1. A condition or characteristic that can take on different values or categories is called ___.
a. a constant
b. a variable
c. a cause-and-effect relationship
d. a descriptive relationship
2. A variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable is called a(n):
a. categorical variable
b. dependent variable
c. independent variable
d. intervening variable
3. All of the following are common characteristics of experimental research except:
a. it relies primarily on the collection of numerical data
b. it can produce important knowledge about cause and effect
c. it uses the deductive scientific method
d. it rarely is conducted in a controlled setting or environment
4. Qualitative research is often exploratory and has all of the following characteristics except:
a. it is typically used when a great deal is already known about the topic of interest
b. it relies on the collection of nonnumerical data such as words and pictures
c. it is used to generate hypotheses and develop theory about phenomena in the world
d. it uses the inductive scientific method
5. What is the key defining characteristic of experimental research?
a. extraneous variables are never present
b. a positive correlation usually exists
c. a negative correlation usually exists
d. manipulation of the independent variable
6. In _____, random assignment to groups is never possible and the researcher cannot manipulate the independent variable.
a. basic research
b. quantitative research
c. experimental research
d. causal-comparative and correlational research
7. What is the defining characteristic of experimental research?
a. resistance to manipulation
b. manipulation of the independent variable
c. the use of open-ended questions
d. focuses only on local problems
8. A positive correlation is present when _______.
a. two variables move in opposite directions.
b. two variables move in the same direction.
c. one variable goes up and one goes down
d. several variables never change.
9. Research in which the researcher uses the qualitative paradigm for one phase and the quantitative paradigm for another phase is known as ______.
a. action research
b. basic research
c. quantitative research
d. mixed method research
e. mixed model research
10. Research that is done to understand an event from the past is known as _____?
a. experimental research
b. historical research
c. replication
d. archival research
11. ______ research occurs when the researcher manipulates the independent variable.
a. causal-comparative research
b. experimental research
c. ethnography
d. correlational research
12. Which of the following is the type of nonexperimental research in which the primary independent variable of interest is categorical?
a. causal-comparative research
b. experimental research
c. qualitative research
d. mixed research
13. Which of the following can best be described as a categorical variable?
a. age
b. annual income
c. grade point average
d. religion
14. When interpreting a correlation coefficient expressing the relationship between two variables, it is very important to avoid _______.
a. checking the strength of relationship
b. jumping to the conclusion of causality
c. checking the direction of the relationship
d. expressing a relationship with a correlation coefficient
15. The strongest evidence forcausality comes from which of the following research methods?
a. Experimental
b. Causal-comparative
c. Correlational
d. Ethnography
16. Which correlation is the strongest?
a. +.10
b. -.95
c. +.90
d. -1.00
