for a presentation, you should do all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Practice the presentation

b. Ignore your nerves
c. Get to know more about your audience
d. Take an advanced look, if possible, at the facilities

Answer:

b: Ignore your nerves

18. You can create interest in your presentation by:

a. Using bullet points

 b. Reading from notes
c. Maximizing the use of animation effects
d. Using metaphors

Answer:

d: Using metaphors

19. In preparing for a viva or similar oral examination, it is best if you have:

a. Avoided citing the examiner in your thesis

b. Made exaggerated claims on the basis of your data
c. Published and referenced your own article(s)
d. Tried to memorize your work

Answer:

c: Published and referenced your own article(s)

20. Grounded theory coding:

a. Makes use of a priori concepts from the literature

b. Uses open coding, selective coding, then axial coding
c. Adopts a deductive stance
d. Stops when theoretical saturation has been reached

Answer:

d: Stops when theoretical saturation has been reached

[Link]

Every true experimental design must have this statement at the core of its structure, as the ultimate
aim of any experiment.
The hypothesis is generated via a number of means, but is usually the result of a process
of inductive reasoning where observations lead to the formation of a theory. Scientists then use a
large battery of deductive methods to arrive at a hypothesis that is testable, falsifiable and realistic.
The precursor to a hypothesis is a research problem, usually framed as a question. It might ask
what, or why, something is happening.
For example, we might wonder why the stocks of cod in the North Atlantic are declining. The
problem question might be ‘Why are the numbers of Cod in the North Atlantic declining?’

This is too broad as a statement and is not testable by any reasonable scientific means. It is merely
a tentative question arising from literature reviews and intuition. Many people would think that
instinct and intuition are unscientific, but many of the greatest scientific leaps were a result of
‘hunches’.
The research hypothesis is a paring down of the problem into something testable and falsifiable. In
the above example, a researcher might speculate that the decline in the fish stocks is due to
prolonged over fishing. Scientists must generate a realistic and testable hypothesis around which
they can build the experiment.
This might be a question, a statement or an ‘If/Or’ statement. Some examples could be:
• Over-fishing affects the stocks of cod.
• If over-fishing is causing a decline in the numbers of Cod, reducing the amount of trawlers will
increase cod stocks.
These are acceptable statements and they all give the researcher a focus for constructing a
research experiment. The last example formalizes things and uses an ‘If’ statement, measuring the
effect that manipulating one variable has upon another. Though the other one is perfectly
acceptable, an ideal research hypothesis should contain a prediction, which is why the more formal
ones are favored.
A hypothesis must be testable, but must also be falsifiable for its acceptance as
true science.
A scientist who becomes fixated on proving a research hypothesis loses their impartiality and
credibility. Statistical tests often uncover trends, but rarely give a clear-cut answer, with other factors
often affecting the outcome and influencing the results.
Whilst gut instinct and logic tells us that fish stocks are affected by over fishing, it is not necessarily
true and the researcher must consider that outcome. Perhaps environmental factors or pollution are
causal effects influencing fish stocks.

A hypothesis must be testable, taking into account current knowledge and techniques, and be
realistic. If the researcher does not have a multi-million dollar budget then there is no point in
generating complicated hypotheses. A hypothesis must be verifiable by statistical and analytical
means, to allow a verification or falsification.
In fact, a hypothesis is never proved, and it is better practice to use the terms ‘supported’ or
‘verified’. This means that the research showed that the evidence supported the hypothesis and
further research is built upon that.

Your hypothesis should...

• Be written in clear, concise language

• Have both an independent and dependent variable
• Be falsifiable – is it possible to prove or disprove the statement?
• Make a prediction or speculate on an outcome
• Be practicable – can you measure the variables in question?
• Hypothesize about a proposed relationship between two variables, or an
intervention into this relationship
 A research hypothesis, which stands the test of time, eventually becomes a theory, such as
Einstein’s General Relativity. Even then, as with Newton’s Laws, they can still be falsified or
adapted.
The research hypothesis is often also callen H1 and opposes the current view, called the null
hypothesis (H0).

1. Which of the following describes single-blind experiments?

• They are experiments in which the subjects don’t know whether they are
receiving a real or fake drug or treatment
• They help reduce placebo effects
• They help reduce bias in research
• All of the above

2. 2. What does it mean if two variables have a positive correlation?

• As one variable increases, so does the other

• As one variable increases, the other decreases
• The correlation between the two variables is 0
• The correlation between the two variables is greater than 1.0

3. 3. In what type of study does a researcher study an individual subject in

depth?

• Naturalistic observation
• Laboratory observation
• Case study
• Survey

.
 4. How can we determine if a test has good validity?

• It produces the same result when it is given at different times to the same
group of people
• It produces the same result no matter which version of the test is used
• It measures what it is supposed to measure
• All of the questions on it can be answered accurately by the subject

5. 5. What is the variable called that a researcher manipulates in an

experiment?

• Dependent variable
• Independent variable
• Extraneous variable
• None of the above

6. 6. What is the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data
distribution called?

• Mode
• Standard deviation
• Range
• Median

. 7. The social desirability bias can affect which of the following?

• The validity of a test

• The reliability of a test
• Self-report data
• None of the above
 8. 8. Which of the following is a research method that allows a researcher to
get information about a large number of subjects relatively inexpensively and
easily?

• Naturalistic observation
• Case study
• Laboratory observation
• Survey

9. 9. What is a common way of controlling extraneous variables in an

experiment?

• Random assignment
• Double-blind procedure
• Single-blind procedure
• Using animal subjects

10. 10. When doing research involving deception with human subjects,
researchers have an obligation to do which of the following?

• Tell subjects the truth about the study’s purpose and methods after the study
is completed
• Prevent mental and physical harm to subjects
• Let subjects withdraw from the study at any time if they don’t want to keep
participating
• All of the above

• 1. What are some features of good scientific research?

• Good scientific research must have precise hypotheses, replicability,

falsifiable theories and hypotheses, and parsimonious explanations.

• 2. What is sampling bias?

 • Sampling bias is a type of error that occurs when a sample isn’t
representative of the population from which it is drawn.

• 3. Why might it be problematic to rely only on self-report data when

doing research?

• Self-report data can be misleading. People sometimes intentionally lie,

give answers based on wishful thinking, don’t understand the questions
asked, or don’t remember information.

• 4. Why is it problematic to draw cause-and-effect conclusions based on

correlative data?

• We cannot draw cause-and-effect conclusions about correlative data

because one factor can be related to another factor without causing it.

• 5. What does it mean if a researcher claims that a particular result is

statistically significant?

• If a result is statistically significant, it is probably not due to chance

use many different methods for conducting research. Each method has
advantages and disadvantages that make it suitable for certain situations and
unsuitable for others.

Descriptive or Correlational Research Methods

Case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, and laboratory observation

are examples of descriptive or correlational research methods. Using
these methods, researchers can describe different events, experiences, or
behaviors and look for links between them. However, these methods do not
enable researchers to determine causes of behavior.
Remember: correlation is not the same as causation. Two factors may be
related without one causing the other to occur. Often, a third factor explains
the correlation.
Example: A psychologist uses the survey method to study the relationship
between balding and length of marriage. He finds that length of marriage
correlates with baldness. However, he can’t infer from this that being bald
causes people to stay married longer. Instead, a third factor explains the
correlation: both balding and long marriages are associated with old age.
MEASURING CORRELATION

A correlation coefficient measures the strength of the relationship between

two variables. A correlation coefficient is always a number between –1 and
+1. The sign (+ or –) of a correlation coefficient indicates the nature of the
relationship between the variables.
A positive correlation (+) means that as one variable increases, the other
does too.

Example: The more years of education a person receives, the higher his or
her yearly income is.
A negative correlation (–) means that when one variable increases, the other
one decreases.
Example: The more hours a high school student works during the week, the
fewer A’s he or she gets in class.
The higher the correlation coefficient, the stronger the correlation. A +0.9 or a
–0.9 indicates a very strong correlation; a +0.1 or a –0.1 indicates a very weak
correlation. A correlation of 0 means that no relationship exists between two
variables.
 Common correlational research methods include case studies, surveys,
naturalistic observation, and laboratory observation.

CASE STUDIES

In a case study, a researcher studies a subject in depth. The researcher

collects data about the subject through interviews, direct observation,
psychological testing, or examination of documents and records about the
subject.
SURVEYS

A survey is a way of getting information about a specific type of behavior,

experience, or event. When using this method, researchers give people
questionnaires or interview them to obtain information.
When subjects fill out surveys about themselves, the data is called self-report
data. Self-report data can be misleading because subjects may do any of the
following:
• Lie intentionally
• Give answers based on wishful thinking rather than the truth
• Fail to understand the questions the survey asks
• Forget parts of the experience they need to describe
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION

When using naturalistic observation, researchers collect information about

subjects by observing them unobtrusively, without interfering with them in any
way. Researchers create a record of events and note relationships among
those events. With naturalistic observation, researchers face the challenge of
getting a clear view of events without becoming noticeable to the subjects.

LABORATORY OBSERVATION

As the name implies, researchers perform laboratory observation in a

laboratory rather than in a natural setting. In laboratory observation,
researchers can use sophisticated equipment to measure and record subjects’
behavior. They can use one-way mirrors or hidden recording devices to
observe subjects more freely while remaining hidden themselves. Unlike
observation in a natural setting, laboratory observation offers researchers
some degree of control over the environment.
Psychological Tests

Researchers use psychological tests to collect information about personality

traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, values, or behaviors.
Researchers usually standardize these tests, which means they create
uniform procedures for giving and scoring them. When scoring a test,
researchers often compare subjects’ scores to norms, which are established
standards of performance on a test. A well-constructed standardized test can
evaluate subjects better than self-report data.
RELIABILITY

A test has good reliability if it produces the same result when researchers
administer it to the same group of people at different times. Researchers
determine a test’s test-retest reliability by giving the test to a group of people
and then giving the test again to the same group of people at a later time. A
reliable test will produce approximately the same results on both occasions.
Psychologists also use alternate-forms reliabilityto determine a test’s
reliability. They measure alternate-forms reliability by giving one version of a
test to a group of people and then giving another version of the same test to
 the same group of people. A reliable test will produce roughly the same
results no matter which version of the test is used.
VALIDITY

A test is valid if it actually measures the quality it claims to measure. There

are two types of validity:
• Content validity is a test’s ability to measure all the important aspects of the
characteristic being measured. An intelligence test wouldn’t have good
content validity if it measured only verbal intelligence, since nonverbal
intelligence is an important part of overall intelligence.
• Criterion validity is fulfilled when a test not only measures a trait but also
predicts another criterion of that trait. For example, one criterion of scholastic
aptitude is academic performance in college. A scholastic aptitude test would
have good criterion validity if it could predict college grade point averages.

Overview of Research Methods

Research
method Advantages Disadvantages
• Provides information
about behavior that can’t
be observed directly
• Yields a lot of information • Relies on self-report data,
• Provides a good way to generate which can be misleading
hypotheses • Doesn’t allow conclusions
• Can provide information about many about cause-and-effect
Survey people since it’s cheap and easy to do relationships
• Sometimes gives
• Provides a good way to generate incomplete information
hypotheses • Sometimes relies only on
• Yields data that other methods can’t self-report data, which
Case study provide can be misleading
 • Can be subjective and
thus may yield biased
results
• Doesn’t allow conclusions
about cause-and-effect
relationships
• Sometimes yields biased
results
• May be difficult to do
• Can be useful for generating unobtrusively
hypotheses • Doesn’t allow conclusions
• Provides information about behavior in about cause-and-effect
Naturalistic
observation the natural environment relationships
• Sometimes yields biased
results
• Carries the risk that
observed behavior is
• Enables use of sophisticated different from natural
equipment for measuring and behavior
recording behavior • Doesn’t allow conclusions
• Can be useful for generating about cause-and-effect
Laboratory
observation hypotheses relationships
• Requires good reliability
• Gives information about and validity before it can
characteristics such as personality be used
traits, emotional states, aptitudes, • Doesn’t allow conclusions
interests, abilities, values, and about cause-and-effect
Test behaviors relationships
• Identifies cause-and-effect • Can be artificial, so
Experiment relationships results may not
 • Distinguishes between placebo effects generalize to real-world
and real effects of a treatment or drug situations
Experiments

Unlike correlational research methods or psychological

tests, experiments can provide information about cause-and-effect
relationships between variables. In an experiment, a researcher manipulates
or changes a particular variable under controlled conditions while observing
resulting changes in another variable or variables. The researcher
manipulates the independent variable and observes the dependent
variable. The dependent variable may be affected by changes in the
independent variable. In other words, the dependent variable depends (or is
thought to depend) on the independent variable.

EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS

Typically, a researcher conducting an experiment divides subjects into an

experimental group and a control group. The subjects in both groups receive
the same treatment, with one important difference: the researcher
manipulates one part of the treatment in the experimental group but
does not manipulate it in the control group. The variable that is manipulated is
the independent variable. The researcher can then compare the experimental
group to the control group to find out whether the manipulation of the
independent variable affected the dependent variable.
Often, subjects in the control group receive a placebo drug or treatment, while
subjects in the experimental group receive the real drug or treatment. This
helps researchers to figure out what causes the observed effect: the real drug
or treatment, or the subjects’ expectation that they will be affected.

Example: Suppose a researcher wants to study the effect of drug A on

subjects’ alertness. He divides 100 subjects into two groups of 50, an
experimental group and a control group. He dissolves drug A in saline solution
and injects it into all the subjects in the experimental group. He then gives all
the control group subjects an injection of only saline solution. The
independent variable in this case is drug A, which he administers only to the
experimental group. The control group receives a placebo: the injection of
saline solution. The dependent variable is alertness, as measured by
performance on a timed test. Any effect on alertness that appears only in the
experimental group is caused by the drug. Any effect on alertness that
appears in both the experimental and control groups could be due to the
subjects’ expectations or to extraneous variables, such as pain from the
injection.
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES

Ideally, subjects in the experimental and control groups would be identical in

every way except for the variables being studied. In practice, however, this
would be possible only if researchers could clone people. So researchers try
to make groups with subjects that are similar in all respects that could
potentially influence the dependent variable. Variables other than the
independent variable that could affect the dependent variable are
called extraneous variables.
One way to control extraneous variables is to use random assignment. When
researchers use random assignment, they create experimental and control
groups in a way that gives subjects an equal chance of being placed in either
group. This guarantees the two groups’ similarity.
DISADVANTAGES OF EXPERIMENTS

The main disadvantage of experiments is that they usually don’t fully reflect
the real world. In an experiment, researchers try to control variables in order
to show clear causal links. However, to exert control in this way, researchers
must simplify an event or a situation, which often makes the situation artificial.

Another disadvantage of experiments is that they can’t be used to study

everything. Sometimes researchers can’t control variables enough to use an
experiment, or they find that doing an experiment would be unethical—that is,
it would be painful or harmful in some way to the subjects being studied.

Bias in Research

Bias is the distortion of results by a variable. Common types of bias include

sampling bias, subject bias, and experimenter bias.
SAMPLING BIAS

Sampling bias occurs when the sample studied in an experiment does not
correctly represent the population the researcher wants to draw conclusions
about.
Example: A psychologist wants to study the eating habits of a population of
New Yorkers who have freckles and are between the ages of eighteen and
forty-five. She can’t possibly study all people with freckles in that age group,
so she must study a sample of people with freckles. However, she can
generalize her results to the whole population of people with freckles only if
 her sample is representative of the population. If her sample includes only
white, dark-haired males who are college juniors, her results won’t generalize
well to the entire population she’s studying. Her sample will reflect sampling
bias.
SUBJECT BIAS

Research subjects’ expectations can affect and change the subjects’

behavior, resulting in subject bias. Such a bias can manifest itself in two
ways:
• A placebo effect is the effect on a subject receiving a fake drug or treatment.
Placebo effects occur when subjects believe they are getting a real drug or
treatment even though they are not. A single-blind experiment is an
experiment in which the subjects don’t know whether they are receiving a real
or fake drug or treatment. Single-blind experiments help to reduce placebo
effects.
• The social desirability bias is the tendency of some research subjects to
describe themselves in socially approved ways. It can affect self-report data or
information people give about themselves in surveys.
EXPERIMENTER BIAS

Experimenter bias occurs when researchers’ preferences or expectations

influence the outcome of their research. In these cases, researchers see what
they want to see rather than what is actually there.
A method called the double-blind procedure can help experimenters prevent
this bias from occurring. In a double-blind procedure, neither the experimenter
nor the subject knows which subjects come from the experimental group and
which come from the control group.

ogy
Contents
• Introduction
 +
o Research Methods in Psychology

o Psychological Research
o The Scientific Method
o Research Methods
o Ethical Considerations
o Interpreting Data
o Quick Review

• Review Questions

• Research Methods in Psychology Quiz

• How to Cite This SparkNote

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Interpreting Data

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After psychologists develop a theory, form a hypothesis, make observations,

and collect data, they end up with a lot of information, usually in the form of
numerical data. The term statistics refers to the analysis and interpretation of
this numerical data. Psychologists use statistics to organize, summarize, and
interpret the information they collect.
Descriptive Statistics

To organize and summarize their data, researchers need numbers to describe

what happened. These numbers are called descriptive statistics.
Researchers may use histograms or bar graphs to show the way data are
distributed. Presenting data this way makes it easy to compare results, see
trends in data, and evaluate results quickly.
Example: Suppose a researcher wants to find out how many hours students
study for three different courses. Each course has 100 students. The
researcher does a survey of ten students in each of the courses. On the
survey, he asks the students to write down the number of hours per week they
spend studying for that course. The data look like this:

Hours of Study per Week

Course A Course B Course C
StudentHours per weekStudent Hours per weekStudentHours per week
Joe 9 Hannah5 Meena 6
Peter 7 Ben 6 Sonia 6
Zoey 8 Iggy 6 Kim 7
Ana 8 Louis 6 Mike 5
Jose 7 Keesha 7 Jamie 6
Lee 9 Lisa 6 Ilana 6
Joshua 8 Mark 5 Lars 5
Ravi 9 Ahmed 5 Nick 20
Kristen 8 Jenny 6 Liz 5
Loren 1 Erin 6 Kevin 6
To get a better sense of what these data mean, the researcher can plot them
on a bar graph. Histograms or bar graphs for the three courses might look like
this:
MEASURING CENTRAL TENDENCY

Researchers summarize their data by calculating measures of central

tendency, such as the mean, the median, and the mode. The most commonly
used measure of central tendency is the mean, which is the arithmetic
average of the scores. The mean is calculated by adding up all the scores and
dividing the sum by the number of scores.
However, the mean is not a good summary method to use when the data
include a few extremely high or extremely low scores. A distribution with a few
very high scores is called a positively skewed distribution. A distribution
with a few very low scores is called a negatively skewed distribution. The
mean of a positively skewed distribution will be deceptively high, and the
mean of a negatively skewed distribution will be deceptively low. When
working with a skewed distribution, the median is a better measure of central
tendency. The median is the middle score when all the scores are arranged in
order from lowest to highest.
nother measure of central tendency is the mode. The mode is the most
frequently occurring score in a distribution.
Statistics
Statistics is a branch of mathematics. Psychologists need a solid foundation in
math to describe, analyze, and summarize the results of their research.

MEASURING VARIATION

Measures of variation tell researchers how much the scores in a distribution

differ. Examples of measures of variation include the range and the standard
deviation. The range is the difference between the highest and the lowest
scores in the distribution. Researchers calculate the range by subtracting the
lowest score from the highest score. The standard deviation provides more
information about the amount of variation in scores. It tells a researcher the
degree to which scores vary around the mean of the data.
Inferential Statistics

After analyzing statistics, researchers make inferences about how reliable and
significant their data are.
Example: The researcher’s survey of the students in three classes showed
differences in how long the students studied for each course. The mean
number of hours for students in Course A was about eight hours, and for
students in Courses B and C, the average was about six hours. Does this
mean Course A requires the most hours of study? Were the differences the
researcher observed in study time real or just due to chance? In other words,
can he generalize from the samples of students he surveyed to the whole
population of students? He needs to determine the reliability and significance
of his statistics.