Research methods in psychology worksheet with answers

Free printable Research methods in psychology worksheet: 8 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy

Social desirability bias in questionnaires means that respondents:

  1. AAnswer in ways that make them look good
  2. BAlways agree with every statement
  3. CRefuse to answer sensitive questions
  4. DChoose answers at random
2.Easy

The Hawthorne effect refers to:

  1. AParticipants performing worse as they become tired
  2. BScores moving towards the average on retesting
  3. CResearchers unconsciously influencing participants' behaviour through their own expectations
  4. DPeople changing their behaviour because they know they are being studied
3.Easy

Reliability refers to:

  1. AWhether a measure tests what it claims to
  2. BWhether participants gave consent
  3. CWhether results apply to other settings
  4. DThe consistency of a measure
4.Medium

To obtain a sample with the same proportions of first-, second- and third-year students as the university population, a researcher should use:

  1. AVolunteer sampling
  2. BSnowball sampling
  3. CStratified sampling
  4. DOpportunity sampling
5.Medium

Which test is suitable for comparing the means of two independent groups with interval data that are roughly normal?

  1. AIndependent samples t-test
  2. BWilcoxon signed-rank test
  3. CChi-square test
  4. DPearson correlation
6.Medium

Which statistic is appropriate for the relationship between two sets of ranks, such as judges' rankings of paintings?

  1. AChi-square
  2. BSpearman's rho
  3. CPearson's r
  4. DIndependent t-test
7.Hard

A researcher measures the effect of noise on concentration. Participants in the noise condition happened to be tested in the morning and the quiet condition in the afternoon. What is the problem?

  1. AThe study has too many conditions
  2. BThe data are at nominal level
  3. CTime of day is a confounding variable
  4. DTime of day is the dependent variable
8.Hard

In qualitative research, reflexivity means that the researcher:

  1. AConverts themes into numerical data
  2. BRepeats the study to check reliability
  3. CUses a random sample to remove bias
  4. DReflects on how their own background and assumptions may shape the analysis

Answer key

  1. 1. A · Answer in ways that make them look good
  2. 2. D · People changing their behaviour because they know they are being studied
  3. 3. D · The consistency of a measure
  4. 4. C · Stratified sampling
  5. 5. A · Independent samples t-test
  6. 6. B · Spearman's rho
  7. 7. C · Time of day is a confounding variable
  8. 8. D · Reflects on how their own background and assumptions may shape the analysis

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