Research Design & Methodology Flashcards

A researcher studying online misinformation uses posts already made publicly on social media without interacting with users. This most closely exemplifies:

Answer: Unobtrusive research

Unobtrusive research collects data without influencing participants, such as analyzing existing documents or digital traces.

Which validity type asks whether a measure's items adequately cover the full domain of the construct being measured?

Answer: Content validity

Content validity ensures that a measure's items represent all relevant facets of the construct comprehensively.

When a researcher mistakenly concludes that a relationship between two variables is causal when both are actually caused by a third variable, this is called:

Answer: Spurious correlation

A spurious correlation occurs when two variables appear related only because both are influenced by a common third variable (confounder).

Snowball sampling is particularly useful for studying:

Answer: Hard-to-reach or hidden populations where members can refer others

Snowball sampling leverages social networks to recruit participants in populations that are difficult to access through conventional means.

In a between-subjects design, each participant is exposed to:

Answer: Only one level of the independent variable

In a between-subjects design, different groups of participants each receive only one condition, eliminating carryover effects.

What is the primary advantage of using a mixed-methods research design?

Answer: It allows the strengths of qualitative and quantitative methods to compensate for each other's weaknesses

Mixed-methods designs leverage the depth of qualitative inquiry and the generalizability of quantitative data to produce richer, more robust findings.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) primarily evaluates research proposals to ensure:

Answer: Participant rights, safety, and welfare are protected

IRBs review research protocols to protect human subjects from harm, ensuring ethical principles such as informed consent and minimization of risk are upheld.