Stories or narratives can be a reliable guide to the storytellers’ beliefs, attitudes, values,
and actions.
The brief conclusion and description of statistical tests in the results section eliminates
the need to interpret the results in the discussion section.
The goal of library research is to determine if the answer to your question is available.
Regardless of who prepares the research report, the researcher is responsible for the
accuracy of data contained in the report.
In experimental research designs, participants in the control group never receive any
form of treatment of the independent variable.
The problem statement is the same as and can act as a substitute for hypotheses and
research questions.
Generally, reliability can be improved.
Having specified and systematic rules and procedures for selecting and coding content
in content analysis helps to decrease coders’ subjective analysis.
Researchers use inferential statistics to determine if the relationship observed in the
data is stronger than the relationship that might occur due to chance.
The significance level is usually set at .05 as the criterion for making the decision to
accept the research hypothesis.
Mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency.
The discussion section of a research paper interprets, integrates, and critically analyzes
the published literature relevant to your study.
A significant r value would cause the researcher to retain the null hypothesis.
Because the focus of the qualitative research report is on the substance of what the
researcher found, there is no need to report how the data were collected.
Regardless of how the research hypothesis is stated, there is a complementary null
hypothesis.
Significance levels are never set at levels other than .05.
Sex is not a variable if the study investigates only women.
A researcher using qualitative methods should rely on his or her first impressions of the
interaction.
The underlying principle of random assignment of participants to treatment groups is
that any differences among individuals before the treatment are minimized by the
random assignment.
Results from descriptive designs should not be used an explanation for causality.
Research sponsors and universities can differ to which ethical standards are required.
Before collecting any data, researchers should check with their institution (and sponsor,
if applicable) to determine which standards must be followed and which approvals are
needed.
The primary advantage of using qualitative methodologies is that it is easier to distance
yourself from the interaction and the interactants enabling you to draw more objective
conclusions.
In a hypothesis, all variables must be identified as independent or dependent.
Statistical tests were designed to test for relationships and differences on normally
distributed variables.
When writing the research report, it is sufficient to rely upon the spell checker in your
word processing program to catch all spelling errors.
Sample size is the same as the number of people you ask or select to participate.
Qualitative research is contextually bound to specific interaction and specific
interactants.
Focus group participants can be solicited or selected through a sampling technique.
Some control is lost when an experiment moves from the lab to the field. Thus, field
experiments are considered quasi-experiments rather than experiments.
Interaction analysis is best used to code the messages of an individual giving a speech.
Counting the number of times a theme appears in your field notes is a good way to
analyze field notes.
Multiple regression allows the researcher to determine the relative importance of each
variable to the regression relationship.
Asking new questions is the step in the research process that both completes and
re-starts the research cycle.
Informed consent creates obligations and responsibilities for the researcher.
Convenience samples are never an appropriate choice for identifying research
participants.
All surveys and questionnaires should have explicit directions for participants, telling
them how and where to mark their responses.
Writing an analytical memo:
A.is a good way to share interpretations with research participants.
B.is a good step for capturing first impressions about the data.
C.becomes part of the dataset.
D.captures participants’ interpretation or version of the interaction events.
E.is the same as memo writing.
Researchers often include stimulus statements with questionnaires or survey. The
purpose of the stimulus statement is to:
A.direct participants’ attention to the type of questions they will be answering, as well
as provide general instructions in answering the question.
B.trick participants into believing that the questionnaire is addressing an issue other
than its real purpose.
C.warn participants that questions will address sensitive issues.
D.give clues to participants about the type of responses the researcher is seeking.
E.warn participants that the survey is a decoy for a sales call.
Experimental research:
A.most often occurs in the lab or other simulated environment controlled by the
researcher.
B.produces data that are examined by statistical tests.
C.seeks to describe events rather than determine causation.
D.relies on nonprobability sampling for selection of research participants.
E.a and b.
Exogenous variables are:
A.Used in structural equation modeling (SEM)
B.Also known as endogenous variables
C.Variables that are not caused by another variable
D.Variables that are caused by another variable
E.Both a. and c.
As a quantitative method, content analysis is used:
A.to produce scores for participants who produced the content.
B.to produce frequency counts for each coded element so they can be compared.
C.to compute means and standard deviations for each coded element.
D.to count the time or space between thought units.
E.as a measure of participants’ knowledge.
Recall cues are used:
A.to direct participants’ attention back to the question.
B.to direct participants’ attention away from sensitive questions.
C.to direct participants’ attention to the issue in which the researcher is interested.
D.to capture numerical data.
E.more frequently with closed questions.
Tests for relationship are most commonly computed for variables of continuous level
data.
Internal reliability is the degree to which:
A.researchers select the same questionnaire for studying the same research topic.
B.participants like the questions asked on a survey.
C.multiple items are consistent in measuring a construct or subconstruct on a
questionnaire or survey.
D.all participants gave the same response to a questionnaire item.
E.none of the above.
When a researcher uses an ANOVA, you can assume that:
A.the independent and dependent variables are both nominal level data.
B.the independent and dependent variables are both continuous level data.
C.the independent variable is nominal level data and the dependent variable is
continuous level data.
D.the independent variable is continuous level data and the dependent variable is
nominal level data.
E.Any of above.
After reading the method section of a quantitative research report, the consumer should
know:
A.what the researcher did to collect the data.
B.how the researcher analyzed the data.
C.the results of the statistical tests.
D.how the researcher interpreted the results.
E.why the researcher conducted the study.
In writing a qualitative research report, it is common for the researcher to:
A.turn the writing responsibilities over to others.
B.complete the report in the first attempt at writing it.
C.continually revise the document to improve the claims and conclusions drawn.
D.avoid using frameworks that may structure the relationships among claims or
conclusions.
E.complete the manuscript without showing it to anyone.
Computer programs can easily replace the researcher in analyzing qualitative data.
Match the following terms and descriptions of participant observation roles. Some
responses can be used more than once.
1) Researcher does not reveal to others that he/she is simultaneously observing and
assessing their actions.
2) Researcher openly acknowledges the research purpose, but at the same time takes an
active role in the interaction.
3) Researcher takes on a secondary role within the interaction environment.
4) Researcher does not engage interactants in any fashion.
5) Researcher views the interaction as someone inside the system while others know
and accept that research is being conducted.
6) Permission to observe is legitimated through the researcher’s role as participating
fully in the interaction.
7) Researcher is limited to what can be seen or heard.
8) Researcher interacts with other participants, but the interaction is not driven by being
an actor within the interaction scene.
A. Complete observer
B. Conplete participant
C. Observe-as-participant
D. Parrticipant-as-observer
A Likert-type scale:
A.is a discrete measurement.
B.has a true zero.
C.distinguishes which element is highest, next highest, and so on.
D.has a response set which must be balanced at the ends of the continuum.
E.any measurement that uses numbers as the response.
In presenting the results for a statistical test of difference, the researcher should report
the:
A.statistical test.
B.level of probability or significance achieved.
C.degrees of freedom for the test.
D.the null hypothesis.
E.all but d.
Informed consent is:
A.when participants voluntarily agree to participate in your research project.
B.when participants voluntarily agree to participate in your research project after being
given basic information about the research process.
C.explaining the research procedure to individuals before they are chosen to participate
in your research project.
D.the letter researchers send to participants asking them to participate in the research
project.
E.the form participants sign after they have participated in the research project.
Respondent validation occurs when the researcher:
A.directs their questions to interactants who should know the answers.
B.works with at least two other researchers in collecting and interpreting the data.
C.asks participants to review the researcher’s notes or interpretations.
D.makes observations and collects data at several different times.
E.uses several different forms of qualitative data.
Crystallization:
A.involves triangulating the data.
B.is less flexible than traditional reporting of qualitative research.
C.involves the combination of forms of analysis, presentation and representation of
qualitative data in written research reports.
D.is the dominant form of written research reports in social science.
A writing strategy, or style, used in qualitative research reports is:
A.thematic.
B.chronological.
C.separated text.
D.puzzle explication.
E.all of the above.
Match the following terms and descriptions of sections of a quantitative research report.
Some responses can be used more than once.
1) Summary of the research completed prior to this study.
2) Describes how the research study was executed.
3) Conclusions of statistical tests are presented without interpretation.
4) Includes the researcher’s interpretation of the results.
5) Includes both the literature that supports and contradicts the researcher’s position
6) Conclusions presented in this section should be linked to the literature review.
7) Reporting accuracy is critical in this section.
8) The hypotheses and research questions are generally presented at the end of this
section.
9) Includes information about the sampling techniques and sample size.
A. Discussion section
B. Literature review
C. Method section
D. Results section
Sampling error is:
A.the number of times a person is contacted before they agree to participate in a
research project.
B.the degree to which a sample differs from population characteristics.
C.always present.
D.the number of mistakes a researcher makes in selecting the sample.
E.b and c.
The standard deviation is the:
A.lowest score given by any participant.
B.indication of how close or how far apart scores are from one another.
C.computation found by adding all scores and dividing by the number of cases.
D.computation found by subtracting the lowest score from the highest score.
E.score reported most often by participants.
Content analysis can be performed on texts or messages that are:
A.captured in writing.
B.captured on audiotape.
C.captured on videotape.
D.spoken; the researcher codes the content in real-time.
E.all but d.
Audiotaping and videotaping can be used in data collection if:
A.participants consent to be taped.
B.participants know what is to be recorded.
C.participants know how the recording is being made.
D.the researcher protects the confidentiality of participants who are recorded.
E.All of the above.
Anytime you use the work of others, you must:
A.provide a citation indicating in the text of your paper only the year of the work you
are using.
B.provide a citation indicating in the text of your paper what idea you are using and
whose idea it is.
C.decide whether or not to cite the author or to leave the citation out.
D.provide a citation in the bibliography or list of references only.
A focus group:
A.is a facilitator-led group discussion.
B.consists of a facilitator asking the questions and respondents taking turns answering
questions.
C.encourages participants to interact with one another, not just respond to the
researcher’s questions.
D.a and b.
E.a and c.
A skewed curve is:
A.symmetrical.
B.characterized by identical left and right slopes.
C.characterized by the mean, median, and mode in the same location.
D.characterized by the data being bunched to one side or the other.
E.a theoretical distribution of scores.
A research protocol:
A.is the form the participant reads and agrees to before participating in the research
project.
B.is the set of instructions the researcher reads to participants in an experiment.
C.details each procedural step of the research design.
D.is the questionnaire to which participants respond.
E.is the same for every research study.
A researcher cannot have a dependent variable without an independent variable and
vice versa.
Beneficence is achieved when:
A.researchers’ rights are protected.
B.the results of a research project benefit the public.
C.the well-being of research participants is protected.
D.research risks are taken into consideration in the designing of a project.
E.none of the above.
Degrees of freedom:
A.are used to assess the normality of the data.
B.are a way in which researchers account for variation due to error.
C.are the mistakes the researcher admits to in conducting the experiment.
D.the number of participants who did not respond.
E.are the same for all statistical tests.
Thematic analysis is based on participants’ conceptions of their communication.
Themes are designated by the criteria of:
A.coding, categorizing, and interpreting.
B.data triangulation, interdisciplinary triangulation, and investigator triangulation.
C.internal validity, external validity, and triangulation.
D.recurrence, repetition, and forcefulness.
E.reliability, validity, and credibility.
Match the following terms and the descriptions of sampling procedures:
1)Every person has an equal chance of being selected; individuals are selected one at a
time and independently.
2)Population is divided according to homogeneous groups; randomly select participants
from each group.
3)A two-stage sampling process used when the researcher cannot identify a complete
listing of the population.
4)Divide the population by the desired sample size to establish that every nth person
should be selected; select a random number to establish where in the list to begin
selection.
A. Simple random sampling
B. Stratified random sampling
C. Cluster sampling
D. Systematic sampling
A good survey item is one that is:
A.reliable and valid.
B.straightforward.
C.vague or abstract.
D.a complex thought.
E.a and b.
Treatment groups are:
A.used in descriptive research designs.
B.based on theory and reflected in the study’s hypotheses.
C.the groups in which participants receive no stimuli.
D.compared to the control group.
E.b and d.