Research Design & Methodology Flashcards

A researcher tests whether the effect of a new teaching method differs for male and female students. This is a test of:

Answer: Interaction effect

An interaction effect tests whether the relationship between an independent variable and outcome differs across levels of another variable.

Which of the following is the BEST example of a naturalistic observation study?

Answer: Watching children play on a playground without intervention

Naturalistic observation involves watching behavior in real-world settings without intervening or manipulating the environment.

When the results of a study are influenced by the presence of a third variable not accounted for in the design, this is called:

Answer: Confounding

Confounding occurs when an uncontrolled third variable is related to both the independent and dependent variables, distorting the observed relationship.

In a Solomon four-group design, the primary advantage over a standard pretest-posttest control group design is:

Answer: It controls for the potential sensitizing effect of the pretest

The Solomon four-group design adds groups without pretests to assess whether the pretest itself influences participants' responses to the treatment.

A researcher studying organizational culture spends one year embedded in a company, taking field notes and conducting informal interviews. This is best described as:

Answer: Participant observation

Participant observation involves the researcher immersing themselves in the study context to observe and record behavior from within.

Which condition must be met for a variable to qualify as a mediator between an independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV)?

Answer: The IV must affect the mediator, which in turn affects the DV

A mediator explains the mechanism through which the IV influences the DV — the IV affects the mediator, which then affects the DV.

A study reports a confidence interval of [2.1, 4.8] for a mean difference. What does this mean?

Answer: There is a 95% probability that this interval contains the true population parameter

A 95% confidence interval means that if the study were repeated many times, 95% of such intervals would contain the true population parameter.