Research Methods Flashcards

A researcher studying parenting stress recruits participants exclusively from a private therapy practice. Which threat to external validity does this raise?

Answer: Selection bias limiting generalizability

Recruiting from a non-representative setting limits the ability to generalize findings to broader populations.

In an ANOVA, a significant F-ratio tells the researcher that:

Answer: At least one group mean differs significantly from at least one other

A significant F only indicates that at least one pair of group means differs; post hoc tests identify which pairs.

Which research design would be most appropriate to study changes in family cohesion across adolescence by following the same families over 10 years?

Answer: Longitudinal design

A longitudinal design tracks the same participants over time, making it ideal for studying developmental change.

A researcher uses triangulation in a qualitative study. The primary purpose is to:

Answer: Enhance credibility by using multiple data sources or methods

Triangulation strengthens qualitative trustworthiness by converging evidence from multiple sources, methods, or perspectives.

Cohen's d of 0.80 is conventionally interpreted as a:

Answer: Large effect size

By Cohen's conventions, d = 0.20 is small, 0.50 is medium, and 0.80 or above is large.

A researcher studying couple conflict uses a pre-existing observational coding scheme developed for a different population. This raises concerns about:

Answer: Measurement validity for this population

Applying a coding scheme to a population it was not validated on threatens the measurement validity of the instrument.

In a single-subject (N=1) research design, the baseline phase is referred to as the:

Answer: A phase

In single-subject ABA designs, 'A' denotes the baseline phase and 'B' denotes the intervention phase.