Research Design & Methodology Flashcards

A researcher measures income using brackets ($0–$25k, $25k–$50k, etc.). What level of measurement is this?

Answer: Ordinal

Income brackets are ordinal because they have a meaningful order but the intervals between categories are not necessarily equal.

Which threat to internal validity occurs when participants behave differently because they know they are being observed?

Answer: Hawthorne effect

The Hawthorne effect refers to behavior change caused by participants' awareness of being studied.

When a researcher selects only the most accessible participants, this is called:

Answer: Convenience sampling

Convenience sampling selects participants based on ease of access, which can limit generalizability.

Discriminant validity is demonstrated by showing that a measure:

Answer: Does not correlate strongly with measures of unrelated constructs

Discriminant validity confirms that a measure is distinct from measures of theoretically different constructs.

In survey research, a double-barreled question:

Answer: Asks about two separate issues in a single question, making responses ambiguous

A double-barreled question combines two issues in one item, so it is unclear which issue the respondent is answering.

What distinguishes a mediating variable from a moderating variable?

Answer: A mediator explains the mechanism of a relationship; a moderator affects its strength or direction

A mediator lies on the causal path between X and Y (explains how/why), while a moderator changes when or for whom the effect occurs.

Which research design allows the study of rare phenomena by examining a single instance in depth?

Answer: Case study

A case study provides in-depth examination of a single unit (person, organization, event), making it suited to rare or unique phenomena.