RAA Research Methods & Evidence-Based Practice 3

Question 1

Which research bias occurs when participants behave differently because they know they are being observed in an annuity study?

Accepted Answer

Hawthorne effect

Answer

The Hawthorne effect describes the tendency for participants to change behavior simply because they are being observed or studied.

Question 2

A study analyzing only annuity products that are still available on the market, ignoring discontinued ones, is susceptible to:

Accepted Answer

Survivorship bias

Answer

Survivorship bias occurs when only 'surviving' entities are analyzed, skewing results by excluding failed products.

Question 3

In an annuity research study, 'statistical significance' (p < 0.05) means:

Accepted Answer

There is less than a 5% probability the result occurred by chance

Answer

A p-value below 0.05 indicates less than a 5% likelihood that the observed result is due to random chance alone.

Question 4

Which qualitative research method is best suited for deeply exploring client motivations for purchasing annuities?

Accepted Answer

In-depth interviews

Answer

In-depth interviews allow researchers to explore subjective motivations, perceptions, and experiences in a flexible, open-ended manner.

Question 5

When a financial research article reports a '95% confidence interval,' this means:

Accepted Answer

If the study were repeated 100 times, 95 intervals would contain the true population value

Answer

A 95% confidence interval means that if you repeated the study many times, 95% of computed intervals would capture the true parameter.

(RAA) Registered Annuity Advisor Practice Test