Chapter 2: Developing the Research Hypothesis 1

Chapter 2: Developing the Research Hypothesis 1

CHAPTER 2

Developing the Research Hypothesis

learning objectives

1.Determine how behavioral scientists get ideas for research projects.

2.Understand what a literature search is, why it is necessary, and how it is conducted.

3.Determine what computer databases contain listings of behavioral research reports.

4.Analyze how previous research findings are utilized to develop ideas for future research reports.

5.Understand the role of laws and theories within scientific research.

6.Determine the definition and purpose of a research hypothesis.

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1.Discuss the processes by which scientists get ideas for research. Be sure to describe the inductive and the deductive methods as sources of research ideas.

2.Explain the importance of a literature search, and give guidelines for conducting an effective one.

3.Compare and contrast research hypotheses, theories, and laws. Indicate the contributions of each to research.

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

Ans:d
Page:26
Type:F
LO:1 / 1.In scientific research,
a.ideas are primarily based on the opinions of others.
b.ideas are developed primarily through intuition.
c.ideas are obtained primarily through observation.
d.there are many different sources of ideas.
Ans:c
Page:25
Type:F
LO:1 / 2.Which of the following is not a good way to get a research idea?
a.To extend previous research.
b.To explain conflicting findings.
c.To validate existing laws.
d.To find previous limiting conditions of a tested research question.
Ans:b
Page:27
Type:C
LO:1 / 3.When Sigmund Freud developed his theory of personality by observing patients in his clinical practice, he was using which of the following?
a.The correlational method
b.The inductive method
c.The limiting condition method
d.The dominant method
Ans:a
Page:27
Type:A
LO:1 / 4.Charles has noticed that every time it rains, both his car and his lawn mower are hard to start up. On the basis of these observations, he develops a theory that humidity reduces the ability of gasoline to burn effectively. Charles’s theory can be said to have been developed on the basis of which of the following?
a.The inductive method
b.The deductive method
c.The empirical method
d.The abstract method
Ans:c
Page:28
Type:F
LO:6 / 5.One of the disadvantages of using our observation of everyday life to generate a research hypothesis is that
a.the hypothesis may be shown to be incorrect.
b.the hypothesis is likely to be tautological.
c.the results of the research may not relate to existing knowledge in the domain being studied.
d.the hypothesis is unlikely to be falsifiable.
Ans:d
Page:28-29
Type:F
LO:4 / 6.A researcher might use previous research to develop an experiment that
a.explained conflicting findings.
b.found limiting conditions.
c.added to existing research.
d.Any of the above may be used.
Ans:c
Page:28
Type:F
LO:4 / 7.Scientists sometimes conduct research that is designed to find limiting conditions of previous research or to explain conflicting findings in previous research. In general, this approach to doing research
a.limits the amount of knowledge that the research can produce.
b.will be less informative than developing ideas on the basis of the scientist’s well-validated intuition.
c.contributes to the accumulation of scientific knowledge.
d.tends to produce difficulties for scientists who wish to replicate the study.
Ans:c
Page:30
Type:C
LO:1 / 8.A textbook that reviews behavioral research on animal behavior would be considered a(n)
a.final source.
b.primary source.
c.secondary source.
d.academic source.
Ans:c
Page:30
Type:C
LO:2 / 9.When looking for literature sources for a research project, Sarah looked for information in the Journal of Counseling Psychology and in her social psychology textbook. What types of sources are each of these?
a.Secondary, secondary
b.Secondary, primary
c.Primary, secondary
d.Primary, primary
Ans:b
Page:30
Type:F
LO:2 / 10.A literature search is usually conducted
a.to be certain that no research relevant to the research hypothesis has already been conducted.
b.to avoid duplication of effort and to expand and modify the original research hypothesis.
c.to locate previous research that was ethically invalid.
d.to locate previous research that was not falsifiable.
Ans:b
Page:31
Type:F
LO:2 / 11.A literature search will be most efficient if it
a.starts at a specific level and expands to a more general level.
b.starts at a general level and then progresses to a more specific level.
c.starts at one level and stays the same throughout the search.
d.considers primarily general, rather than specific, levels of information.
Ans:d
Page:31-32
Type:F
LO:2 / 12.When conducting a literature search, it is usually best to
a.know exactly what you are looking for before you begin the search.
b.work from older sources toward newer sources.
c.locate only secondary sources.
d.be prepared to change your ideas about what you want to study as you learn about the literature.
Ans:a
Page:32
Type:F
LO:3 / 13.The short summary of a research article that is contained in computer databases is known as
a.an abstract.
b.a research summary.
c.a journal review.
d.a secondary source.
Ans:b
Page:32
Type:F
LO:3 / 14.The Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) is used to
a.locate key terms used in PsycINFO.
b.search for recent articles that have cited older articles.
c.search for demographic information about authors.
d.compare the number of citations used in different research reports.
Ans:c
Page:34
Type:F
LO:3 / 15.Computer databases such as PsycINFO are searched using
a.primary terms.
b.secondary terms.
c.keywords.
d.journal abstracts.
Ans:d
Page:34
Type:F
LO:3 / 16.Most computer databases
a.allow searches only by subject terms.
b.do not contain a great proportion of the relevant articles.
c.are updated about once every two years.
d.allow keywords to be combined to make the search more specific.
Ans:c
Page:34-35
Type:F
LO:5 / 17.In general, the abstract of a research report
a.represents a relatively complete summary of the report.
b.adequately represents the research, except for the statistical tests.
c.is too brief to provide a complete understanding of the research.
d.is located at the end of the citation index.
Ans:a
Page:35
Type:F
LO:5 / 18.A general principle that holds in all situations is a ______, whereas a set of principles that explains many, but not all, behaviors is a ______.
a.law; theory
b.law; research hypothesis
c.theory; law
d.research hypothesis; theory
Ans:b
Page:35
Type:F
LO:5 / 19.A principle that is so general that it is assumed to apply to all situations is called a
a.theory.
b.law.
c.research hypothesis.
d.tautology.
Ans:b
Page:36
Type:F
LO:5 / 20.A theory that can be used to account for many different findings is
a.parsimonious.
b.general.
c.not useful.
d.ambiguous.
Ans:a
Page:35
Type:F
LO:5 / 21.A researcher who uses a theory to generate ideas is using which of the following?
a.The deductive method
b.The inductive method
c.The method of prior relationships
d.The method of everyday behavior
Ans:d
Page:35
Type:F
LO:5 / 22.Choose the order that goes from most general to most specific.
a.Theories, laws, research hypotheses
b.Research hypotheses, laws, theories
c.Laws, research hypotheses, theories
d.Laws, theories, research hypotheses
Ans:b
Page:36
Type:F
LO:5 / 23.Parsimony refers to which of the following?
a.Descriptive research
b.Simple theories
c.Participants’ privacy
d.The relationship between laws and theories
Ans:c
Page:35
Type:A
LO:4 / 24.Louise has decided to conduct an experiment that is expected to show that an existing theory (the theory of cognitive dissonance) can explain why individuals who have cheated on an exam may later decide that it is OK to cheat. Her experiment is informed by
a.the inductive method.
b.the parsimonious method.
c.the deductive method.
d.the method of falsifiability.
Ans:a
Page:36
Type:F
LO:5 / 25.Good theories are
a.general, falsifiable, and parsimonious.
b.general, tautological, and provable.
c.deductive, falsifiable, and tautological.
d.deductive, falsifiable, and provable.
Ans:c
Page:35
Type:F
LO:5 / 26.Which of the following is a set of principles that explains and predicts many, but not all, observed relationships within a given domain?
a.A tautology
b.A research hypothesis
c.A theory
d.A deduction
Ans:c
Page:36
Type:A
LO:5 / 27.Scientist Jones believes that children learn to read primarily through a combination of visual and auditory processes, that they learn to do mathematics primarily through spacial processing, and that they learn to write primarily through a tactile system. Scientist Smith, on the other hand, hypothesizes that reading, writing, and mathematics are all produced by the operation of a single decision system. Although scientist Smith’s theory might not be correct, it is definitely more
a.objective.
b.empirical.
c.parsimonious.
d.tautological.
Ans:d
Page:37
Type:F
LO:5 / 28.A tautological theory is one that
a.has been falsified.
b.is good for deriving research hypotheses.
c.is derived from a tautological law.
d.has vague or unmeasureable variables
Ans:b
Page:36
Type:A
LO:5 / 29.Wanda has a theory that her cat can recognize her name. She calls the cat. If the cat looks up Wanda concludes that the cat knows her name. If the cat does not look up, Wanda concludes that the cat knows her name but is just ignoring her. The problem with Wanda’s test of her theory is that it is
a.deductive.
b.not falsifiable.
c.parsimonious.
d.overly ambitious.
Ans:c
Page:36-37
Type:F
LO:5 / 30.Most theories
a.make accurate predictions in all cases.
b.are derived from laws.
c.are limited in that they make accurate predictions in some cases but not in others.
d.are tautological.
Ans:b
Page:36
LO:6
A / 31.Martin is convinced that he has ESP and can read the minds of his friends. They challenge him and ask him to guess what they are thinking. On the first trial, he guesses correctly and claims that this demonstrates that he has ESP. On the second trial however he guesses incorrectly. When this happens, Martin claims that this does not demonstrate that he does not have ESP, but rather claims that he was not concentrating. The problem with Martin’s claim about the test of his ESP is that the test
a.is not tautological.
b.is not falsifiable.
c.is not parsimonious.
d.is too general.
Ans:d
Page:36
Type:F
LO:5,6 / 32.A theory or research hypothesis is said to be falsifiable if the variables of interest can be adequately measured, and if the expected relationship between the variables can be shown through research to be
a.correlated.
b.correct.
c.parsimonious.
d.incorrect.
Ans:b
Page:37
Type:C
LO:6 / 33.It is hypothesized that living in integrated housing causes decreased racist attitudes. In this case, the independent variable is ______and the dependent variable is ______.
a.racist attitudes; integrated housing
b.integrated housing; racist attitudes
c.prejudice; integration
d.Can’t be determined from above information
Ans:d
Page:37
Type:C
LO:6 / 34.The statement “listening to others will promote better understanding” is an example of
a.an independent variable.
b.a dependent variable.
c.a law.
d.a research hypothesis.
Ans:a
Page:37
Type:A
LO:6 / 35.Which of the following is the best example of a research hypothesis?
a.Smoking cigarettes increases the incidence of heart disease.
b.The earth has one moon.
c.Boys and girls differ in athletic ability.
d.There are no gray polar bears.
Ans:b
Page:38
Type:A
LO:6 / 36.In a correlational study of the influence of violent television programs on aggressive play behavior, the television violence is the ______and the aggressive behavior is the ______.
a.dependent variable; independent variable
b.predictor variable; outcome variable
c.first variable; last variable
d.outcome variable; predictor variable
Ans:d
Page:38
Type:F
LO:6 / 37.In a correlational research design, the term outcome variable is used to refer to the
a.manipulated variable.
b.research hypothesis.
c.independent variable.
d.dependent variable.
Ans:c
Page:38
Type:F
LO:6 / 38.In a correlational research design, the term predictor variable is used to refer to the
a.manipulated variable.
b.research hypothesis.
c.independent variable.
d.dependent variable.
Ans:c
Page:38
Type:A
LO:6 / 39.A scientist is interested in testing whether SAT scores can predict a student’s GPA. In this design, GPA is the _____ and SAT score is the_____.
a.predictor; outcome
b.independent; dependent
c.outcome; predictor
d.predictor; manipulated
Ans:d
Page:38
Type:A
LO:6 / 40.A study using the experimental design has found that in conditions in which there are more people in a room, the average reaction time to respond to a request for help is less. In this experiment the independent variable is______and the dependent variable is______.
a.the number of people in the room; the gender of the participants
b.the gender of the participants; the number of people in the room.
c.reaction time to help; number of people in the room
d.the number of people in the room; reaction time to help
Ans:a
Page:26-27
Type:F
LO:4 / 41.When coming up with a research idea, one should always
a.be aware of existing research.
b.rely on one’s intuition.
c.be certain that the idea addresses real world problems.
d.focus primarily on conflicting findings.
Ans:d
Page:30
Type:F
LO:2 / 42.Literature searches are most effective if the researcher
a.begins by using primary sources and then turns to secondary sources.
b.has an initial and well developed research interest.
c.is not influenced by previous experiments conducted on the topic.
d.uses a variety of sources, such as textbooks, journal articles, experts, and databases.
Ans:a
Page:37
Type:F
LO:5 / 43.Which of the following is not a component of a good theory?
a.The theory is tautological
b.The theory is parsimonious
c.The theory allows making predictions
d.The theory is falsifiable
Ans:c
Page:27
Type:F
LO:2 / 44.Which of the following best represents the inductive method?
a.Developing a research hypothesis from an existing theory
b.Developing a theory by using prior expectations
c.Developing a theory from observing the behaviors of children
d.Developing a theory from an existing research hypothesis
Ans:b
Page:30
Type:F
LO:2 / 45.A student conducting a literature search often begins by looking at her textbook before moving on to search for journal articles on the topic. In this case the student begins with ______sources and then moves on to ______sources.
a.secondary; secondary
b.secondary; primary
c.primary; secondary
d.primary; primary
Ans:a
Page:32
Type:F
LO:2 / 46.After searching a computer database such as PsycINFO, the user will likely want to read which of the following parts of the research article?
a.The abstract
b.The document code
c.The database field
d.The journal summary
Ans:b
Page:27
Type:F
LO:2 / 47.Kate has decided to conduct an experiment that studies why students at high schools may become violent. Which of the following methods has Kate used to develop her experiment?
a.The inductive method
b.Solving important real world problems
c.The deductive method
d.The method of falsifiability
Ans:c
Page:35
Type:F
LO:2 / 48.Theories are designed to
a.test research hypotheses.
b.falsify existing laws.
c.summarize and make predictions.
d.be tautological.
Ans:c
Page:37
Type:F
LO:2 / 49.In an experimental research design, the term manipulation refers to the
a.manipulated variable.
b.research hypothesis.
c.independent variable.
d.dependent variable.