HP Research & Independent Study 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the IRB and why is it relevant to honors research?
- International Research Bureau that funds student projects
- Institutional Review Board that oversees ethical standards in research involving human subjects (Correct answer)
- Independent Research Board that approves all honors theses
- Integrated Resource Bank for accessing academic databases
Correct answer: Institutional Review Board that oversees ethical standards in research involving human subjects
The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews and approves research involving human subjects to ensure ethical standards are met and participants are protected.
Question 2: Which citation style is most commonly used in social sciences research within honors programs?
- MLA (Modern Language Association)
- Chicago/Turabian
- APA (American Psychological Association) (Correct answer)
- IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Correct answer: APA (American Psychological Association)
APA format is the standard citation style in the social sciences—including psychology, sociology, and education—and uses author-date in-text citations.
Question 3: What does 'peer review' mean in academic research?
- Students reviewing each other's class assignments for a grade
- The evaluation of research by experts in the same field before publication (Correct answer)
- A professor grading a student's research paper
- A process of checking citations for formatting accuracy
Correct answer: The evaluation of research by experts in the same field before publication
Peer review is the quality-control process in which expert scholars evaluate research for rigor, validity, and significance before it is published in academic journals.
Question 4: When selecting a research topic for an honors project, which criterion is most important?
- The topic has been extensively studied with abundant existing sources
- The topic is feasible, relevant, and contributes new knowledge or perspective (Correct answer)
- The topic requires international fieldwork or data collection
- The topic was chosen based on available funding alone
Correct answer: The topic is feasible, relevant, and contributes new knowledge or perspective
Effective honors research topics balance ambition with practicality—they must be achievable within available resources while adding meaningful value to the field.
Question 5: What is a research methodology?
- The final conclusions drawn at the end of a research project
- The system of methods and principles used to design and conduct a study (Correct answer)
- A bibliography of all sources consulted during research
- The abstract that summarizes the study for readers
Correct answer: The system of methods and principles used to design and conduct a study
Research methodology describes the overall strategy, rationale, and framework guiding how data is collected and analyzed in a study.
Question 6: What does 'triangulation' mean in the context of honors research?
- A statistical method for calculating geometric angles in data sets
- Using multiple methods or data sources to validate and strengthen research findings (Correct answer)
- Dividing a research project into three equal independent sections
- Reviewing exactly three separate studies that cover the same topic
Correct answer: Using multiple methods or data sources to validate and strengthen research findings
Triangulation involves cross-checking findings using multiple methods or data sources to improve the validity and reliability of research conclusions.
Question 7: What is an independent variable in an experimental research study?
- The outcome measured at the end of the experiment
- The factor the researcher deliberately manipulates to observe its effect (Correct answer)
- A constant that does not change throughout the study
- The demographic characteristic of the study participants
Correct answer: The factor the researcher deliberately manipulates to observe its effect
The independent variable is the factor the researcher controls or changes in order to observe its effect on the dependent variable.
HP Research & Independent Study 2
What is the IRB and why is it relevant to honors research?