Why is having controlled variables so important in experimentation?
a. Experimenters need to be able to measure outcomes.
b. It is the only way to determine what causes what.
What does the law of the single significant variable enable researchers to do?
a. Compare situations between which only one factor differs.
Which of the following are true of extraneous variables?
a. They may be confounding.
b. They may affect the independent variable.
c. They must be present to ensure proper controls.
d. They may affect the dependent variable.
e. They are to be expected in research on human beings.
The same independent variable can have different levels.
a. True
b. False
Most educational experiments study the difference between:
a. two or more different treatments.
Which of the following basic conditions are assumed in experimental design?
a. Causes precede effects in time.
b. People behave in predictable ways.
c. Causes covary with effects.
d. Causes are necessary conditions for their effects.
e. A single explanation for causal relationships can be determined.
Randomization provides the necessary controls in educational research.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following are types of experimental validity?
a. construct validity
b. internal validity
c. external validity
d. test validity
e. statistical conclusion validity
One commonality among the various threats to internal validity is that they all:
a. have to do with how data is gathered.
b. allow for alternative explanations.
Systematic means of anticipating threats to internal validity seek to:
a. randomize as many factors as possible.
b. experiment with as many groups as possible.
c. treat all experimental groups in the same way.
d. ensure that any results are due to experimental treatment.
Which of the following are procedures that are commonly used to deal with threats
to internal validity?
a. situational differences
b. heterogeneous selection
c. analysis of covariance
d. subjects acting as their own controls
e. random assignment
Which of the following are threats to statistical conclusion validity?
a. indicators that do not represent the construct
b. restricted range of scores
c. violations of statistical assumptions
d. situational differences
e. tests with low power
Which of the following is an example of a construct?
a. apathy
Which of the following are threats to external validity?
a. subject effects
b. selection−treatment interaction
c. subject−treatment interaction
d. small sample size
e. setting−treatment interaction
Internal validity and external validity tend to go together.
a. True
b. False
Which type of experimental design has the LEAST experimental validity?
a. single-variable
b. factorial
c. quasi-experimental
d. preexperimental
Which of the following are given a symbol in the representation of an experimental
design?
a. matching of subjects
b. random assignment of subjects
c. the subject
d. the experimenter
e. the name of the subject
How many participants are usually in each of the experimental and control groups?
a. 30
What is the MAIN factor lacking in a one-group pretest-posttest design?
a. accounting for maturation
b. assessing the effect of the pretest
c. a control group
What is the main flaw in the static group comparison experimental design?
a. The treatment is only given to one group.
b. There is no way to determine if the groups are equivalent prior to
treatment.
Which of the following experimental designs are considered true experimental
designs?
a. randomized matched subjects, posttest-only control group
b. between-subjects
c. Solomon three-group
d. randomized subjects, posttest-only control group
Although the randomized subjects, post-test only control group design lacks a
pretest, it can still ensure valid comparisons mainly because of its use of:
a. matching.
b. only one dependent variable.
c. randomization.
What is the main advantage of the randomized matched subjects, posttest-only
control group design?
a. There is no pretest.
b. The samples are unbiased.
c. It can be used with small samples.
Solomon's experimental designs are characterized by the addition of one or more
unpretested groups.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following are advantages of a factorial design?
a. capacity for assessing interaction effects
b. accomplishing more with only one experiment
c. use of multiple control groups
d. determining the main effects for each independent variable
A between-subjects design tests a treatment on only one group of participants.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following are true of quasi-experimental designs?
a. They do not involve manipulation of an independent variable.
b. They do not make it possible to reach valid conclusions.
c. Subjects are not randomly assigned to treatment groups.
d. They are sometimes necessary because of the nature of real situations.
e. Their main drawback is the lack of control.
Which of the following make time-series designs different from other experimental
designs?
a. They can rule out maturation effects.
b. They involve periodic measurements.
c. They control for history effects.
d. They include control groups.
e. They carry a greater possibility of testing effects.
Which of the following are topics of study that are especially suited to the single-
subject experimental design?
a. whether there is an interaction between anxiety and performance expectation
b. how students with oppositional defiant disorder respond to a relaxed classroom
environment
c. the changes in children's test scores after physical exercise
d. the value of a treatment to autistic children
e. the effects of a treatment to students' attitudes toward learning math
Single-subject experimental designs can have particular difficulty meeting external
validity requirements.
a. True
b. False
What does an attribute independent variable represent?
a. a factor that the investigator manipulates
b. a trait that is not under study
c. a characteristic that a subject already has
What makes ex post facto research different from other types of research?
a. There is an independent variable that the investigator can manipulate.
b. Its purpose is to gather data on selected groups in a natural setting.
c. It uses random assignment of individuals to groups.
d. A factor is already determined by given circumstances.
Under which of the following conditions would ex post facto research be most
appropriate?
a. Having experimental controls is especially important.
b. Achievement is the dependent variable under investigation.
c. The object of a study is to prove a causal relationship among variables.
d. There are variables that it would be unethical to change.
e. There are independent variables that cannot be manipulated.
One of the strengths of ex post facto investigations is that they are rigorously
controlled.
a. True
b. False
Why is it difficult to prove causal relationships in ex post facto investigations?
a. The data that is gathered is merely quantitative.
b. There is no way to detect and measure causation itself.
c. There are independent variables that cannot be controlled.
Which of the following types of evidence help support a claim that one variable (X)
is the cause of another variable (Y)?
a. X happens before Y.
b. X is the only independent variable.
c. X and Y are both observable events.
d. There is a statistical relationship between X and Y.
e. No other factors besides X could have determined Y.
What plays the role of a control in an ex post facto study?
a. matching within the experimental group
b. similarity with respect to extraneous variables
In a proactive design, a hypothesis is tested concerning possible dependent
variables.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following are alternative explanations that must be considered in ex
post facto research?
a. spurious relationships
b. reverse causality
c. other independent variables
d. post hoc
e. common cause
In which of the following pairs of correlated observations would a common cause be
a plausible alternative explanation to causation?
a. higher test scores and less time spent on extracurricular activities
b. poor student behavior and poor student nutrition
Matching subjects between the experimental and control groups is done with
respect to:
a. extraneous variables.
Which of the following are problems encountered in matching?
a. restrictions in group size
b. regression to the mean
c. heterogeneous samples
d. lack of prior studies
e. unknown dependent variables
What is a disadvantage of using homogeneous groups to control for extraneous
variables?
a. It makes the size of the groups too large.
b. It can only be used when groups are small.
c. It reduces the external validity of the study.
Analysis of covariance in ex post facto studies is sufficient to control for initial
differences between groups.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following are advantages of ex post facto research?
a. There is no need to use experimental controls.
b. Many important studies cannot be done in any other way.
c. It introduces alternative hypotheses.
d. It can discover relationships that can be studied further.
e. It is simpler to analyze the data than in experimental research
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