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Questions and Answers
What is the main purpose of a research design?
Which factor limits the ability to generalize the results of a study?
Which term describes the extent to which a study provides a clear explanation for the relationship between two variables?
What describes any variable within a study that is not being studied?
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Which characteristic poses a threat to internal validity by providing alternative explanations for results?
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What does the Duration Method in behavioral observation primarily focus on?
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Which technique involves observing and recording a behavior during a fixed period divided into intervals?
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In which observational technique does the researcher participate in the activities of the subjects being observed?
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What is the primary purpose of Content Analysis in behavioral observation?
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Which technique involves observing for one interval and then pausing to record observations in the next?
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What is a defining characteristic of Contrived Observation?
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Which observational method is specifically focused on capturing a sample of behaviors from different individuals over time?
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Naturalistic Observation is best defined as which of the following?
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What type of question allows participants to respond in their own words?
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What is a key characteristic of restricted questions in survey research?
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Which of the following is NOT a consideration when constructing a survey?
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What is a disadvantage of case study research?
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What distinguishes a case history from a case study?
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What is a key disadvantage of online surveys?
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Which research design involves systematically recording behaviors?
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What advantage do in-person interviews have over telephone surveys?
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What is one common bias associated with surveys regardless of the method used?
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What method in behavioral observation focuses on counting specific behaviors during a fixed time?
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Which of the following is NOT an advantage of telephone surveys?
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Which factor can threaten the validity of survey results?
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What is a common characteristic of respondents who tend to participate in surveys?
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Which sampling method is characterized by the selection of groups instead of individuals from a population?
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Which sampling method involves determining the proportion of subgroups within a population and matching that proportion in the sample?
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What does descriptive research primarily aim to do?
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What is a characteristic of systematic sampling?
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Which type of sampling is specifically designed to avoid bias by using common sense in selection?
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Which research strategy is focused on manipulating one variable while measuring another?
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In a linear relationship represented on a graph, what is the nature of the data points?
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What is the primary focus of a research design?
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What defines quota sampling in research?
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Which sampling technique provides an equal and independent chance for selection of each individual in the population?
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Study Notes
Behavioral Observation Techniques
- Duration Method: Measures the duration of a specific behavior over a fixed period.
- Interval Method: Divides observation time into intervals, recording whether a behavior occurs in each interval.
- Time Sampling: Observes for one interval, pauses for the next, then repeats.
- Event Sampling: Focuses on one specific event or behavior per interval, switching to a different event/behavior in the following interval.
- Individual Sampling: Observes one participant per interval, changing to a different individual in the next interval.
- Content Analysis: Applies behavioral observation techniques to analyze events in media like literature, movies, or TV, to measure behavioral occurrences.
Observational Research Types
- Naturalistic Observation: Observing behavior in natural settings, unobtrusively. Also known as nonparticipant observation.
- Participant Observation: The researcher engages in the same activities as the observed individuals, observing and recording their behavior.
- Contrived Observation: Observation in settings designed to facilitate specific behaviors. Also known as structured observation.
Sampling Methods
- Nonprobability Sampling: The population is not fully understood, individual probabilities are unknown, and selection relies on factors like ease and common sense, aiming for representativeness and bias reduction.
- Simple Random Sampling: Every individual in the population has an equal chance of selection.
- Systematic Sampling: Selects every nth participant from a population list, after a random starting point.
- Stratified Random Sampling: Identifies subgroups and selects equal-sized random samples from each subgroup.
- Proportionate Random Sampling: Identifies subgroups, determines their proportions in the population, and randomly selects individuals to match these proportions in the sample.
- Cluster Sampling: Randomly selects groups (clusters) rather than individuals from a population.
- Convenience Sampling: Selects readily available and willing participants based on their accessibility.
- Quota Sampling: A type of convenience sampling that identifies subgroups and sets quotas for individuals to be sampled from each group.
Research Strategies
- Research Strategy: A general approach to research, determined by the type of question the study aims to answer.
- Descriptive Research Strategy: Measures variables as they occur naturally, describing individual variables within a group, but not exploring relationships between them.
- Linear Relationships: In a graph, data points cluster around a straight line, showing a pattern between two variables.
- Curvilinear Relationship: In a graph, data points cluster around a curved line, showing a pattern between two variables.
- Experimental Research Strategy: Attempts to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables by manipulating one variable while measuring the other, controlling all other variables.
Research Design and Procedure
- Research Design: A general plan for implementing a research strategy, specifying group or individual subjects, within-group or between-group comparisons, and the number of variables included.
- Research Procedure: A step-by-step description of a specific research study.
External Validity
- External Validity: Generalizability of study results to people, settings, measures, times, and characteristics beyond those used in the study.
- Threat to External Validity: Any study characteristic that limits the generalization of results.
Internal Validity
- Internal Validity: A study's ability to provide a clear and unambiguous explanation for the relationship between two variables.
- Threat to Internal Validity: Any factor that allows for alternative explanations of the study’s results.
Extraneous Variables
- Extraneous Variables: Variables present in a study besides those being studied. In an experiment, any variable other than the independent and dependent variables
- Confounding Variable: An extraneous variable that changes systematically with the two variables being studied, providing an alternative explanation for their relationship and threatening internal validity.
Survey Research Design
- Survey Research Design: A research study that uses a survey to describe a particular group of individuals.
Types of Survey Questions
- Open-ended Questions: Introduce a topic and allow participants to respond freely.
- Restricted Questions: Limit response alternatives, restricting participant responses.
- Rating Scale Questions: Require participants to select a numerical value on a predetermined scale.
Constructing a Survey
- Include demographic questions, sensitive questions, and group similar topics together.
- Ensure simple, uncluttered pages.
- Use clear vocabulary and language.
Archival Research
- Archival Research: Examines historical records to measure past behaviors or events.
Case Study Design
- Case Study Design: An in-depth analysis and description of a single individual, possibly involving treatment or an intervention administered by the researcher.
- Case History: A case study that does not include a treatment or intervention.
- Case Study Research: Detailed, potentially insightful, but lacks internal and external validity, and may be subject to bias.
Survey Advantages and Disadvantages
- Mail Survey: Low cost, but can have low response rates and nonresponse bias; more likely to be answered by more educated segments of the population.
- Telephone Survey: Higher response rate (60-70%), interviewer clarification possible, conducted from home or workplace, but can be intrusive and have nonresponse bias.
- In Person Survey or Interview: High response rate (80-90%), answers questions and provides clarification, can be long and in-depth, but time consuming and expensive.
- Online Survey: Reaches a large audience quickly, low cost, convenient for respondents, can embed media and skip irrelevant questions, but may not represent the general population if response bias exists, and not all households have computers.
Observational Research Design Advantages
- Observational Research Design: Observes and systematically records behavior to describe it.
- Behavioral Observation: Direct observation and systematic recording of behaviors.
- Habituation: Repeated exposure to the observer's presence to make it less novel for participants.
- Behavior Categories: Predetermined categories of behaviors to be observed, with examples defined in advance.
- Frequency Method: Counts how often specific behaviors occur during a fixed observation period.
Observational Research Design Disadvantages
- Threat to Survey Validity: Wording and formatting of questions can affect results.
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Description
Test your knowledge on various behavioral observation techniques and research types. This quiz covers methods such as duration, interval, and time sampling, as well as naturalistic and participant observation. Enhance your understanding of observational research methods in psychology and media analysis.
