PSYC 217 Final Exam Study Guide 2024 PDF

PSYC 217 Final Exam Study Guide General Notes: – Chapters 1-12 & 14 – Approximately 50-60 multiple choice questions & 4-5 short answer questions – Approximately 60% of the exam will cover content presented after midterm 2 (chapters 6, 7, 10 & 14), while the remaining 40% cove...

PSYC 217 Final Exam Study Guide General Notes: – Chapters 1-12 & 14 – Approximately 50-60 multiple choice questions & 4-5 short answer questions – Approximately 60% of the exam will cover content presented after midterm 2 (chapters 6, 7, 10 & 14), while the remaining 40% covers materials discussed up to midterm 2 (ie all other chapters) – Bring your ID, a pencil, eraser, and pen – Students are expected to write their exam independently (ie. do not discuss questions with others)! – All calculations will be simple arithmetic – no calculators are permitted – Arrive on time – the exam is 2.5 hours – late arrivals might not be permitted to write the exam – Location & Time: Check Workday or https://students.ubc.ca/exam-schedule – This is a closed book exam – no textbooks, notes, electronics, or dictionaries – If you’re ever uncertain about a question or a word, please raise your hand and ask!!! – Understand concepts, there will not be questions asking about specific studies that were used as examples – Review i>clicker questions! – Review class recordings if it helps! – Try explaining concepts to someone NOT in 217. If they understand your explanation, you likely have a good grasp on that material – Be able to answer the “Review Questions” at end of each chapter (there isn’t a “correct answers” page) – Form a study group and discuss “Deepen You Understanding” questions found at the end of each chapter. – If you registered for this exam at Access & Diversity (Centre for Accessibility), you will be writing the exam in their space, as long as you’ve booked the exam at least 7 days in advance. Multiple Choice o Most questions drawn from the text (may overlap with lecture) o May be a few multiple-choice on materials that were only presented in lecture o 5 response options each. Choose the best answer. o Respond on both your exam booklet and your scantron sheet. o Please use pencil!! o Read each response options and decided if it’s correct or incorrect. Mark this down on paper if it helps! o Be sure to read each and every response option before deciding on the best response o Guess if you don’t know! There is no penalty for incorrect answers. o No extra time will be provided at the end of the exam to fill in scantrons. Bubble during the exam! Short Answer Tips o Study terms/concepts that can be compared/contrasted. o Be able to describe and provide an example of major terms or concepts o Be able to apply concepts to novel examples presented in the exam o Be able to interpret graphs (bar & line) REMINDER: This study guide highlights the most important topics on which to focus. All materials discussed in text, lecture, in-class activities and asynchronous modules are examinable (unless otherwise specified to be omitted). Good Luck!  Chapter 6: Observational Methods  Compare quantitative and qualitative approaches to investigating behaviour o Are some methods only used by certain disciplines?  Describe each of the following research methods including the benefits and drawbacks of each. You do not need to memorize the specific examples in the textbook or lectures. o Naturalistic observation o Systematic observation o Case studies o Archival research  Discourse analysis  Content analysis Chapter 7: Survey Research & Sampling (pages 136-147)  Describe each of the following research methods, including the benefits and drawbacks of each o Interviews - quantitative vs qualitative (unstructured vs semi-structured) o Focus Groups  Distinguish between random assignment and random selection. o Consider whether random selection is an important consideration for different research designs o Distinguish between basic and applied research and consider whether random selection is necessary for each  Explain the relationship between sample size and precision of population estimates  Argue for and against the use of convenience samples in basic research.  Describe possible biases when sampling and the impact on generalizability. o Consider response rates and sampling frames  Compare and contrast probability and non-probability sampling techniques Chapter 10: Research Designs for Special Circumstances Describe single case experimental designs, why they are used, and be able to discuss and differentiate between the different types. Compare cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential designs including advantages and disadvantages of each. o What kinds of information be gained from each of these designs? How are quasi-experimental designs different from true experimental designs? o Compare and contrast various quasi-experimental research designs in terms of their basic features, what they can be used to examine, and features that help them strive toward internal validity. o Explain how each quasi-experimental design improves on the one-group posttest-only design in terms of internal validity. Explain how 5 threats to internal validity affect interpretation of results in quasi-experiments and repeated measures designs more generally. Describe and distinguish between interrupted time series designs and control series designs.  Chapter 14: Generalizing Results  Discuss challenges when generalizing research results to other populations o Consider university samples, volunteers, sex of participants, and culture o How might factorial designs help address such challenges?  Discuss challenges when generalizing research results beyond specific study situations o Consider the effects of the experimenter, a pretest, and the lab setting  Discuss the importance and purpose of direct (exact) replications and conceptual replications  Describe and compare literature reviews and meta-analyses o Why are they important? How does the choice to publish (or not) replication studies impact literature reviews and metanalyses? Epistemology: The Theory of Knowing  Describe the goal(s) of epistemology  Describe and compare different epistemological orientations, including the assumptions of each in relation to the knower, the known, and the process of knowing o Positivist o Critical Realist o Standpoint o Radical Social Constructionist  Which orientation fits best with the general focus of PSYC 217? How would the other orientations view this course, or the primary research methods taught in it? Content from the following chapters have already been examined. As such, fewer questions from each chapter will appear on the exam, compared to the chapters above. Chapter 1: Scientific Understanding of Behaviour Compare and contrast different ways of acquiring knowledge o Describe the benefits (if any) and drawbacks of each Describe the scientific approach o What are its three keys (lecture) and/or four norms (text)? o Describe the process and importance of peer-review o How is the scientific approach related to critical thinking? o How is the scientific approach different from pseudoscience? o List and describe signs of pseudoscience.  Be able to identify a specific sign, given an example. Define and give examples of the four goals of scientific research in psychology. o Given an example, be able to identify which goal a specific study might serve compare and contrast basic and applied research o Given an example, be able to identify whether a study is basic or applied Chapter 2: Where to start Omit: Table 2.1 (page 26)  Describe different sources of ideas for research Identify two functions of a theory Explain how research hypotheses differ from predictions and theories o Given an example, be able to differentiate between theory, hypothesis, & prediction Understand and explain falsifiability and how it relates to hypotheses/predictions Explain the principle of parsimony. o Distinguish between more and less parsimonious theories. o Explain how parsimony relates to falsifiability Compare and contrast different ways (resources) to find past research Be able to identify different sections of a research paper Chapter 3: Research Ethics Identify and discuss the three core principles for research with human participants, as outlined in TCPS2 o Respect for Persons  What is informed consent, why is it important & when should it be obtained?  What information should be included on a consent form?  What does autonomy refer to? Why is it important to consider? When is it threatened? o Concern for welfare  Describe possible benefits of participating in research.  Describe possible risks of participating in research. o Justice  Who should be included/excluded from participating in research?  Who should benefit from participation? Who should bear the burden of risks of participation? Explain when a researcher would want to conceal the true hypothesis from participants, and why. o What are the different forms of deception? o What are alternatives to using deception? o When is it necessary to debrief participants? What is the role of a Research Ethics Board (REB) at Canadian research Universities? o How do REBs impact research at universities? Discuss the criteria for determining whether research is considered exempt from REB review, minimal risk, or greater than minimal risk. o Given details of a specific research study, determine what form of REB review is required. Ethics and animal research o Is animal research important? Is it necessary? o Describe and differentiate between the three Rs of Good Animal Practice in Science. Ethics in Academic Life o Describe and differentiate between different forms of scientific misconduct. o What changes are being made to improve the trustworthiness of published research? Chapter 4: Research Design Fundamentals What are variables, and why is important to operationally define them? o How can variables be operationally defined? Describe a correlational study o Define correlation and explain what a specific value of r is telling you o Explain what can and cannot be concluded from a correlational design. Describe a basic independent groups experimental design o Be able to differentiate between independent, dependent, confounding, and mediating variables o List and describe the two ways internal validity is attained in an independent groups experimental design.  o Describe specific ways in which control is achieved in experiments. o Identify a confounding variable and explain how it threatens internal validity. o Explain why random assignment is necessary and how it relates to internal validity Compare and contrast non-experimental (correlational) and experimental research methods o discuss how the three criteria for inferring causation are achieved (or not) in experimental and non- experimental methods o Distinguish between third variables and confounding variables Describe why multiple methods are used for research including advantages and disadvantages of the basic designs Chapter 5: Measurement Concepts State the key questions used to evaluate a measure o What is reliability? What is validity? Why are these concepts important in research? How are they related? Define reliability & distinguish between its different types o Test-retest, interrater, internal consistency Define construct validity & distinguish between its types. o Face, Content, Predictive, Concurrent, Convergent, Discriminant. Given an example, be able to identify which type of reliability and/or validity is relevant. Describe and differentiate between the different measurement scales o Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio What is reactivity? Chapter 7: Survey Research (pages 125-136) Discuss reasons for conducting survey research Discuss important considerations when writing survey questions and choosing response options o Be able to identify problematic wording choices of survey questions o Compare and contrast different response options and the benefits and drawbacks of each Chapter 8: Experimental Designs List and explain three major steps towards planning a basic experiment Describe the pre-test post-test design including the advantages and disadvantages of using a pre-test Explain the basic repeated measures design. o Explain how counterbalancing enables detection of an order effect. o Identify strengths and weaknesses of repeated measures designs. Contrast an independent group design with a repeated measures design o Distinguish sources of systematic error versus random error. o Compare repeated measures designs versus independent groups designs in terms of how they account for systematic sources of error. Describe the matched pairs design including reasons to use this design  Chapter 9: Conducting Studies Omit: Tables 9.2 & 9.3 Describe and give examples of ways to measure dependent variables o contrast floor and ceiling effects Summarize steps for preparing for ethical approval and running a study Explain experimenter expectancy effects and demand characteristics and ways researchers can address them Compare and contrast straightforward and staged manipulations Explain what is meant by the strength of an IV and the sensitivity of a DV o Discuss how the strength of an IV and the sensitivity of a DV are related o Explain how they impact your choice of research design (think variability in the DV!) Chapter 11: Complex Experimental Designs Define a factorial design and discuss reasons why a researcher might use this design. What does 2x2x3 mean? Given a factorial design, be able to discuss the conceptual meaning of the following: o Cell means & marginal means o Main effects, interactions, & simple main effects Explain how between-groups differ from within-groups and mixed factorial designs, with respect to the assignment of participants to each condition Given cell means in a factorial design, be able to generate a bar or line graph depicting the data and to interpret possible main effects, interactions, and simple main effects from either the table or graph. (practice by covering the graphs and answers on page 216) Given a bar or line graph, be able to generate the data (ie cell means) and to interpret possible main effects, interactions, and simple main effects from either the table or graph. (practice by covering the tables and answers on page 216) Describe how factorial designs might increase in complexity beyond a simple 2x2 factorial. If given such a design, be able to interpret main effects and interactions. Chapter 12: Describing Variables and Relationships Among Them Omit “Try it Out – Cohen’s d” on page 236 Describe why researchers use descriptive statistics. Distinguish between the different types of graphs commonly used in behavioural research and the rationale for the use of each. Calculate and interpret a mean, median, and mode. o Explain when it is appropriate to use each of these statistics. Explain how the mean is affected by outliers, and how sample size influences how much it’s affected. Effect size Interpret the standard deviation. o Given a specific mean and standard deviation, be able to calculate the associate percentile score. o Given a specific percentile score, be able to determine the mean or standard deviation. Interpret a squared correlation coefficient (r2). Compare and contrast regression and correlation. Predict a score using a regression equation. o Understand what each coefficient of a regression equation represents Define multiple correlation (R2) and understand what it represents. Describe how partial correlation helps us address the third variable problem  Calculations  Be able to calculate and interpret the meaning of the following: o Mean o Mode o Median o r2 (from r) or vice versa o R2 (from R) or vice versa o A predicted criterion value from a regression equation o SD (from variance) or vice versa