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

The Hawthorne effect refers to:

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

A study that follows the same participants over a long period of time is called:

  1. AA case study
  2. BA pilot study
  3. CA cross-sectional study
  4. DA longitudinal study
3.Easy

Data that are categories with no order, such as eye colour, are at which level of measurement?

  1. AInterval
  2. BRatio
  3. CNominal
  4. DOrdinal
4.Medium

Publication bias refers to:

  1. AResearchers publishing the same study twice
  2. BReviewers favouring papers by authors from famous universities over lesser-known ones
  3. CJournals publishing only qualitative research
  4. DStudies with significant results being more likely to be published than null results
5.Medium

Ecological validity refers to:

  1. AWhether the test looks like it measures the right thing
  2. BWhether a test predicts future behaviour
  3. CHow well findings generalise to real-life settings
  4. DHow consistent a test is over time
6.Medium

Internal validity refers to:

  1. AWhether a test gives the same results over time
  2. BWhether the observed effect was really caused by the IV rather than other factors
  3. CWhether participants found the study interesting
  4. DWhether the findings generalise beyond the study to other populations, settings and times
7.Hard

A researcher manipulates mood by showing a sad film, then asks participants to rate how sad they feel before the main task. Why is this rating included?

  1. AAs a manipulation check to confirm the IV worked as intended
  2. BAs the main dependent variable of the study
  3. CTo debrief participants about the aims
  4. DTo counterbalance the order of conditions
8.Hard

A researcher wants to show that a new anxiety scale measures something different from depression. Low correlations with a depression scale would support:

  1. AFace validity
  2. BDiscriminant validity
  3. CConvergent validity
  4. DPredictive validity

Answer key

  1. 1. D · People changing their behaviour because they know they are being studied
  2. 2. D · A longitudinal study
  3. 3. C · Nominal
  4. 4. D · Studies with significant results being more likely to be published than null results
  5. 5. C · How well findings generalise to real-life settings
  6. 6. B · Whether the observed effect was really caused by the IV rather than other factors
  7. 7. A · As a manipulation check to confirm the IV worked as intended
  8. 8. B · Discriminant validity

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