Ch15 The Role Of Research Methods In Making Exam Questions - Complete Test Bank | Making Sense of Numbers 1e by Miller by Jane E. Miller. DOCX document preview.
Chapter 15: The Role of Research Methods in Making Sense of Numbers
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. What does the first of the “W's,” “What,” refer to?
A. topic of study
B. location
C. time period
D. type of case
Learning Objective: 15-1: State the importance of the W’s for making sense of quantitative research.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The W’s Revisited
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. What does the honorary W, “How”, refer to?
A. time period of study
B. interpreting results
C. study design and methods
D. location of study
Learning Objective: 15-1: State the importance of the W’s for making sense of quantitative research.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The W’s Revisited
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. A researcher is conducting a study on the inventory needed by rental car agencies to meet daily demand for car types. In her study design, she decides on a sample of three car rental agencies for inclusion in the study. Which W or honorary W does this sampling task represent?
A. how
B. how many
C. what
D. where
Learning Objective: 15-1: State the importance of the W’s for making sense of quantitative research.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The W’s Revisited
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. What does “substantive significance” mean in the context of research?
A. significance level of a test
B. validity of a sample
C. p value of a significance test
D. practical importance of a result
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What is Practical Importance?
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. What does a p value measure?
A. probability of wrongly concluding the true parameter is 0
B. the significance level of a research test
C. probability of the alternative hypothesis being true
D. the correlation between two levels
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Questions Can Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Which of the following cannot be confirmed by a statistical significance test?
A. accept the null hypothesis
B. cause and effect relationship
C. population parameter is nonzero
D. reject the alternative hypothesis
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Questions Can’t Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Medium
7. In which of the following cases, should statistical significance of an association not be the reason for an intervention?
A. the dependent variable is modifiable
B. the size of the association is large
C. direction of association is known
D. the independent variable cannot be modified
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Questions Can’t Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Medium
8. Which of the following lists the dimensions of “importance” of a research result?
A. statistical significance and substantive significance
B. practical importance, statistical significance, internal and external validity
C. measurement level, causality, and practical importance
D. benchmarks, measurement level, internal validity, and central tendency
Learning Objective: 15-3: Identify the four different dimensions of “importance” of a quantitative research result.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
9. What criteria is used to assess the practical importance of a research result?
A. confidence limits
B. mechanism
C. effect size
D. p value
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Easy
10. Which of the following criteria is used to assess the internal validity of a research result?
A. empirical association
B. effect size
C. p value
D. measurement value
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Easy
11. A regression analysis was conducted with dependent variable A and independent variables B and C. The regression coefficients fell within confidence intervals that did not equal 0. Moreover, the coefficients had p values less than 0.0001. Which dimension of “importance” do these results satisfy?
A. cause-and-effect
B. statistical significance
C. benchmarking
D. effect size
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
12. What factor(s) does the criteria “empirical association” depend on in a research study?
A. cross-sectional study design
B. experimental study design
C. consistency of direction and size
D. sampling method
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Hard
13. What does the criteria “Nonspuriousness” refer to, in checking for internal validity of a research result?
A. a random sample using probability methods
B. a p value less than .05 for a coefficient
C. separate multiple topics into different studies
D. true association after accounting for confounders
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
14. In a research study, a random sample was taken of a binary dependent variable and three independent variables hypothesized to be associated with the dependent variable. A statistical model was developed on the sample data, and the model was then applied to a validation sample. The results of the model were checked to see if the variable distributions were similar to the population from which the samples were taken. This check is related to which dimension of determining importance of results?
A. measurement level
B. external validity
C. internal validity
D. statistical significance
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
15. In determining practical importance of a result, which measure is referred to, along with effect size?
A. variation
B. mean
C. standard error
D. confidence level
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Practical Importance
Difficulty Level: Easy
16. How is the sample size related to the measure of spread in a research study?
A. weakly related
B. positively related
C. inversely related
D. not related
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Practical Importance
Difficulty Level: Easy
17. What is the relationship between sample size and width of confidence intervals?
A. inversely related
B. not related
C. positively related
D. weakly related
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Statistical Significance
Difficulty Level: Medium
18. An empirical association is shown to be stronger due to which of the following factor(s)?
A. wider confidence limits
B. larger effect sizes and smaller p values
C. larger measures of dispersion
D. smaller margin of error and confidence level
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Medium
19. In addition to empirical association, what are the two other criteria needed to assess a cause-and-effect relationship between a dependent and an independent variable?
A. measurement level and p value
B. effect size and value
C. confidence limits and standard error
D. mechanism and nonspuriousness
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
20. A study on median house prices in Middlesex county used a random sample of 200 houses from three zip codes of the county. Which dimension of 'importance' of study results would this sampling affect? Choose the best answer.
A. internal validity
B. statistical significance
C. external validity
D. practical importance
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: External Validity
Difficulty Level: Easy
21. Under which type of studies is the chance of confounding reduced or less likely?
A. observational
B. experimental
C. cross-sectional
D. longitudinal
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Relationships Among Dimensions of “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
22. In deciding on units or categories of a dependent variable for a study, which of the following would serve as a guiding principle?
A. assess the “W's” of the study
B. identify appropriate benchmarks
C. review prior literature on the variable
D. assess the context of the study
Learning Objective: 15-5: Describe how the quantitative reasoning principles from throughout this book are used for each of the four major types of research tasks.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Making Sense of Numbers in Quantitative Research Tasks
Difficulty Level: Easy
23. If a table template already exists for presentation of results, how should the researcher design the study? Choose the best answer.
A. design data collection as per template
B. identify the measures to be presented
C. complement the table with a chart
D. assess the “W's” as per the table
Learning Objective: 15-5: Describe how the quantitative reasoning principles from throughout this book are used for each of the four major types of research tasks.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Making Sense of Numbers in Quantitative Research Tasks
Difficulty Level: Easy
24. Depending on whether the study is cross-sectional, prospective, or retrospective, what factor should be kept in mind for the task of collecting data?
A. number of independent variables
B. appropriate temporal design
C. statistical methods to be used
D. units of the variables in the study
Learning Objective: 15-5: Describe how the quantitative reasoning principles from throughout this book are used for each of the four major types of research tasks.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Making Sense of Numbers in Quantitative Research Tasks
Difficulty Level: Medium
25. In the case of observational studies with multiple independent variables, what factor should be kept in mind during the data collection task to ensure stronger empirical association?
A. units of the variables in the study
B. type of variable to be used
C. temporal design of the study
D. information on potential confounders
Learning Objective: 15-5: Describe how the quantitative reasoning principles from throughout this book are used for each of the four major types of research tasks.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Making Sense of Numbers in Quantitative Research Tasks
Difficulty Level: Easy
True/False
1. A 'substantive significance of an estimate is assessed by its p value and confidence limits.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Practical Importance?
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Statistical significance should be complemented by practical importance in determining the true importance of an estimate.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Practical Importance?
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. In inferential statistics, the researcher would like the p value to be as large as possible.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: What Questions Can Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. The results of a research study showed the regression coefficient of the variable GENDER to have a p value of .76 at the 95% confidence level. Hence, GENDER could be concluded to be statistically significant.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: What Questions Can Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. The R2 value of association between dependent variable A and independent variable B was found to be 0.61, with a p value of .0001 at the 95% confidence level. It can be concluded that variable B has a causal effect on variable A.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: What Questions Can’t Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. In many instances, an association between an outcome and an independent variable could be confounded by another independent variable.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Questions Can’t Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Easy
7. In some cases, it may be possible to test an association between two variables by conducting a “true experiment”.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Questions Can’t Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Easy
8. A statistical significance test of association can indicate the direction of the association.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Questions Can’t Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Easy
9. In some cases, the magnitude of a statistical significance test cannot tell the researcher whether the effect is meaningful in the real world.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Questions Can’t Statistical Significance Answer?
Difficulty Level: Medium
10. 'External validity' is one of the four dimensions used for assessing importance of research results.
Learning Objective: 15-3: Identify the four different dimensions of “importance” of a quantitative research result.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Easy
Short Answer
1. What are the criteria for assessing practical meaning of a research result? Explain what factors these criteria depend on.
Learning Objective: 15-3: Identify the four different dimensions of “importance” of a quantitative research result.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. Provide an example of how statistical significance of an estimate is determined.
Learning Objective: 15-3: Identify the four different dimensions of “importance” of a quantitative research result.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. Discuss the quantitative criteria needed to determine internal validity of a study. Illustrate with the help of an example.
Learning Objective: 15-3: Identify the four different dimensions of “importance” of a quantitative research result.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Hard
4. What type of study design should be implemented in order to assess external validity of a study? Explain your answer.
Learning Objective: 15-3: Identify the four different dimensions of “importance” of a quantitative research result.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. Explain in your own words, how sample size affects p values for hypothesis testing.
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Statistical Significance
Difficulty Level: Hard
6. Provide an example of a dose-response relationship, in the context of assessing internal validity of research results.
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Medium
7. With the help of an example, explain what is nonspuriousness of an association between two variables.
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Medium
8. What type of study design is conducive to assessing the mechanism linking two variables in a study? Give an example.
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Internal Validity
Difficulty Level: Medium
9. Discuss the sampling methods required in ensuring external validity of a study. Give an example of one such method.
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: External Validity
Difficulty Level: Medium
10. Explain in your own words, why statistical significance does not necessarily lead to practical importance of a research result.
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Relationships Among Dimensions of “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Hard
Essay
1. Refer to the research article you chose in answering the essay questions for Chapter 13. Comment on how the authors incorporated practical importance, in addition to statistical significance, in interpreting their research results.
Learning Objective: 15-2: Distinguish between the practical meaning and statistical significance of a numeric finding.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Practical Significance Versus Statistical Significance
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. Refer to the research article you used in Question 1. Discuss the usage of the four dimensions to determine overall importance of results in the article. Were all the four dimensions satisfied in the study? Explain your answer.
Learning Objective: 15-3: Identify the four different dimensions of “importance” of a quantitative research result.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Hard
3. Refer to the research article you used in Question 1. Comment on the study design, sample size, and the W's related to criteria used by the authors in assessing overall importance of their research results.
Learning Objective: 15-4: Differentiate which aspects of research methods determine practical meaning, statistical significance, internal validity, and external validity.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: How Study Design, Measurement, and Sample Size Affect “Importance”
Difficulty Level: Hard
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Complete Test Bank | Making Sense of Numbers 1e by Miller
By Jane E. Miller