Deck 2: Developing a Research Question and Understanding Research Reports

Question 1

The best database to use to find journal articles in the area of physiological psychology is

A) ERIC.
B) PsycINFO.
C) PubMed.
D) Google.

Answer 1

PubMed.

Question 2

Which of the following can help a researcher conduct a literature review?

A) PsycINFO
B) reading book chapters
C) reading journal articles
D) attending a conference
E) all of the above

Answer 2

all of the above

Question 3

"Does lack of sleep cause depression?" is an example of a ________ research question.

A) predictive
B) causal
C) descriptive
D) non-empirical

Answer 3

causal

Question 4

In what section of a published journal article will you find graphs or tables of the summary data?

A) Results
B) Hypotheses
C) Participants
D) none of the above

Question 5

A theory is

A) an explanation of a phenonema.
B) the same as a prediction.
C) cannot be tested with the scientific method.
D) all of the above.

Question 6

A well-written Discussion section of a journal article should begin with

A) a review of the hypotheses made in the Introduction.
B) a comparison with past studies.
C) suggestions for future work.
D) a description of limitations of the study.

Question 7

If a researcher makes a hypothesis for a study based on results that were reported in previous studies, they are making a __________ hypothesis.

A) theory-driven
B) data-driven
C) causal
D) descriptive

Question 8

To get the most up-to-date information on research being conducted in an area of psychology one should

A) read journal articles.
B) read book chapters.
C) attend a conference.
D) do a web search.

Question 9

Predicting that a dog should breathe because all mammals breathe and all dogs are mammals is an example of __________ reasoning.

A) inductive
B) deductive
C) causal
D) descriptive

Question 10

Choosing a research question is the ________ step in the research process.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Question 11

Which section of an APA style article should provide enough information about the way the study was conducted to allow researchers to replicate the study if they wish?

A) Introduction
B) Method
C) References
D) Discussion
(e) Results

Question 12

Which of the following lists sections of an APA style article in the correct order of appearance in the article?

A) Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion
B) Introduction, Method, Discussion, Abstract
C) Results, Method, Discussion, References
D) References, Abstract, Discussion, Results

Question 13

A literature review is

A) the same as a journal article.
B) only conducted with books.
C) a detailed review of past research in a topic area.
D) never conducted using PsycINFO.

Question 14

Research questions for psychological research can be developed from

A) a researcher's interests.
B) reading past research studies on a topic.
C) reading a book on a topic.
D) all of the above.

Question 15

Theory-driven hypotheses rely on _______ reasoning, whereas data-driven hypotheses rely on _______ reasoning.

A) descriptive; causal
B) causal; descriptive
C) deductive; inductive
D) inductive; deductive

Question 16

Which of the following can be used to search for research articles in PsycINFO?

A) Topic of the article
B) Author of the article
C) Word in the abstract or title of the article
D) All of the above (all are possible using PsycINFO)

Question 17

According to APA guidelines, the Participants section is a subsection of the ____________ section.

A) Reference
B) Results
C) Method
D) Introduction

Question 18

Predicting that all dogs can run, because one was dog was seen running is an example of ___________ reasoning.

A) inductive
B) deductive
C) causal
D) descriptive

Question 19

"How often do teenagers feel depressed?" is an example of a ________ research question.

A) predictive
B) causal
C) descriptive
D) non-empirical

Question 20

An Abstract of a journal article that adheres to APA guidelines

A) can be as long as you want it to be.
B) can include extra information about the study that you forgot to include in the body of the paper.
C) must include a description of every result found in the study.
D) is written in order to define abstract terms used in the rest of the paper.
E) none of the above.

Question 21

Explain the difference between descriptive and causal research questions.

Question 22

The Methods section provides a summary of the data often in tables or figures) and information about the statistical tests that were performed to analyze the data.

Question 23

Conducting a literature review will ensure that a new study will add to the knowledge in an area without duplicating what is already known.

Question 24

An introduction is a summary of the study that allows readers to decide if the article is relevant to their literature review without their reading the entire article.

Question 25

Research questions are never descriptive.

Question 26

Theory-driven hypotheses are made from the predictions of a theory.

Question 27

Explain the difference between theory-driven and data-driven hypotheses.

Question 28

A research question that asks about the presence of behavior, how frequently it is exhibited, or whether there is a relationship between different behaviors is a:

A) descriptive research question
B) causal research question
C) fundamental research question
D) vital research question

Question 29

Google Scholar will search the Web for academic journals and books to find articles relevant to a topic or written by a specific author.

Question 30

The review process for book chapters is variable and may not be as rigorous as that for journal articles.

Question 31

Explanations of behavior that need to be tested are called:

A) results
B) findings
C) theories
D) descriptions

Question 32

Researchers should consider how appropriate their question is for both scientific methods and the specific field of study before moving on to designing a study.

Question 33

A hypothesis for a study that is based on a theory about the behavior of interest is a:

A) theory-driven hypothesis
B) data-driven hypothesis
C) causal hypothesis
D) descriptive hypothesis

Question 34

Empirical journal articles are considered secondary sources for research information, because they are written by the researchers who conducted the research and details of the study are provided.

Question 35

Explain the difference between an empirical journal article and a popular magazine article.

Question 36

A research question that asks what causes specific behaviors to occur is a:

A) descriptive research question
B) causal research question
C) fundamental research question
D) vital research question

Question 37

Explain why a Google search will not provide a good literature review of a topic area in psychology?

Question 38

A theory-driven hypothesis involves inductive reasoning in that a researcher is taking a general statement about behavior the theory) and making a specific prediction the hypothesis) about the study from this general statement.