Exam 2

QUESTION 1

Basic research is:

research intended to enhance basic knowledge about the physical, biological, psychological, or social world or to shed light on historical, cultural, or aesthetic phenomena.

large scale research performed under contract with a governmental agency such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), etc.

informal research conducted locally by a small staff with a small budget, the purpose of which is to pave the way for larger research initiatives.

research intended to address issues that have immediate relevance to current practices, procedures, and policies.

QUESTION 2

Applied research is:

research intended to enhance basic knowledge and theoretical reasoning about the world.

large-scale research performed under contract with a governmental agency.

informal research conducted by a small staff with a small budget, designed to shed light on a problem of local interest.

research that informs human decision making about immediate, practical problems.

QUESTION 3

Which of the following represents a well-written basic research problem?

“Which general education course is more interesting, U.S. History or World Music?”

“How do business teams of six or fewer members compare to teams of more than six members in terms of productivity?”

“How does the organization of mathematical information in long-term memory differ between 3-year-olds and 13-year-olds?”

“What is the ratio of native-born students to international students on the campuses of major U.S. state universities?”

QUESTION 4

Which of the following represents a well-written applied research problem?

“How does the organization of mathematical information in long-term memory differ between 3-year-olds and 13-year-olds?”

“How do business teams of six or fewer members compare to teams of more than six members in terms of productivity?”

“Which general education course is more interesting, U.S. History or World Music?”

“What is the ratio of native-born students to international students on the campuses of major U.S. state universities?”

QUESTION 5

Three of the following questions lend themselves well to research. Which one does NOT?

“How does the organization of mathematical information in long-term memory differ between 3-year-olds and 13-year-olds?”

“How do business teams of six or fewer members compare to teams of more than six members in terms of productivity?”

“Does message medium, print versus television, impact the effectiveness of public service health messages?”

“Which general education course is more interesting, U.S. History or World Music?”

QUESTION 6

Three of the following are characteristics of a well-written research problem. Which one is NOT?

The problem statement includes the researcher’s hypothesis.

The problem statement clearly delimits the object(s) of study.

The problem statement identifies the important factors to be investigated in the study.

The problem statement explicitly identifies assumptions.

QUESTION 7

“What proportion of workers hired by selected factories in the state of Oklahoma between 1995 and 2000 held four-year college degrees?”

it lacks clarity or completeness in the problem statement.

it implies only description of the data, not interpretation.

it does not lead to the creation/discovery of new information.

studying the question as stated is not feasible.

QUESTION 8

“What do underemployed U.S. workers (i.e., those workers who are employed, but not in positions for which they have specialized training or expertise) identify as the primary reason for their inability to find suitable employment?”
The chief weakness of this research problem is that:

it lacks clarity or completeness in the problem statement.

it does not lead to the creation/discovery of new information.

it implies only description of the data, not interpretation.

studying the question as stated is not feasible.

QUESTION 9

“What is the correlation between an index of civic-mindedness and years of involvement in local organizations and charities among members of city councils of selected midsized cities in the northeastern United States?”

it implies only description of the data, not interpretation.

it does not lead to the creation/discovery of new information.

it lacks clarity or completeness in the problem statement.

studying the question as stated is not feasible.

QUESTION 10

“Among social workers in selected U.S. urban areas, are the personality characteristics of Need for Structure or In-Group Preference related to prejudicial social judgments about African Americans, Latino Americans, or Asian Americans?”
Which of the following is a well-stated subproblem that follows from this research problem?

Which group is more discriminated against by the public at large in each of the selected areas: African Americans, Latino Americans, or Asian Americans?

What is the most valid existing measure of In-Group Preference?

What is the relationship between an index of Need for Structure and an index of prejudice targeting attitudes about Asian Americans among the selected social workers?

Which analytic technique is best suited to addressing the research problem, multiple regression or path analysis?

QUESTION 11

Which of the following represents a null hypothesis?

Class A high school basketball teams who employ a sports psychologist will have a higher proportion of wins over the course of the season than comparable teams who do not employ a sports psychologist.

There will be no difference in rate of skill improvement between college gymnasts who practice meditation and those who do not.

Does incorporating relaxation exercises into the daily practice routine of college vocal majors enhance their performance confidence?

None of these

QUESTION 12

Which of the following represents a research hypothesis?

Class A high school basketball teams who employ a sports psychologist will have a higher proportion of wins over the course of the season than comparable teams who do not employ a sports psychologist.

There will be no difference in rate of skill improvement between college gymnasts who practice meditation and those who do not.

Does incorporating relaxation exercises into the daily practice routine of college vocal majors enhance their performance confidence?

None of these

QUESTION 13

Research suggests that children who eat hot breakfast at home perform better at school. Many argue that not only hot breakfast but also parental care of children before they go to school has an impact on children’s performance. In this case, parental care is

An independent variable

A dependent variable

A mediating variable

A moderating variable

QUESTION 14

Imani analyzed data and found that explicitly teaching reading strategies improves students’ performance on standardized tests. In this study, explicit teaching of reading strategies is

An independent variable

A dependent variable

A mediating variable

A moderating variable

QUESTION 15

Marcos’s study suggested that elementary students who watch TV more than three hours a day are more likely to be overweight than students who watch less TV. In this study, students’ weight is

An independent variable

A dependent variable

A mediating variable

A moderating variable