Psychology Degree Research Methods and Ethics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following scenarios most clearly illustrates selection bias?
- Participants drop out of a longitudinal study over time
- Only self-referred volunteers join a study on depression (Correct answer)
- A researcher codes behaviors knowing the hypothesis
- Measurement instruments differ across groups
Correct answer: Only self-referred volunteers join a study on depression
Selection bias occurs when the sample is not representative because who joins the study is systematically different from the broader population.
Question 2: A psychologist wants to understand the lived experience of survivors of natural disasters. Which methodology is most appropriate?
- Randomized controlled trial
- Phenomenological qualitative study (Correct answer)
- Meta-analysis of existing surveys
- Cross-lagged panel model
Correct answer: Phenomenological qualitative study
Phenomenological research explores individuals' subjective lived experiences in depth, ideal for understanding disaster survivorship.
Question 3: What is the purpose of counterbalancing in a within-subjects design?
- To increase the sample size
- To control for carryover and order effects across conditions (Correct answer)
- To eliminate demand characteristics
- To improve test-retest reliability
Correct answer: To control for carryover and order effects across conditions
Counterbalancing varies the order of conditions across participants so that order effects do not systematically bias any one condition.
Question 4: A therapist-researcher publishes a case study about a client without changing any identifying details. Which ethical principle is violated?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Informed consent
Correct answer: Confidentiality
Publishing identifiable client information without consent violates confidentiality, one of the most fundamental obligations in psychology.
Question 5: In regression analysis, what does a standardized beta coefficient (β) represent?
- The raw change in Y per one-unit change in X
- The proportion of variance in Y explained by all predictors
- The change in Y in standard deviation units per one SD change in X (Correct answer)
- The intercept of the regression line
Correct answer: The change in Y in standard deviation units per one SD change in X
Standardized beta (β) expresses the relationship in standard deviation units, allowing comparison of predictors measured on different scales.
Question 6: Observer drift in behavioral research refers to:
- Participants changing behavior when observed
- Coders gradually shifting their application of coding criteria over time (Correct answer)
- Attrition of observers from the research team
- Measurement error due to faulty equipment
Correct answer: Coders gradually shifting their application of coding criteria over time
Observer drift occurs when raters unconsciously change their standards over the course of a study, reducing measurement consistency.
Question 7: Which of the following would most directly improve the external validity of a study?
- Adding a no-treatment control group
- Using random assignment to conditions
- Recruiting a diverse, nationally representative sample (Correct answer)
- Pre-registering the hypothesis before data collection
Correct answer: Recruiting a diverse, nationally representative sample
External validity (generalizability) is enhanced when the sample broadly represents the population to which results will be applied.
Psychology Degree Research Methods and Ethics 5
Which of the following scenarios most clearly illustrates selection bias?