Research methods in psychology worksheet with answers

A hypothesis that predicts the direction of an effect is called:

1. ANon-directional (two-tailed)
2. BA null hypothesis
3. CAn operational hypothesis
4. DDirectional (one-tailed)

A graph that shows the relationship between two continuous variables, with one point per participant, is a:

1. ABar chart
2. BPie chart
3. CHistogram
4. DScatterplot

Why should correlation not be taken as proof of causation?

1. ACorrelations are never statistically significant
2. BCorrelations can only be negative
3. CCorrelation coefficients are always too weak to indicate any real relationship
4. DA third variable or reverse causation could explain the relationship

Experimenter bias is reduced most directly by:

1. AUsing a one-tailed hypothesis
2. BUsing a larger sample
3. CUsing a researcher who does not know the hypothesis or conditions to collect data
4. DUsing only volunteers

A researcher wants to test whether there is an association between gender (male/female) and preferred film genre (four categories). Which test is appropriate?

1. AChi-square test of independence
2. BOne-way ANOVA
3. CPearson's correlation
4. DPaired t-test

Which kind of data is collected with an open question in an interview?

1. AQualitative data
2. BInterval data
3. CNominal quantitative data only
4. DRatio data

In grounded theory, data collection continues until:

1. AAt least 1,000 participants have been interviewed
2. BThe original hypothesis is confirmed
3. CTheoretical saturation is reached and new data add no new categories
4. DA p-value below 0.05 is obtained

A meta-analysis combines 40 studies of a therapy. Why might its overall effect size still be too large?

1. APublication bias means unpublished null studies may be missing
2. BMeta-analyses cannot include randomised trials
3. CCombining studies always removes all bias
4. DMeta-analyses always give smaller effects than the single studies they include