Q&A Hero

Q: Molly's study examines the benefits of exercise on weight loss. In one group she advocates exercise as well as a new diet program. In the comparison group she only presents the diet program. Those in the comparison group find out that some of Molly's clients are in an exercise program too, so they form an exercise group. This is an example of a. compensatory rivalry. b. placebo effect. c. treatment diffusion. d. experimenter effects.

Q: In order to calculate the Standard Error of Measurement (SEm), which of the following information regarding a test must you know? a. The number of items and reliability coefficient b. The number of items and standard deviation c. The standard deviation and reliability coefficients d. The average score and the standard deviation

Q: Tito is an instructional design student. He needs a thesis topic. He in interested in the use of discussion boards for distance education. He approaches his advisor and the advisor sends him away to think some more. Of the following what is the most likely reason? a. The topic is not ethical. b. The topic is too narrow. c. The topic is too broad. d. The topic is not significant.

Q: Of the following, which is a characteristic of qualitative research methods? a. Qualitative researchers employ deductive approach. b. Qualitative researchers describe relationships. c. Qualitative researchers focus on cause-effect relationships. d. Qualitative researchers identify hypothesis to test.

Q: Garrett wants to see if there are gender differences in the restaurant preferences of high school students in his town. His data is nominal in nature. Which of the following tests is he likely to employ? a. Dependent t-test b. Independent t-test c. Chi-square d. ANOVA

Q: According to your text the research should report any difficulty obtaining samples because of the increased threat of a. pretest-treatment interaction. b. multiple-treatment interference. c. selection by treatment interaction. d. experimenter effects.

Q: Lori has found two measures of attitudes about technology that she thinks might work for her dissertation. She would like to examine reviews of the two instruments. From the following choices which should Lori consult for actual reviews? a. PRO-ED b. Tests in Print c. Mental Measurements Yearbooks d. ETS test collection

Q: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good research topic? a. The topic has theoretical or practical significance. b. The topic can be investigated through the collection and analysis of data. c. The topic can be investigated within a year. d. The topic of research is ethical.

Q: In Jack's study of school bus misconduct, he included observations but also relied heavily on structured interviews. Which of the following is something Jack might do to assure the quality of his data? a. Jack should assure that he has used a valid interview protocol. b. Jack should make sure his statistics were accurately conducted. c. Jack should reflect upon contextual circumstances during his study. d. Jack should make sure his inter-rater reliability is at least .80.

Q: Molly has conducted a study that examines whether exposure to computers increases eyestrain in children. She randomly assigns children to one of four treatment conditions dependent upon computer exposure levels. The children's eyestrain is then tested. Which of the following tests of significance is Molly likely to use? a. T-test b. Chi square c. ANOVA d. Analysis of gain scores

Q: One way to decrease the threat of pretest-treatment interaction is a. lengthen the time of the treatment. b. decrease the sample size. c. increase the significance level. d. increase the number of conditions.

Q: Standard error of measurement is an expression of an instruments' a. internal consistency reliability. b. consequential validity. c. test-retest reliability. d. construct validity.

Q: A study conducted to extend the findings of previous research is termed a(n) ______________ study. a. generalization b. replication c. application d. extension

Q: Ming is a qualitative research who studies friendship in preteens. She collected observational data for several months and is now engaged in interpretation of the findings. Which of the following questions should Ming ask herself? a. Why did I collect these data? b. How can I best classify these data? c. What can be learned from these data? d. How can I describe these data?

Q: In a study that tested the effects of three groups of after school homework club participation in end of year mathematics performance. In the first group, students worked independently, in the second group students worked with peer-tutors, and in the third group students worked independently with a tutor. Jasmine concluded that there were differences between the three groups, however there were not actual differences between these conditions. Which test did Jasmine use to analyze her data? a. A dependent t test b. A independent t test c. An ANOVA d. An ANCOVA

Q: Shelly's study compared the effects of two different types of phonemic instruction on young children who volunteered to participate in the study. She gave each participant who completed the study two pencils and three stickers. These incentives are likely a strategy to decrease the threat of a. history. b. instrumentation. c. differential selection. d. mortality.

Q: Robert scored an 87 on a recent mathematics placement test. John scored an 86. The standard error of measurement of the test is 4. What can we conclude about the two students' actual measures? a. Robert's true score is higher than John's b. John's true score is higher than Robert's c. Robert's true score may be higher than John's d. The two student's true scores are equal

Q: Amanda must complete a research proposal for educational research class and does not yet have a research topic. She asks you for advice about how to "˜figure out" her topic. Which of the following strategies, based upon your text, would you suggest? a. Ask other students in the class what they are doing their topics on and pick one of those. b. Go to the library and look through journals until you come up with a good one. c. Consider what interests you related to educational practice and start there. d. Search the internet with a keyword search "˜education" until you get a topic.

Q: Which of the following people is best able to start to analyze interview transcriptions from a study that explored international educational researchers' perceptions regarding the use of standardized testing for academic placement? a. Rashid, an expert in standardized testing. b. Mallika who is an expert qualitative researcher. c. Jacoby who conducted some of the interviews. d. Abdullah who understands software packages for data analysis.

Q: In a study that tested the effects of three groups of after school homework club participation in end of year mathematics performance. In the first group, students worked independently, in the second group students worked with peer-tutors, and in the third group students worked independently with a tutor. Jasmine concluded that there were differences between the three groups, however there were not actual differences between these conditions. In this scenario, Jasmine's conclusion represents a. a Type I error b. a Type II error c. both a Type I and a Type II error d. neither a Type I or a Type II error

Q: Russell's study compared GPA of those students who volunteered for academic study skills training and those who did not elect to take the training. He found that those who had the training also had higher GPA. With which validity threat should Russell be most concerned? a. Maturation b. Instrumentation c. History d. Selection

Q: Cronbach's alpha is a measure of a. Standard Error of Measurement. b. Internal consistency reliability. c. Criterion related validity. d. Alternate-form reliability.

Q: Which of the following is an example of a researchable topic? a. Should homeschoolers include their children in cooperative schools for high school level courses? b. Are homeschooled students happier than are students in traditional schools? c. Should homeschooled students be included in our district's prom planning committee? d. Are there differences in achievement test scores between those homeschooled for part of the day or not at all in our district?

Q: Sabrina collected and analyzed her qualitative dissertation data that examined the meditation strategies used by chronically ill elderly women. During the interpretation phase she tied her findings to previous research found in the literature that suggested education level may be related to ability to meditate while ill. The strategy Sabrina used is best described as a. memoing. b. contextualizing. c. empirically grounding. d. generalizing.

Q: Saud concluded that there were no differences in reading ability between those who were exposed to parent read aloud and those who were exposed to sibling read aloud. There were, in fact, no actual differences in reading ability. To calculate his t-test to compare groups, Saud needed to determine his degrees of freedom. To do so he will need to know not only that he has two groups but also he will need to know which of the following pieces of information? a. The number of children in the study. b. The number of parents in the study. c. The mean group performance. d. The mean number of treatment sessions.

Q: Max's study compared the differences in teachers' attitudes about inclusion before and after a Saturday in-service training. He assessed their post-intervention attitudes with a self-report questionnaire. With which of the following threats to validity should Max be particularly concerned? a. Instrumentation b. Mortality c. Selection d. History

Q: The University uses an algebra test to screen students into statistics courses. Students' responses are scored as correct or incorrect and are summed for a total score. The test is really long and seems to cover a lot of content. So Carlos divides the test in two and assesses the reliability of the entire test and the reliability of the two halves. Carlos is assessing the ________________ of the test. a. content validity b. internal consistency reliability. c. test-retest reliability d. criterion-related validity

Q: Which of the following is an example of a researchable topic? a. Should children who are in the primary grades be allowed to walk to school? b. Are children in the primary grades best taught to read by home-based experiences c. Are there differences in the amount of time spent reading in classrooms of non-native speakers? d. Should teachers hold parent teacher conference?

Q: Joel is interpreting his qualitative data regarding students' perceptions of the role of faith-based groups on public university campuses. Which of the following is a technique that your text suggests that Joel should use during this phase of his data analysis? a. Extend the analysis and suggest potential implications. b. Recode all of his data to assure reliability. c. Assess the validity of his codes through content analysis. d. Determine the generalizability of his codes in a new data set.

Q: Saud concluded that there were no differences in reading ability between those who were exposed to parent read aloud and those who were exposed to sibling read aloud. There were, in fact, no actual differences in reading ability. In this scenario, Saud's conclusion represents a. a Type I error. b. a Type II error. c. both a Type I and a Type II error. d. neither a Type I nor a Type II error.

Q: Lisa's study assessed the effects of an intervention to facilitate the math skills of low-achieving second grade learners. She administered a treatment to the students in the form of structured computer lesson and found that students' skills increased. With which validity threat should Lisa be most concerned? a. History b. Statistical regression c. Instrumentation d. Mortality

Q: A recent study reported about a new instrument that measures students' motivation for challenging academic tasks. In the study the instrument had been given to a number of children at the beginning of their academic year. After reading the study, Susan wondered if students' responses would be different at the end of the academic year. She decides to conduct a study that administers the instrument several times over the course of an academic year and measures the correlation across administrations. Susan has addressed a concern with which of the following types of reliability? a. Internal consistency b. Split-Half c. Stability d. Equivalence

Q: Based upon your textbook's discussion, overview sources such as handbooks in a particular area of research can best assist you in a. selecting a topic you will consider for further study. b. narrowing a topic you are considering for further research. c. developing a theoretical basis for a study you have conducted. d. determining the best methodology for a study you have designed.

Q: Of the following, which is an accurate statement of how best to code qualitative data? a. Collect all data and then start to code in small pieces. b. Only code data after you have a representative sample of responses. c. Think about potential codes as you are first collecting data. d. Coding data is the last step in qualitative data analysis.

Q: Which of the following represents a null hypothesis regarding the differences between two treatment groups of students exposed to behavior management strategies for social behavior? a. There are differences in observed prosocial behavior between those exposed to a graphing strategy and those exposed to a cognitive self-reflection strategy. b. Those students who are given a graphing strategy will display more prosocial behavior than those given a cognitive self-reflection strategy. c. There are no differences in prosocial behavior between those exposed to a graphing strategy and those exposed to a cognitive self-reflection strategy. d. Those students who are given a cognitive self-reflection strategy will display more prosocial behavior than those given a graphing strategy.

Q: As a secondary mathematics teacher, Hernandez conducted a study that explored whether giving children recess prior to testing helped their test performance. For one of the semesters, he sends half of his classes out for 10 minutes of recess prior to testing for the other half, he provides 10 minutes of free time after the test. The students in the non recess condition decided they would try harder on the tests because they didn"t get recess. This is an example of a(n) a. Experimenter threat. b. John Henry effect. c. Placebo effect. d. Hawthorne effect.

Q: Some of the students in his class had to take an AP physics exam on the day his US History final was scheduled so Mike will have to administer two different versions of his test. With which of the following reliability constructs should Mike be most concerned? a. Internal consistency b. Split-Half c. Test-retest d. Alternate forms

Q: An organized body of concepts, generalizations, and principles defines a. a theory. b. a hypothesis. c. an experiment. d. a model.

Q: Won has pages and pages of transcribed interviews for her thesis on first generation college students' feelings of stress and anxiety. Of the following, which is something she should do to help her to manage these data? a. Separate her data and read one person's data at a time. b. Get an initial sense and read through all of her data. c. Start to read her data only after identifying codes. d. Establish a matrix to place student comments in before she reads.

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 35 9 54 8 48 6 46 7 65 6 65 7 5 In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed. SS between = Given a set of scores with a mean of 80 and a standard deviation of 10 and a sample size of 100, calculate the standard error of the mean.a. .48b. .76c. 1.00d. 2.24

Q: As a secondary mathematics teacher, Hernandez conducted a study that explored whether giving children recess prior to testing helped their test performance. For one of the semesters, he sends half of his classes out for 10 minutes of recess prior to testing for the other half, he provides 10 minutes of free time after the test. Given the study was conducted in a school, students in the recess condition classes told students in the other classes that they got to do recess before the tests. This is an example of which of the following? a. History effect b. Instrumentation bias c. Treatment diffusion d. Placebo effect

Q: You want to make sure the math test you give your students is reliable. You are afraid they can memorize facts so your test is all word problems. However, you now are concerned that you have hindered the validity of the test. It still looks like a math test, so which type of validity have you potentially violated? a. Content b. Consequential c. Predictive d. Construct

Q: The first step in selecting a topic is a. going to the library and searching. b. asking an authority for opinion. c. selecting a topic related to your interest and expertise. d. reading theories and determining which to examine further

Q: When a researcher examines qualitative data in depth so as to provide detailed descriptions he is said to be a. memoing the data. b. classifying the data. c. describing the data. d. reading the data.

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 35 9 54 8 48 6 46 7 65 6 65 7 5 In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed. SS between = Given the above data, if significant differences are found between conditions. Which of the following tests might a researcher use to determine where these differences are found?a. Spearman rhob. dependent t-testc. ANOVAd. Scheffe test

Q: As a secondary mathematics teacher, Hernandez conducted a study that explored whether giving children recess prior to testing helped their test performance. For one of the semesters, he sends half of his classes out for 10 minutes of recess prior to testing for the other half, he provides 10 minutes of free time after the test. That Hernandez is the experimenter and the teacher administering the conditions, introduces which potential threat to validity? a. Experimenter b. Placebo c. John Henry d. Instrumentation

Q: You have recently constructed a self-report measure of achievement motivation. You are sure your measure is better than other measures because it is shorter than they are. You decide to administer your measure along with a standard measure generally used in the field. Which type of validity will this strategy help you to assess? a. Content b. Consequential c. Criterion-related d. Construct

Q: Paola is a ninth grade mathematics teacher. She is interested in the role of accommodation in learning geometry. She designs a study that examines this Piagetian concept in practice. The source of her study is best described as a study that a. tests theory. b. is a replication. c. is developed thorough library search. d. comes from personal experiences.

Q: Morisha is a policy researcher who studies parents' interest in charter schools. As part of her work she conducted extended interviews with parents who wanted to enter their children into charter schools for high school. Morisha has a large amount of data and she is ready to start data analysis. According to your text, which of the following should Morisha do first? a. Examine the data for detailed descriptions. b. Categorize data into codes. c. Identify potential themes. d. Describe the participants and setting.

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 35 9 54 8 48 6 46 7 65 6 65 7 5 In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed. SS between = Given the above formula, X3 =a. 18b. 30c. 33d. 43

Q: As a secondary mathematics teacher, Hernandez conducted a study that explored whether giving children recess prior to testing helped their test performance. For one of the semesters, he sends half of his classes out for 10 minutes of recess prior to testing for the other half, he provides 10 minutes of free time after the test. Which of the following best represents the design of Hernandez's study? a. Static-group comparison b. Post-test only control group c. Solomon four group d. One-shot case study

Q: Split-half and odd-even reliability are both measures of a. test-retest reliability. b. alternate forms reliability. c. internal consistency reliability. d. external reliability.

Q: Jack just read an interesting study regarding middle school children's use of computer-animated simulations to learn introductory chemistry. Although he is a physics professor he wants to see if the benefits of simulations are also found in college physics learners. Jack's research topic is best described as a study that a. tests theory. b. is a replication. c. is developed thorough library search. d. comes from personal experiences.

Q: Your text indicates that the last step in the iterative process of qualitative data analysis is __________ the data. a. interpreting. b. coding. c. managing. d. classifying.

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 35 9 54 8 48 6 46 7 65 6 65 7 5 In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed. SS between = Given the above formula, (X1)2 =a. 33b. 191c. 696d. 1089

Q: PJ conducts an experimental study on the effects of soft music during high stakes science testing. He randomly assigns students at the school. In one condition he does not provide music for testing while in the other group he does provide the music. He administers a pretest at the beginning of the year and a posttest at the end of the year. One concern in his study is that during the year the music teacher at the school he administered the study shared with students the physiological benefits of soft music. The introduction of the benefits of music during the duration of his study can be considered which of the following threats? a. History b. Maturation c. Mortality d. Testing

Q: The degree to which an instrument consistently measures the construct of interest is referred to as a. predictive validity. b. criterion-related validity. c. content validity. d. reliability.

Q: Jill is a history teacher interested in whether differences exist in motivation to study history between students who are taught concepts sequentially through time and those who are taught concepts by geographic region. Jill's research topic is best described as a study that a. tests theory. b. is a replication. c. is developed thorough library search. d. comes from personal experiences.

Q: Laili integrates her data from her study with the review of the literature to analyze her data. She is currently engaged in which of the following data analysis strategies? a. Organizational review b. Asking key questions c. Identifying themes d. Coding observations

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 35 9 54 8 48 6 46 7 65 6 65 7 5 In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed. SS between = Given the above formula N =a. 3b. 30c. 43d. 106

Q: PJ conducts an experimental study on the effects of soft music during high stakes science testing. He randomly assigns students at the school. In one condition he does not provide music for testing while in the other group he does provide the music. He administers a pretest at the beginning of the year and a posttest at the end of the year. One concern in his study is that during the year the music teacher at the school he administered the study shared with students the physiological benefits of soft music. PJ's design is best represented by which of the following? a. Static-group comparison b. Pretest-posttest control group design c. One-shot case study d. One-group pretest-posttest design

Q: The rationale for selection of a given assessment should be included in the ______________ section of your research plan. a. participants b. design c. procedures d. results

Q: Chyna is conducting a study with college students reading science texts that explores the role of interest apart from knowledge as articulated in Patriticia Alexander's Model of Domain Learning. Chyna's topic is best described as a study that a. tests theory. b. is a replication. c. is developed from a library search. d. comes from personal experiences.

Q: Ariel is a novice qualitative researcher who is approaching data analysis. Her study seeks to understand depression in young children. She has extensive notes from observations and interviews. She also has some additional data regarding her participant's medical history. She wants to integrate these data to get a better understanding of her participant's story. She stops to reflect during data analysis and asks herself, "What are the issues related to this problem", "Who else are the key players in my participant's life" as part of her analysis strategy. In this scenario Ariel is displaying which of the following data analysis strategies? a Organizational review b. Asking key questions c. Identifying themes d. Displaying what's missing

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 3 6 5 2 6 2 4 5 4 5 4 3 4 6 2In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed.SS between = Given the above formula, Ss between =a. 2b. 13.8c. 15.2d. 24

Q: PJ conducts an experimental study on the effects of soft music during high stakes science testing. He randomly assigns students at the school. In one condition he does not provide music for testing while in the other group he does provide the music. He administers a pretest at the beginning of the year and a posttest at the end of the year. One concern in his study is that during the year the music teacher at the school he administered the study shared with students the physiological benefits of soft music. PJ's study can best be described as a. descriptive. b. correlational. c. causal-comparative. d. experimental.

Q: According to your text the most important type of validity is _____________validity. a. content b. criterion-related c. construct d. consequential

Q: One drawback of initial research topics is that they are often a. not relevant. b. too broad. c. too narrow. d. not ethical.

Q: Ariel is a novice qualitative researcher who is approaching data analysis. Her study seeks to understand depression in young children. She has extensive notes from observations and interviews. She also has some additional data regarding her participant's medical history. She wants to integrate these data to get a better understanding of her participant's story. She stops to reflect during data analysis and asks herself, "What are the issues related to this problem", "Who else are the key players in my participant's life" as part of her analysis strategy. By combining multiple data sources Ariel is best illustrating a. triangulation. b. description. c. examination. d. classification.

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 3 6 5 2 6 2 4 5 4 5 4 3 4 6 2In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed.SS between = Given the above formula, (X1)2 =a. 18b. 248c. 324d. 729

Q: Mo, an early childhood researcher, is particularly interested in the effects of reading aloud on students' reading attitudes. She wants to do an experimental study to test the question of whether reading attitudes are more positive in children who are read aloud to during morning free time in classrooms. She randomly assigns students to either be read to or not to be read to daily for the course of one month. After she is two days into her study, children ask the researchers if they can go to other activities instead of going to read aloud time. Ethically she is bound to let them go to free time. By the end of her study she has only half as many participants as were in her initial experimental condition. Given Mo's study, the loss of participants in the experimental condition can be referred to asa. Placebo effect.b. attenuation.c. attrition.d. novelty effect.

Q: The district is considering changing the achievement tests that they administer. A new alternative test is much shorter and if valid to measure student achievement could save substantial instructional time. This year the school will administer both tests and assess the ____________ validity. a. content b. concurrent c. predictive d. sampling

Q: According to your text the first step in applying the scientific method is a. searching the existing literature. b. generating and testing a hypothesis. c. selecting and defining a research topic. d. drawing conclusions from data.

Q: Ariel is a novice qualitative researcher who is approaching data analysis. Her study seeks to understand depression in young children. She has extensive notes from observations and interviews. She also has some additional data regarding her participant's medical history. She wants to integrate these data to get a better understanding of her participant's story. She stops to reflect during data analysis and asks herself, "What are the issues related to this problem", "Who else are the key players in my participant's life" as part of her analysis strategy. Given Ariel's study, she is most likely conducting a(n) a. correlational study. b. survey study. c. ethnography. d. narrative.

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 3 6 5 2 6 2 4 5 4 5 4 3 4 6 2In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed.SS between = Given the above formula, X2 =a. 61b. 70c. 248d. 277

Q: In Katia's remedial mathematics study, she collected pretest data from a group of participants. She divided the participants into three groups. One group received no treatment, one group received instruction by a teacher-delivered intervention, one group received peer tutoring on the same problems. After the intervention she tested their math skills. With which validity threat should Katia be most concerned? a. Maturation b. Testing c. Instrumentation d. Mortality

Q: Michael left the Physics final and complained. The content on the cumulative final only covered about one quarter of the concepts for the course. Michael is questioning the _____________ validity of the test. a. content b. criterion-related c. construct d. consequential

Q: The philosophical assumption that addresses the nature of reality is referred to as a. epistemology. b. phenomenology. c. ontology. d. methology.

Q: Laqueta is studying the cultural of Catholic schools in urban areas in the Midwest United States. As part of her qualitative study she exams the goals and objectives of the schools. Which data analysis strategy of those below is Laqueta best illustrating? a. Organizational review b. Asking key questions c. Identifying themes d. Display what's missing

Q: Given the following groups of scores, to test for differences between means it is most likely that an ANOVA would be calculated.Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 3 6 5 2 6 2 4 5 4 5 4 3 4 6 2In order to conduct an ANOVA the Sum of squares between can first be computed.SS between = Given the above formula N =a. 1b. 3c. 5d. 15