METHODOLOGY SAMPLE TEST I

The following review questions were not taken from past

comp exams or review packets. They were created by the
reviewer (Lynn Vogel) and will not represent all of the
material that may be on the exam. This is intended to
serve as a review and not your sole means of studying for
the exam.
Research Design
1. A variable that is comprised of groups you are
comparing is a(n):
a. Covariate
b. Independent Variable
c. Dependent Variable
d. Confound
2. A measured variable that correlates with the
dependent variable but not with the independent
variable could be a confound and should be treated
as a(n):
a. Covariate
b. Independent Variable
c. Dependent Variable
d. None of the above
3. Random selection is used to be reasonably sure that:
a. Any person from the population is equally
likely to be chosen to participate
b. All subjects are equally likely to be in any level
of the independent variable
c. All groups are equal (i.e. gender, age, ses)
d. Both b and c
4. Which of the following designs results in less error?
a. Between Group
b. Wait List Control
c. Yoked Control
d. Within Group
5. A control group that receives a pseudo
intervention instead of the experimental treatment is
called:
a. No Treatment Control
b. Wait List Control
c. Attention Placebo Control
d. Yoked Control
6. Which of the following techniques is used to control
for carryover effects?
a. Counterbalancing
b. Retrospective Ceiling
c. Cross-Section
d. All of the above
7. An individual has so little depression that they
decrease much less than those with higher levels of
depression. This is referred to as:
a. Floor Effect
b. Ceiling Effect
c. Crossover Effect
d. None of the above
8.

Studies that are used to collect preliminary data that

eventually leads to specific independent variables,
dependent variables, and hypotheses are considered:
a. Qualitative

b. Observational
c. Not Generalizable
d. All of the Above
9. Which observational design would be most
appropriate in studying characteristics of individuals
with antisocial personality disorder by comparing
them to those without the diagnosis?
a. Case Study
b. Case Control
c. Case Cohort
d. Case Sectional
10. All of the following are relevant for single subject
designs except:
a. Continuous Assessment
b. Moderate Generalizability
c. Strong Baseline
d. Assessment of Performance over Time
11. Elizabeth collects her dissertation sample by word of
mouth. This is an example of:
a. Stratified Random Sampling
b. Convenience Sampling
c. Cluster Sampling
d. Snowball Sampling
12. AIU is using GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, and
gender to predict achievement in a doctoral program.
What is the dependent variable?
a. GRE scores
b. Undergraduate GPA
c. Gender
d. All of the Above
13. Dr. Gevirtz tells you that your basic design is flawless,
however, you will not be able to generalize to a large
population. You must have good ______________ but
poor ___________.
a. Reliability, Validity
b. Internal Validity, External Validity
c. Validity, Reliability
d. External Validity, Internal Validity
14. All of the following are threats to external validity except:
a. Instrumentation
b. Sample Characteristics
c. Test Sensitization
d. Demand Characteristics
Statistical Inference and Other Concepts
15. I am studying depression among students in a statistics
course and have students from Dr. Gevirtzs and Dr.
Dalenbergs class each take the Beck Depression
Inventory. Students in each class then receive a
ranking of how depressed they are relative to each
other (1st, 2nd, 3rd). This depression data is:
a. Categorical
b. Nominal
c. Ordinal
d. Interval
16. Alice is the teaching assistant for statistics and tells
you the mode of the final exam was an 82%. This
value represents the:
a. Average of the scores
b. Middle point of the scores
c. Curve of the test

d. Most frequent score

17. Which of the following is not a measure of
dispersion?
a. Variance
b. Standard Deviation
c. Median
d. All of the above are measures of dispersion
18. The following distribution is:
10

2
Std. Dev = 9.82
Mean = 8.2
N = 25.00

0
0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

VAR00003

a. Leptokurtotic
b. Positively Skewed
c. Significant
d. Bimodal
19. Power is an estimate of:
a. How sure we are that differences exist
b. Sensitivity of the experiment to find real
differences
c. How big the differences are
d. All of the above
20. In a normal distribution,
a. Mean = Median = Mode
b. Mode < Mean < Mode
c. Median < Mean < Mode
d. None of the above
21. Population distributions are developed based on
what studies?
a. Repeated Measures
b. Monte Carlo
c. Boxs M
d. Hosmer and Lemeshow
Univariate Statistics
22. When comparing 2 groups on one dependent
variable (i.e. CBT vs. Control for treatment of
depression), the best analysis used is:
a. One Way Analysis of Variance
b. One Way Multivariate Analysis of Variance
c. Analysis of Covariance
d. Point Biserial
23. The larger the differences between the groups, the
___________ the F statistic:
a. More Accurate
b. Less Accurate
c. Larger
d. Smaller
24. If F is not significant, check your:
a. Power
b. Magnitude of Effect
c. Homogeneity of Variance
d. Independence of Observations
25. The sum of the squared deviations of individual
scores from the group mean is referred to as:
a. Sum of Squares within group
b. Error
c. Sum of Squares between groups
d. Both a and b

26. In a study of the effects of gender and treatment for

depression, Mary found that males depression levels
decreased with CBT while Females decreased in the
Meditation treatment. This is an example of:
a. Main Effect
b. Interaction
c. Planned Comparison
d. Post Hoc Analysis
27. A disadvantage of repeated measures designs is:
a. Practice Effects
b. Carryover Effects
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
28. Mike is doing research on healthy eating habits of
college students but he is concerned subjects will
deliberately disclose only healthy habits. As a result,
he measures their level of social desirability. In
preliminary analyses, he realizes that social
desirability is significantly affecting the healthy eating
measure. What should he do?
a. Nothing, social desirability is not significantly
related to the independent variable
b. Use a counterbalancing technique
c. Run a repeated measures design instead
d. Treat social desirability as a covariate
Correlational Techniques
29. Debbie is interested in the relationship between
gender and level of physical activity (exercise minutes
per week). Which correlation will be calculated?
a. Point Biserial
b. Spearman Rank
c. Pearson
d. Multiple R
Multivariate Statistics
30. Kate wants to predict the amount of pain within
individuals in a motor vehicle accident using the
variables of psychiatric history, gender, and anger.
What would be the most appropriate analysis?
a. Multivariate Analysis of Variance
b. Factor Analysis
c. Logistic Regression
d. Multiple Regression
31. Each predictor in the above study receives a weight
indicating how influential it is on the outcome of
amount of pain. Which statistic would Kate report as
the weight for each predictor?
a. b weight
b. Beta weight
c. Either a or b
d. None, these are loading statistics not weights

32. Dr. Gevirtz is trying to predict the amount of minutes

graduate students exercise based on how stress
relieving exercise is for them. However, he is unaware
that one student is training for a marathon. This
student could be a:
a. Influential outlier
b. Covariate

33.

34.

35.

36.

c. Central limit
d. None of the above
_____ is the correlation between 2 variables while
_____ is the correlation between multiple variables.
a. r, r2
b. R, r2
c. r2, R
d. r, R
Kathryn wants to predict whether individuals in a
motor vehicle accident will use narcotics or not 6
months following the accident. Which analysis
would you recommend?
a. Analysis of Variance
b. Logistic Regression
c. Discriminant Analysis
d. Path Analysis
At the local crisis house you are asked to design a
method of assessing suicidality. Your supervisor wants
you to be able to detect all individuals who will attempt
suicide but doesnt want you to be so particular that you
end up detecting some who will not attempt suicide. He
is looking for a measure that contains:
a. Low sensitivity and low specificity
b. Low sensitivity and high specificity
c. High sensitivity and low specificity
d. High sensitivity and high specificity
In the following path, the exogenous variable is:
Metabolism
Exercise

Weight Loss

Caloric Intake
a. Metabolism
b. Weight Loss
c. Caloric Intake
d. Both a and c
37. In the above model, the endogenous variable is:
a. Metabolism
b. Weight Loss
c. Caloric Intake
d. Both a and c
38. A study has suggested that cell phone use causes
radiation which then causes cancerous tumors.
Radiation is considered a:
a. Moderator
b. Mediator
c. Confound
d. Semipartial

39. You are studying the DSM by taking an extensive

history (i.e. symptoms) of patients in a local mental
health agency to make sure the symptoms cluster
into the appropriate diagnoses. For instance,
symptoms of Bipolar Disorder should not be
correlating to Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Which subtype of factor analysis is most relevant?
a. Exploratory

b. Causal
c. Confirmatory
d. This is a principal components analysis
40. Which of the following are not used in factor
analysis/principal components analysis?
a. Boxs M test
b. Eigenvalues
c. Scree plot
d. Kaiser criteria
41. Bob wants to compare treatment modalities (group
therapy vs. individual therapy vs. control group) on
quality of life, beck depression inventory, and beck
anxiety inventory. Which analysis is most appropriate?
a. Analysis of Variance
b. Multivariate Analysis of Variance
c. Analysis of Covariance
d. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance
42. Which of the following assumptions is crucial to
Analyses of Covariance and Multivariate Analyses of
Covariance and requires that the covariate-dependent
variable relationship is the same across all levels of
the independent variables?
a. Homogeneity of Regression
b. Homogeneity of Variance
c. Homogeneity of Variance-Covariance
d. None of the above
Interpretation of Measures
43. Comprehensive Exams are _____________ tests
whereas Symptom Inventories are _______________
tests.
a. Criterion References, Norm Referenced
b. Domain Referenced, Norm Referenced
c. Empirical Keyed, Norm Referenced
d. All of the above
44. On a measure assessing relationship satisfaction,
endorsing the item I have filed for divorce implies
that all other milder statements such as I have
thought about divorce would also be endorsed. This
is an example of what kind of scaling?
a. Thurstone
b. Guttman
c. Likert
d. Semantic Differential
45. Which theory states that observed scores are the
outcome of error added to ones true score.
a. Classical Measurement
b. Generalizability
c. Domain Sampling
d. None of the above

46. Gary tells you that the range of IQ score for subject #1
is 90-110. The statistic he used was:
a. Confidence Interval
b. Standard Error
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
Reliability of Measurement
47. All of the following are true for reliability except:
a. Good reliability = Good consistency

b. Shorter tests have better reliability

c. Longer tests have better reliability
d. Restriction of range is a potential problem
48. What is the relationship between reliability and validity?
a. Reliability = Validity
b. Reliability < Validity
c. Reliability > Validity
d. Unpredictable
49. Ann administers her personality inventory to subjects
twice to tests its consistency. She is assessing:
a. Split Half reliability
b. Repeated measures reliability
c. Interrater reliability
d. Test retest reliability
50. Kevin reported a strong Cohens kappa during his
dissertation defense. This indicated:
a. Good interrater reliability
b. Good internal consistency
c. Poor interrater reliability
d. Poor internal consistency
51. Dr. Greenberg decides to prevent recent occurrences
of cheating on exams by making 2 versions. Which
of the following should she check before
administering?
a. Split Half reliability
b. Internal consistency
c. Alternate Form reliability
d. Test retest reliability
Validity of Measurement
52. Jason asks experts in the area of autism to review
items on his new measure assessing the spectrum of
autistic disorders in order to identify if the items are
appropriate. Jason is assessing:
a. Face Validity
b. Construct Validity
c. Content Validity
d. Criterion related Validity
53. Linda is correlating scores on the Beck Depression
Inventory to scores on an Antisocial Personality
Disorder measure to establish ___________ validity.
a. Construct
b. Divergent
c. Discriminant
d. All of the above

54. You are interested in predicting future success

(GPA) in graduate school based on GRE scores and
undergraduate GPA, however, professors have
knowledge of their students scores. What problem
might you have in calculating predictive validity of
GRE and GPA?
a. Criterion contamination
b. Crossover contamination
c. Predictor contamination

d. Construct contamination
55. Which of the following are not frequently used in
selecting personnel for employment?
a. Taylor Russell Model
b. Thurstone Model
c. Naylor Shine Model
d. Predictive Validity
Test Construction, Features, and Utility
56. Item Response Theory uses Item Characteristic
Curves to assess:
a. Difficulty
b. Discriminability
c. Mastery
d. Both a and b
57. Bret believes that GRE scores are better predictors of
grad school success for only US students not for
Foreign-born students. In response, Dr. Foster, states
that his results actually show that GRE scores are
systematically overpredicting US performance and
underpredicting foreign-born performance. This bias
is referred to as:
a. Item
b. Slope
c. Intercept
d. None of the above
58. Dr. Gevirtz gives a pop quiz on the first day of
statistics to determine the ability/skill level of students
before beginning the course. What was Dr. Gevirtz
interested in?
a. Achievements
b. Criterion Keying
c. Latency
d. Aptitude

Answers Test I
1. b
2. a
3. a
4. d
5. c
6. a
7. a
8. d
9. b
10. b
11. d
12. d
13. b
14. a
15. c
16. d
17. c
18. b
19. b
20. a
21. b
22. a
23. c
24. a
25. d
26. b
27. c
28. d
29. a
30. d
31. c
32. a
33. d
34. b
35. d
36. d
37. b
38. b
39. c
40. a
41. b
42. a
43. d
44. b
45. a
46. c
47. b
48. c
49. d
50. a
51. c
52. c
53. d
54. a
55. b
56. d
57. c
58. d

METHODOLOGY SAMPLE TEST II

9.

The following review questions were not taken from past comp
exams or review packets. They were created by the reviewer
(Lynn Vogel) and will not represent all of the material that may
be on the exam. This is intended to serve as a review and not
your sole means of studying for the exam.

Research Design
1. A measured variable is called a(n):
a. Covariate
b. Independent Variable
c. Dependent Variable
d. Confound
2. Random assignment is used to be reasonably sure that:
a. Any person from the population is equally
likely to be chosen to participate
b. All subjects are equally likely to be in any level
of the independent variable
c. All groups are equal (i.e. gender, age, ses)
d. Both b and c
3. An experimental design comparing 2 treatments for
depression controls for pretesting effects by
including a pretest and posttest for depression. This
design is called:
a. Pre-Post Control
b. Post Only Control
c. Time Series
d. Solomon 4 Group
4. A within subjects design in which the dependent
variable
is
administered
at
pretreatment,
posttreatment, and follow-up is called a ____ design.
a. Time Series
b. Factorial
c. Pre Post Control
d. Solomon 4 Group
5. Gender is a _______ independent variable while
Treatment Group is a ______ independent variable.
a. Patched, Manipulated
b. Static, Manipulated
c. Patched, Static
d. Gender cannot be an independent variable
6. Quasi-Experimental designs are unlike experimental
designs primarily due to:
a. Having at least one static independent variable
b. No true random assignment
c. Both a and b
d. Neither a nor b
7. Which observational design would be best to study the
risk factors associated with a particular outcome?
a. Cross Sectional
b. Retrospective Cross-Sectional
c. Cohort
d. Observational designs cannot be used
8. I am interested in assessing differences in IQ
between 15, 25, and 35 year olds. What design
would you use?
a. Cross Sectional
b. Retrospective Cross Sectional
c. Case Control
d. Cohort

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

In the above study, what may be your biggest concern

regarding internal validity?
a. Generalizability
b. Ceiling Effects
c. Floor Effects
d. Cohort Effects
ABAB, Multiple Baseline, and Changing Criterion are
designs used in which of the following types of
research?
a. Experimental
b. Quasi-Experimental
c. Observational
d. Single Subject
John is studying the differences between Ivy League,
Public, and Private Colleges. He randomly selects 5
Ivy League, 5 Public, and 5 Private schools and then
randomly selected students from only those schools.
This sampling technique is referred to as:
a. Stratified Random Sampling
b. Convenience Sampling
c. Cluster Sampling
d. Snowball Sampling
Karen is conducting political poling in election year
2008. She divides the US into geographical locations
and then randomly selects subjects from each location
in order to fully represent the entire US population.
This type of sampling is referred to as:
a. Stratified Random Sampling
b. Convenience Sampling
c. Cluster Sampling
d. Snowball Sampling
AIU is conducting a study comparing G1s to G4s on
their level of satisfaction with the psychology
program. What is the independent variable?
a. G1 versus G4
b. Level of Satisfaction
c. Psychology Program
d. There are only dependent variables
All of the following are threats to internal validity
except:
a. Maturation
b. Reactivity
c. Attrition
d. Regression to the Mean

Statistical Inference and Other Concepts

15. Erics dissertation is based on comparing yoga versus
a control group on sleep quality. His ______
hypothesis states that the groups will exhibit no
significant differences on sleep quality whereas his
____ hypothesis states that the yoga group will exhibit
significantly better sleep quality than the control
group.
a. Alternative, Experimental
b. Experimental, Null
c. Alternative, Null
d. Null, Alternative

16. Maria is running so many tests that some could be

significant by chance alone and not due to real
differences. This is an example of:
a. Familywise Error
b. Experimentwise Error
c. Type I error
d. All of the above
17. Maria reruns her study and finds out that her power
is only .40 (low). What trouble will she encounter?
a. Type I error
b. Type II error
c. Confounds
d. Covariates
18. This theorem states that the more subjects we
randomly choose from the population, the better
representation we have.
a. Restriction of Range
b. Omnibus Selection
c. Central Limits
d. Factorial
19. The following distribution is:
50

40

30

20

10
Std. Dev = 1.63
Mean = 5.4
N = 95.00

0
2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

VAR00004

a. Leptokurtotic
b. Skewed
c. Platykurtotic
d. Mesokurtotic
20. Which of the following does not measure the spread
of scores?
a. Variance
b. Sum of Squares
c. Degrees of Freedom
d. Mean Squares
Nonparametric Statistics
21. Which of the following is not a nonparametric
analysis for rank data?
a. Chi Square
b. Kruskal Wallis
c. Mann Whitney U Test
d. Wilcoxon Signed
Univariate Statistics
22. The assumption of homogeneity of variance can be
tested by which of the following statistics?
a. Levenes
b. Brown Forsythe
c. F-Max
d. All of the above
23. An F of 1 indicates:
a. Groups differ significantly
b. F values must be lower than 1
c. Groups are the same
d. F values must be greater than 1
24. If F is significant, the next step is to check:
a. Power
b. Magnitude of Effect
c. Homogeneity of Variance
d. Independence of Observations

25. Effect size is calculated as which of the following?

a. R2
b. Eta2
c. Omega2
d. All of the above
26. Ryan has 3 groups he is comparing and decides to run
4 additional planned comparisons. What is his next
step?
a. Evaluate familywise error rates
b. Use an alpha correction
c. Assess Type I Error
d. All of the above
27. A factorial analysis of variance is run when:
a. You have more than 1 dependent variables
b. You have more than 1 independent variables
c. You have a covariate
d. You do a factor analysis
28. In a study of the effects of year level (G1 vs G5) and
program (PhD vs. PsyD) at AIU on level of
satisfaction, Paul found that G1s rated satisfaction
lower than G5s in both PhD and PsyD programs. This
is an example of:
a. Main Effect
b. Interaction
c. Planned Comparison
d. Post Hoc Analysis
29. Which of the following is not an advantage of a
repeated measures design?
a. Can use a smaller sample size
b. Increase power
c. Reduce within group variance
d. Spherecity
Correlational Techniques
30. As depression decreases, quality of life increases.
This is an example of a:
a. Positive correlation
b. Negative correlation
c. Causal Relationship
d. Indirect relationship
Multivariate Statistics
31. Which of the following is not a type of Multiple
Regression?
a. Simultaneous
b. Predictive
c. Stepwise
d. Hierarchical
32. Alice wants to be sure she has made an even amount
of errors in her prediction. She would most likely
assess the assumption of:
a. Homoscedasticity
b. Homogeneity of Regression
c. Linearity
d. Independence of Observations
33. To assess this students impact on Dr. Gevirtzs
regression equation (model), which statistic would
you use?
a. Mahalanobi
b. Leverage
c. DfBeta
d. Cooks

34. When applying the amount of variance explained by

your model (multiple regression) to other
populations, which statistic would be most
appropriate?
a. R2
b. Adjusted R2
c. Magnitude of Effect
d. Omega2
35. In order to compare the influence of predictors,
which statistic is best?
a. Beta weight
b. b weight
c. Tolerance
d. Durbin Watson
36. Beth states that metabolism uniquely accounts for
6% of the variance in weight loss with other
predictors held constant. Beth must have interpreted
which statistic?
a. Point Biserial
b. Semipartial
c. Chi-Square
d. Pearson
37. At Kaylas yearly mammogram, her doctor
comments that detection results in many false
positives. Mammograms must therefore have:
a. High specificity
b. High sensitivity
c. Low specificity
d. High specificity
38. To determine the influence/contribution of
predictors in a Logistic Regression, one would
interpret the:
a. Significance level
b. Odds Ratio
c. b Weights
d. None of the above
39. In Path Analysis/Structural Equation Modeling, a
variable that is measured by many other variables
(i.e. IQ) is referred to as:
a. Static
b. Manifest
c. Latent
d. Both a and c
40. A recent study has found that strong social support
may influence disease progression of breast cancer
patients. Social support is considered a:
a. Moderator
b. Mediator
c. Confound
d. Semipartial
41. You have an Anger Inventory with 100 items and
you want to see if those items can be reduced into
different subscales of anger. What statistical analysis
is most appropriate?
a. Repeated Measure
b. Multivariate Analysis of Variance
c. Structure Equation Modeling
d. Factor Analysis/Principal Components Analysis

42. The measures quality of life, beck depression

inventory, and the beck anxiety inventory are used in a
MANOVA. They are first tested as one dependent
variable called a:
a. Synthetic factor
b. Orthogonal factor
c. Familywise factor
d. Both a and c
43. Alan realizes that although he has randomly assigned
subjects to groups, they differ on the demographic
variable of socioeconomic status. In order to treat
socioeconomic status as a covariate, what is
necessary?
a. Relationship between the covariate and dependent
variable
b. Nonsignificant interaction between the covariate
and independent variable
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
Interpretation of Measures
44. The licensing exam would be described as:
a. Domain Referenced
b. Mastery
c. Criterion Referenced
d. All of the above
45. Which theory does not account for error but
recognizes that observed scores do vary by
circumstances.
a. Classical Measurement
b. Generalizability
c. Domain Sampling
d. None of the above
46. Cathy tells you that her standard error is 4.27. This
value indicates:
a. Estimated band of error
b. Maximum amount of error
c. Range where true scores fall
d. Standard error is not a valid statistic
Reliability of Measurement
47. Difference scores (pre-post) are:
a. Notoriously unreliable
b. Highly recommended
c. Notoriously invalid
d. None of the above
48. Ann calculates her test-retest reliability and tells you r
= .13. All of the following could be true except:
a. The construct is not stable
b. The interval was too long
c. Practice/carryover effects were not a problem
d. The interval was too short
49. Interrater reliability was calculated between Olympic
judges and was found to be low due to individual
interpretations of scoring that influenced their
observations over time. This problem is referred to as:
a. Individual Drift
b. Consensual Drift
c. Independent Drift
d. Subjective Drift

50. Which of the following would you recommend to

calculate internal consistency?
a. Cronbach Alpha
b. KR-20
c. Both a and b
d. Only pearson rs are used for reliability
Validity of Measurement
51. You are interested in comparing individuals who are
not clinically depressed to those who are on the
Beck Depression Inventory to establish its
__________ validity.
a. Divergent
b. Discriminative
c. Discriminant
d. Definitive
52. Multitrait Multimethod Matrices are used to explore:
a. Shared Method Variance
b. Convergent Constructs
c. Discriminant Variance
d. All of the above
53. Criterion related validity:
a. Ideally should be a perfect correlation
b. Addresses the utility of a measure
c. Can be concurrent or predictive
d. All of the above
Test Construction, Features, and Utility
54. Item discriminability refers to the extent to which the:
a. Subjects pass the item
b. Subjects fail the item
c. Item differentiates subjects
d. All of the above
55. Item test regression is used to:
a. Compare items on a test
b. Compare skill level of subjects
c. Assess hit rate percentages
d. Both a and c
56. Bret finds that GRE scores are better predictors of
grad school success for only US students not for
Foreign-born students. He is demonstrating what
kind of test bias?
a. Item
b. Slope
c. Intercept
d. None of the above
57. Dr. Gevirtz then gives a final exam to assess:
a. Achievement
b. Criterion Keying
c. Latency
d. Aptitude

Answers Test II
1. c
2. d
3. d
4. a
5. b
6. c
7. b
8. a
9. d
10. d
11. c
12. a
13. a
14. b
15. d
16. d
17. b
18. c
19. a
20. c
21. a
22. d
23. c
24. b
25. d
26. d
27. b
28. a
29. d
30. b
31. b
32. a
33. d
34. b
35. a
36. b
37. c
38. b
39. c
40. a
41. d
42. a
43. c
44. d
45. b
46. a
47. a
48. d
49. a
50. c
51. b
52. a
53. d
54. c
55. a
56. b
57. a

METHODOLOGY SAMPLE TEST III

The following review questions were not taken from past comp
exams or review packets. They were created by the reviewer
(Lynn Vogel) and will not represent all of the material that may
be on the exam. This is intended to serve as a review and not
your sole means of studying for the exam.

Research Design
1. A psychologist wants to compare the effects of
behavior
therapy,
cognitive
therapy,
and
psychodynamic therapy on anxiety as measured by a
self-report level of anxiety, heart rate, and the Taylor
Manifest Anxiety Scale. Identify the independent
variable(s).
a. Therapy
b. Level of Anxiety
c. Heart Rate
d. Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale
2. A psychologist wants to compare the effects of
behavior
therapy,
cognitive
therapy,
and
psychodynamic therapy on anxiety as measured by a
self-report level of anxiety, heart rate, and the Taylor
Manifest Anxiety Scale. Identify the dependent
variable(s).
a. Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale
b. Level of Anxiety
c. Heart Rate
d. All of the above
3. To investigate the effects of television violence on
aggressive behavior, a social psychologist has male
and female children who have been identified as
either very aggressive, moderately aggressive,
mildly aggressive, or nonaggressive watch either a
violent or neutral film. Following the film, each
child is observed during a 60 minute free play period
and coded for the number of aggressive acts the
child exhibits. Identify the independent variable(s).
a. Gender of Child
b. Level of identified aggression
c. Number of aggressive acts
d. Both a and b
4. To investigate the effects of television violence on
aggressive behavior, a social psychologist has male
and female children who have been identified as
either very aggressive, moderately aggressive,
mildly aggressive, or nonaggressive watch either a
violent or neutral film. Following the film, each
child is observed during a 60 minute free play period
and coded for the number of aggressive acts the
child exhibits. Identify the dependent variable(s).
a. Gender of Child
b. Level of identified aggression
c. Number of aggressive acts
d. Both a and b
5. In a research study, what is being measured is
referred to as the:
a. Dependent Variable
b. Predictor Variable
c. Criterion Variable
d. All of the above

6.

You would most likely conduct a case study in order to:

a. Determine the degree of association between
variables
b. Investigate variables over an extended period of
time
c. Identify variables to examine more systematically
later
d. There is no good reason to conduct case studies
7. Variability in the dependent variable due to
confounding variables is a source of:
a. Systematic error
b. Random error
c. Extraneous error
d. Both a and c
8. The presence of observers during the course of a
research study alters the way that subjects behave
during the course of the study. This is an example of
the threat to ________ validity known as _______.
a. External, Reactivity
b. Internal, Reactivity
c. External, Expectancy
d. Internal, Expectancy
9. The random assignment of subjects to treatment
groups is most useful for ensuring that the study has
adequate __________ validity.
a. Internal
b. Predictive
c. Discriminant
d. External
10. A high school teacher administers an achievement test
to high school freshmen at the beginning of the school
year, teaches the students test-taking strategies, and
then readministers the achievement test at the end of
the school year. Which of the following is not a threat
to this studys internal validity.
a. Maturation
b. History
c. Selection
d. None of the above
11. A researcher evaluates the effects of a 15-month
training program on the conversation skills of
preoperational children. At the end of the program, he
determines that a significantly greater number of
children converse after the program than before. The
greatest threat to this studys internal validity is:
a. Maturation
b. Within Group History
c. Order Effects
d. Carryover
12. A factorial design:
a. Includes 3 or more levels of a single independent
variable
b. Includes 2 or more independent variables
c. Includes 2 or more dependent variables
d. Includes at least 1 covariate

13. To assess the effects of communicator credibility on

attitude change, an experimenter randomly assigns
60 males and 60 females to either the high, average,
or low communicator credibility condition. After the
communicator delivers a speech about a political
candidate, the experimenter asks each subject for
his/her opinion of the candidate. This study
illustrates which of the following research designs?
a. Between groups
b. Within Group
c. Mixed Design
d. Repeated Measures
14. The biggest threat to the studys external validity in
a within subject (repeated measure design) is:
a. Statistical regression
b. Regression to the mean
c. Interaction between selection and treatment
d. Order effects
15. Which of the following studies would ALWAYS be
considered quasi-experimental?
a. An analogue study because its results would
have limited Generalizability
b. A study using a counterbalanced design because
subjects receive more than one treatment
c. A study using a repeated measures design
because the study may be confounded by
practice effects
d. An ex-post facto study because the researcher
cannot assign subjects to groups
16. Twenty children enrolled in Preschool A are
assigned to the experimental group of a research
study and twenty children enrolled in Preschool B
are assigned to the control group. Children in the
experimental group are given instruction on the
differences between squares and rectangles, while
children in the control group do not receive this
instruction. Several weeks later, a test is
administered to all children to reassess their ability
to distinguish between squares and rectangles.
Which of the following are MOST likely to threaten
the studys internal validity?
a. Instrumentation and maturation
b. Selection and history
c. Regression and maturation
d. Diffusion and Selection
17. A researcher is using a repeated measures design to
assess the effectiveness of different behavioral
techniques for reducing transitory anxiety. To
control potential carryover effects, the researcher
should use which of the following?
a. A control group
b. Blocking
c. Counterbalancing
d. Cross-Sequential Design
18. An experimenter wants to investigate the short and
long term effects of four different smoking cessation
programs. She randomly assigns 80 smokers to one
of the four programs. After each program is
completed, the experimenter determines the number
of cigarettes smoked by each participant each day

immediately following the program, 3 months after

the program, and 6 months after the program. The
research design being used by the experimenter is best
described as:
a. Between Subjects
b. Within Subjects
c. Mixed Design
d. Counterbalanced
19. When conducting evaluation research, the first step is
ordinarily which of the following:
a. Conducting job analyses
b. Operationally defining the predictors
c. Clarifying the content domain
d. Defining the programs objectives
Statistical Inference and Other Concepts
20. Beta is the probability of:
a. Correctly rejecting the null hypothesis
b. Incorrectly rejecting the null hypotheses
c. Correctly retaining the null hypothesis
d. Incorrectly retaining the null hypothesis
21. A _______ test states that the null is false and whether
the sample will be greater than or less than the control.
a. One-tailed
b. Two-tailed
c. Either a or b
d. None of the above
22. A biofeedback techniques gives temperature in
degrees F. This is an example of what scale?
a. Ordinal
b. Nominal
c. Ratio
d. Interval
23. Ranking of peers in terms of popularity is on what
type of scale?
a. Ordinal
b. Nominal
c. Ratio
d. Interval
24. Of the three measures of central tendency, which is
the least susceptible to sampling fluctuations?
a. Mean
b. Median
c. Mode
d. Variance
25. Of the three measures of central tendency, which is
the least susceptible to outliers?
a. Standard error
b. Median
c. Mode
d. Variance
26. In a normal distribution, approximately _________%
of observations fall between the scores that are plus
and minus 1 standard deviation from the mean?
a. 99
b. 95
c. 68
d. 50

27. The standard error of the mean is the:

a. Standard Error of the sampling distribution
b. Standard deviation of the sampling distribution
of the mean
c. Standard error of the sample population
d. Monte Carlo statistic
Univariate Statistics
28. You have collected IQ scores from schizophrenic
and non-schizophrenic patients who have been
classified as either high, middle, or low in
socioeconomic status. Which test(s) will you use to
analyze the data?
a. Multi Sample Chi-Square
b. 1-way ANOVA
c. Factorial ANOVA
d. Either b or c
29. A psychologist obtains a statistically significant F
ratio for the interaction of Factor A x B. This means
that:
a. The effects of Factor A are the same across the
same levels of Factor B
b. The effects of Factor A are different across
different levels of Factor B
c. The effects of Factor A are the same across
different levels of Factor B
d. The effects of Factor A are different across the
same levels of Factor B
30. You have collected IQ scores from patients who
have and have not received a diagnosis of
Schizophrenia and whose families have been
classified as either high, moderate, or low in
expressed emotion. To analyze the data you have
collected, you will use the:
a. Multiple Sample Chi-Square test
b. One Way ANOVA
c. Two Way ANOVA
d. Regression
31. The numerator of the F ratio is a measured of the
variability due to:
a. Error + Treatment Effects
b. Treatment Effects Only
c. Error Only
d. None of the above
Correlational Techniques
32. A curvilinear relationship between achievement and
anxiety is likely to have what effect of the Pearson r?
a. Overestimates
b. No significant effect
c. Underestimates
d. Unpredictable effects
33. When data points are widely scattered in a scatter
plot matrix for variables X and Y, this indicates that
the correlation between X and Y is:
a. Very low
b. Moderate
c. Very High
d. Perfect

34. You are interested in correlating sex of respondent

with attitude toward abortion (measured on an interval
scale). Which of the following correlation techniques
would you use?
a. Pearson r
b. Point Biserial
c. Phi Coefficient
d. Contingency Coefficient
Multivariate Statistics
35. A researcher interested in determining the causal
relationship between several variables would be most
likely to use which of the following?
a. Discriminant Analysis
b. Canonical Correlation
c. Logistic Regression
d. Path Analysis
36. The shrinkage associated with the cross-validation
of multiple regression equations is ordinarily
attributable to which of the following?
a. High correlations between predictors
b. Low initial correlations between the predictors
and the criterion
c. Regression to the mean
d. The impact of chance factors in the original
sample
37. Which analysis would you use if you wanted to
predict a dichotomous outcome using few
assumptions?
a. Path Analysis
b. Logistic Regression
c. Multiple Regression
d. None of the above
38. When data points are narrowly scattered around the
regression line in a scatter plot, this indicates that the
correlation between X and Y is:
a. Very low
b. Moderate
c. Very High
d. Zero
39. One of the assumptions of regression analysis is that:
a. There is a linear relationship between the variables
b. There is a casual relationship between the variables
c. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups
d. The predictors are dichotomous
Interpretation of Measures
40. On a 75-item test, a student obtains a score that is at
the 75th percentile. This means that:
a. The student answered all questions correctly
b. The student answered 75% of the items correctly
c. The students score exceeded 25% of the scores
obtained by others
d. The students score exceeded 75% of the scores
obtained by others
41. If you are interested in assessing individual
differences, you would prefer test scores to be:
a. Criterion referenced
b. Normed
c. Standardized
d. Percentages

Reliability of Measurement
42. When a tests reliability coefficient is equal to 1.0,
its standard error of measurement:
a. Is equal to 1.0
b. Is equal to 0.0
c. Is greater than 0 but less than 1
d. Is equal to the tests standard deviation
43. To reduce consensual observer drift, you would:
a. Have observers check each others ratings
b. Have observers work independently
c. Use a single blind technique
d. Use a double blind technique
Validity of Measurement
44. To determine the criterion-related validity of a test, a
psychologist administers the test to current
employees and correlates their test scores with
available supervisor ratings. This is an example of a
___________________ validation study.
a. Convergent
b. Predictive
c. Concurrent
d. Construct
45. In a multitrait multimethod matrix, a tests validity
would be confirmed if the:
a. Monotrait monomethod coefficients are low and
the heterotrait heteromethod coefficients are high
b. Monotrait heteromethod coefficients are high and
the heterotrait monomethod coefficients are low
c. Monotrait monomethod coefficients are high and
the monotrait heteromethod coefficients are low
d. Heterotrait monomethod coefficients are high and
the heterotrait heteromethod coefficients are low
46. Criterion contamination tends to artificially _______
a predictors criterion-related validity coefficient.
a. Invalidate
b. Prove
c. Inflate
d. Deflate
Test Construction, Features, and Utility
47. A screening test developed to identify children with
learning disabilities is administered to 100 children,
60 who have a learning disability and 40 who do
not. The test correctly identifies 50 of the 60
children with learning disabilities and 25 of the
children who do not have learning disabilities. The
number of false positives in this situation is:
a. 50
b. 25
c. 15
d. 10

Answers Test III

1. a
2. d
3. c
4. c
5. d
6. c
7. a
8. a
9. a
10. c
11. a
12. b
13. a
14. d
15. d
16. b
17. c
18. c
19. d
20. d
21. b
22. d
23. a
24. a
25. b
26. c
27. b
28. c
29. b
30. c
31. a
32. c
33. a
34. b
35. d
36. d
37. b
38. c
39. a
40. d
41. b
42. b
43. b
44. c
45. b
46. c
47. c

METHODOLOGY SAMPLE TEST IV

The following review questions were not taken from past comp
exams or review packets. They were created by the reviewer
(Lynn Vogel) and will not represent all of the material that may
be on the exam. This is intended to serve as a review and not
your sole means of studying for the exam.

Research Design
1. An educational psychologist wants to test the
hypothesis that the effectiveness of a mastery
learning method (versus a traditional method) for
learning college algebra is a function of both math
aptitude and math anxiety. Identify the independent
variable(s).
a. Math aptitude and anxiety
b. Learning method
c. College algebra achievement
d. Both a and b
2. An educational psychologist wants to test the
hypothesis that the effectiveness of a mastery
learning method (versus a traditional method) for
learning college algebra is a function of both math
aptitude and math anxiety. Identify the dependent
variable(s).
a. Math aptitude and anxiety
b. Learning method
c. College algebra achievement
d. Both a and b
3. A researcher asks a sample of male and female
mental health professionals to describe a healthy
male adult and a healthy female adult. Based on
his review of the literature, the researcher
hypothesizes that the adjectives used by both male
and female mental health professionals to describe a
healthy male adult will be more positive than the
adjectives used to describe the healthy female adult.
Identify the independent variable(s).
a. Gender of mental health professional
b. Gender of healthy adult
c. Descriptive adjectives
d. Both a and b
4. A researcher asks a sample of male and female
mental health professionals to describe a healthy
male adult and a healthy female adult. Based on
his review of the literature, the researcher
hypothesizes that the adjectives used by both male
and female mental health professionals to describe a
healthy male adult will be more positive than the
adjectives used to describe the healthy female adult.
Identify the dependent variable(s).
a. Gender of mental health professional
b. Gender of healthy adult
c. Descriptive adjectives
d. Both a and b
5. In a research study, different treatment groups that
are being compared represent the different levels of
the:
a. Dependent Variable
b. Independent Variable
c. Static Variable
d. Control Variable

6.

An investigator believes that job satisfaction and

motivation are related to level of self esteem. To test
this hypothesis, she will administer measures of selfesteem, job satisfaction, and job motivation to a
sample of workers at a large manufacturing company.
The problem with this study is that any relationship
that the investigator finds between variables may be
due to ____ variables rather than the ____ variable.
a. Extraneous, Independent
b. Confounding, Independent
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
7. Due to the unreliability of a test, many subjects who
receive extremely high scores on the first
administration of a test receive scores closer to the
mean on the second administration. This is referred to
as:
a. Multiple Regression
b. Reactivity
c. Regression to the mean
d. Logistic regression
8. Demand characteristics are a threat to a studys
______ validity when cues suggest the behavior that is
expected by the experimenters.
a. Internal
b. Predictive
c. Discriminant
d. External
9. Counterbalancing is used to control for:
a. Order effects
b. Practice effects
c. Maturation
d. Selection
10. Pretesting is a threat to a studys internal validity when:
a. Different tests are used as the pretest and posttest
b. Exposure to the pretest alters subjects reactions
to the treatment
c. Exposure to the pretest alters subjects
performance on the posttest
d. Pretesting is never a threat to validity
11. Attrition is most likely to be a threat to a studys
internal validity when:
a. A significant number of subjects drop out of a
study before completion
b. A larger number of subjects drop out of one group
more than the other groups
c. The type of subjects that drop out of one group
differ from the type of subjects that drop out of
another group
d. Attrition is always a problem
12. An experimenter compares the effects of 3 different
diets on weight loss by assigning overweight subjects
to either Diet A, Diet B, or Diet C and then
determining each subjects weight one week, 6 weeks,
and 3 months after beginning the diet. This study is an
example of which of the following research?
a. Between Groups
b. Within Groups
c. Mixed Design
d. ABAB Design

13. A behavioral psychologist interested in the

effectiveness of self-reinforcement procedure on the
caloric intake of overweight adolescents would most
likely use a reversal single-subject design in order
to control which of the following?
a. History effects
b. Reactivity effects
c. Order effects
d. Placebo effects
14. Which of the following would be most useful for
helping the investigator above control the threat to
internal validity of his study?
a. An unobtrusive measure
b. A control group
c. A Solomon 4-Group Design
d. Random Selection
15. Ethical considerations often dictate which research
design an investigator should use. Thus, when
investigating the effectiveness of aversion therapy
for reducing violent and aggressive behaviors, a
researcher would MOST likely use which of the
following single-subject designs?
a. Time series
b. Multiple Baseline
c. Posttest only
d. Reversal
16. When conducting a research study, a psychologist
would use matching in order to:
a. Ensure that variability in the dependent variable
is not due to random error
b. Maximize the effects of an extraneous variable
on the dependent variable
c. Maximize the effects of the independent
variable on the dependent variable
d. Ensure that groups are initially equivalent with
regard to an extraneous variable
17. An investigator would use blocking to control an
extraneous variable when:
a. The study includes a small number of subjects
b. The variable does not correlate with the
dependent variable
c. The investigator wants to statistically remove
the effects of that variable
d. The investigator wants to statistically analyze
the effects of that variable
18. Dr. I Que conducts a cross-sectional study to assess
the effects of increasing age on certain cognitive
abilities. The results of her study suggest that these
abilities begin to deteriorate during the early 20s.
When interpreting the results of her study, Dr. Que
should be aware that the study may have been
contaminated by:
a. Demand characteristics
b. Halo effects
c. Cohort effects
d. Carryover effects

19. Which of the following is an example of demand

characteristics?
a. An experimenter double checks his data whenever
it doesnt conform to the research
b. Subjects alter their behaviors in ways that help
them avoid negative evaluations by the
experiment
c. Subtle cues in the environment communicate to
subjects what behaviors are expected of them
d. Research assistants change they way they code
data after speaking to each other
20. Threats to internal validity reduce an investigators
ability to determine:
a. Relationships
b. Causality
c. Generalizability
d. None of the above
Statistical Inference and Other Concepts
21. If a researcher compares the difference between 2
means to assess the effectiveness of an independent
variable on the dependent variable, she will have most
confidence in that they are found to be statistically
significant at the _________ level of significance?
a. .01
b. .5
c. .001
d. .05
22. A psychologist administers an achievement test to a
group of 75 hyperactive 6th graders. The mean of the
distribution of scores is 40 and the standard deviation
is 8. In this distribution, a raw score of 50 would be
equivalent to a z score of:
a. +1.25
b. +1.00
c. +5.00
d. +10.0
23. In a negatively skewed distribution:
a. The median is greater than the mean
b. The median is less than the mean
c. The mean is greater than the mode
d. The median is greater than the mode
24. If one or two extreme scores are added to a
distribution of 50 scores:
a. The value of the mean will be affected more than
the value of the median
b. The value of the median will be affected more
than the value of the mean
c. The value of the mode will be affected more than
the median or mean
d. The mean, median, and mode are affected equally
25. A ______ test states that the null hypothesis is false
and does not predict a direction.
a. One-tailed
b. Two-tailed
c. Either a or b
d. None of the above

26. Scores obtained on the Beck Depression Inventory

are on which scale?
a. Ordinal
b. Nominal
c. Ratio
d. Interval
27. College major is measured on what kind of scale?
a. Ordinal
b. Nominal
c. Ratio
d. Interval
28. As alpha increases, the probability of making a Type
II error ____________ and power _____________.
a. Increases, Decreases
b. Decreases, Increases
c. Increases, Increases
d. Decreases, Decreases
29. Power refers to the:
a. Sensitivity of finding real differences
b. How big a difference there is between groups
c. Probability of correctly rejecting the null
d. Both a and c
Nonparametric Statistics
Univariate Statistics
30. A researcher wants to assess the effectiveness of a
training course for improving SAT scores by
comparing pretest and posttest scores for a group of
high school seniors. To analyze the data obtained in
this study, the researcher should use which statistical
test?
a. 2-Way ANOVA
b. Repeated Measures Chi-Square
c. Kolmogorov
d. Paired Samples T-test
31. Two variables indicate that the effects of different
levels of one variable are not the same at the levels
of another variable. This is referred to as a(n):
a. Interaction
b. Main Effect
c. Post Hoc
d. Confound
32. Post Hoc comparisons are conducted when:
a. The F ratio is insignificant
b. The F ratio is significant
c. The F ratio indicates an interaction
d. The F ration indicates a main effect
33. To assess interaction effects you must be using:
a. A true experimental design
b. A multivariate design
c. A factorial design
d. None of the above
34. An increase in experimentwise error refers to an
increase in:
a. Type I error
b. Type II error
c. Familywise error
d. Both a and b

Correlational Techniques
35. Which of the following correlation coefficients is
most appropriate for the relationship between gender
and SAT score?
a. Spearman
b. Point Biserial
c. Biserial
d. Chi Square
36. A ____ correlation indicates that people scoring low
on one variable tend to obtain high scores on another.
a. Positive
b. Zero
c. Perfect
d. Negative
37. If the correlation between X and Y is .70, this means
that _____% of the variability in Y is explained by X.
a. 49
b. 30
c. 70
d. 7
Multivariate Statistics
38. The sum of the deviations of data points from a
regression line:
a. Is always positive
b. Is always negative
c. Always equals 0
d. Is equal to the variance explained
39. A researcher is likely to conduct a _______ rotation in a
factor analysis if he believes that the factors underlying
the tests included in the analysis are correlated.
a. Oblique
b. Orthogonal
c. Varimax
d. Both b and c
40. Which analysis would you use if you were to test
theories about relationships between variables?
a. Path Analysis
b. Logistic Regression
c. Multiple Regression
d. None of the above
41. If the relationship between two variables disappears
when you take away another variable, you have a:
a. Mediator
b. Confound
c. Moderator
d. Covariate
42. Multicollinearity:
a. Increases the probability that a correlation will be
statistically significant
b. Refers to high correlations between predictors and
is a problem for multiple regression
c. Refers to high correlations between the predictor
and outcome and is not a problem
d. Provides semi-partial correlations for each
predictor

Interpretation of Measures
43. The test taken to qualify for a drivers license is an
example of a:
a. Criterion referenced test
b. Normed test
c. Validation test
d. Construct validity
Reliability of Measurement
44. To maximize a tests reliability coefficient, you
would:
a. Make sure the test is homogenous with regard
to content domain
b. Include in the tryout sample individual who are
homogenous with regard to the attribute
measured by the test
c. Use a true-false item format
d. Make sure the test is valid
45. Which of the following would be the least
appropriate for assessing the reliability of a 20 item
arithmetic test?
a. Test Retest
b. Coefficient Alpha
c. Split-Half
d. All of the above are appropriate
Validity of Measurement
46. Convergent and Discriminant validity are both
methods for assessing ___________ validity.
a. Predictive
b. Construct
c. Criterion Related
d. Discriminative
47. A test developed would you multitrait multimethod
matrices in order to assess a tests:
a. Differential validity
b. Incremental validity
c. Concurrent and predictive validity
d. Convergent and discriminant validity
48. The difference between predictive and concurrent
validity is most related to:
a. The time interval between administration of the
predictor and the criterion
b. The type of statistic used to analyze data
collected on the predictor and the criterion
c. The nature of the construct measured by the
predictor
d. The sources of measurement error
Test Construction, Features, and Utility
49. A 25-item test is administered to a group of
examinees and the resulting distribution of scores is
negatively skewed. Adding a few items to the test
that have difficult index between .00 and .50 will
most likely:
a. Increase the negative skewness of the
distribution
b. Cause the distribution to become positively
skewed
c. Change shape of the distribution so that it is
closer to normal
d. Change the shape of the distribution so that it is
less than normal

Answers Test IV
1. d
2. c
3. d
4. c
5. b
6. c
7. c
8. d
9. a
10. c
11. c
12. c
13. a
14. b
15. b
16. d
17. d
18. c
19. c
20. b
21. c
22. a
23. a
24. a
25. a
26. d
27. b
28. b
29. d
30. d
31. a
32. b
33. c
34. d
35. b
36. d
37. a
38. c
39. a
40. a
41. a
42. b
43. a
44. a
45. a
46. b
47. d
48. a
49. c

METHODOLOGY SAMPLE TEST V

7.

The following review questions were not taken from past comp
exams or review packets. They were created by the reviewer
(Lynn Vogel) and will not represent all of the material that may
be on the exam. This is intended to serve as a review and not
your sole means of studying for the exam.

Research Design
1. An educational psychologist believes that children
will be better spellers if they are provided with
spaced rather than massed practice. Identify the
independent variable(s).
a. Spaced Practice
b. Massed Practice
c. Type of Practice
d. Spelling ability
2. An educational psychologist believes that children
will be better spellers if they are provided with
spaced rather than massed practice. Identify the
dependent variable(s).
a. Spaced Practice
b. Massed Practice
c. Type of Practice
d. Spelling ability
3. A psychologist suspects that a teachers expectations
about a students academic performance will have a
self-fulfilling prophecy effect on the students
actual academic achievement but that the magnitude
of effect will depend on the students level of selfesteem. Identify the independent variable(s).
a. Self Esteem
b. Academic performance
c. Teachers Expectations
d. Both a and c
4. A psychologist suspects that a teachers expectations
about a students academic performance will have a
self-fulfilling prophecy effect on the students
actual academic achievement but that the magnitude
of effect will depend on the students level of selfesteem. Identify the dependent variable(s).
a. Self Esteem
b. Academic performance
c. Teachers Expectations
d. Both a and c
5. In a true experiment, the variable that subjects are
randomly assigned to is referred to as the:
a. Dependent Variable
b. Independent Variable
c. Static Variable
d. Control Variable
6. A researcher divides the population into subgroups
according to certain characteristics (i.e. age,
ethnicity, etc) and then randomly selects subjects
from each subgroup. This sampling technique is
known as:
a. Stratified Random
b. Cluster Sampling
c. Quota Sampling
d. Stratified Clusters

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

The primary difference between the true experimental

research and quasi-experimental research is that in the
former:
a. Subjects are randomly assigned to groups
b. Subjects are randomly selected from the
population
c. Subjects are both randomly assigned and selected
d. Subjects are unaware of which group they were
selected for
Variability in the dependent variable due to the
unreliability of the measuring instruments is source of:
a. Systematic error
b. Random error
c. Extraneous error
d. Both a and c
The random selection of subjects for a research study is
most useful for maximizing a studys _____ validity.
a. Internal
b. Predictive
c. Discriminant
d. External
The double blind technique is most useful for
controlling.
a. Carryover effects
b. Reactivity
c. Practice effects
d. Differential selection
The Solomon Four-Group Design is used to control
which of the following?
a. Instrumentation
b. Pretesting
c. Order Effects
d. Selection
Subjects for a research study at a university are
volunteers from the subject pool. Most of the subjects
are psychology undergraduates. In this situation,
selection is a threat to the studys:
a. External validity
b. Internal Validity
c. Incremental Validity
d. Both a and b
Which of the following single subject designs would
you be LEAST likely to use when assessing the
effectiveness of a behavioral treatment for reducing
head-banging in autistic children?
a. AB
b. ABAB
c. Multiple Baseline
d. Either a or b
An advantage of the ABA design over the AB design
is that the former better controls which of the
following threats to internal validity?
a. Instrumentation
b. Regression
c. History
d. Experimenter Expectancy

15. An investigator, using one group time series design

to assess the effects of a new safety campaign on a
number of work related accidents at a large
manufacturing company, measures the number of
accidents at regular intervals 6 months before and 6
months after instituting the safety campaign. The
investigator can probably consider which of the
following to be the biggest threat to the internal
validity of his study?
a. Regression
b. Maturation
c. History
d. Attrition
16. Dr. CP Anderson, an industrial psychologist, is
conducting a research study to assess the effects of a
special training course on the job performance of
accountants. In addition, Dr. Anderson wants to
determine if the effectiveness of the course is
affected by the administration of a pretest.
Therefore, she is most likely to use which of the
following research designs?
a. Solomon 4-Group
b. Latin Square
c. Time Series
d. Multivariate
17. The independent variable(s) in the above study is (are):
a. Training Course
b. Training Course and Pretesting
c. Job Satisfaction and Job Motivation
d. Course effectiveness
18. An educational psychologist believes that the use of
reinforcers to improve the academic achievement of
primary school children will be more effective for
slow learners. She administers an academic
achievement test to all first grade children in a large
public school and then includes in her study only
those children who received the lowest scores on the
test. After eight weeks of reinforcement, the
psychologist
readministers
the
academic
achievement test to the students to determine if the
reinforcement has had a positive effect. The major
threat to the internal validity of this study is:
a. Restriction of range
b. Attrition
c. Selection
d. Carryover effects
19. When conducting an analogue study, you would be
most concerned about:
a. Limited ecological validity
b. Limited population validity
c. Limited internal validity
d. Limited construct validity
Statistical Inference and Other Concepts
20. The scale of measurement that is characterized by
equal intervals and an arbitrary 0 point is which of
the following?
a. Ordinal
b. Ratio
c. Nominal
d. Interval

21. The shape of a distribution on z scores is:

a. Always flat
b. Always bimodal
c. Identical to the distribution of raw scores
d. Always bell-shaped (normal)
22. Alpha is the probability of:
a. Correctly rejecting the null hypothesis
b. Incorrectly rejecting the null hypotheses
c. Correctly retaining the null hypothesis
d. Incorrectly retaining the null hypothesis
23. A psychologist obtains IQ scores for a group of 250
junior high school students. Assuming that the scores
are normally distributed, the psychologist can
conclude that approximately _______ % of the scores
fall within 2 standard deviations above and below the
mean of the distribution?
a. 99
b. 95
c. 68
d. 50
24. The number of times a rat presses a lever for a reward
demonstrates what kind of data?
a. Ordinal
b. Nominal
c. Ratio
d. Interval
25. Birth order is measured on what scale?
a. Ordinal
b. Nominal
c. Ratio
d. Interval
26. Which of the following describes the relationship
between the variance and the standard deviation?
a. Variance is 2x the size of standard deviation
b. Variance is the square root of standard deviation
c. Variance is the square of standard deviation
d. None of the above
Nonparametric Statistics
27. Nonparametric techniques are also known as:
a. Small sample inferential statistics
b. Distribution free tests
c. Multivariate tests
d. Descriptive techniques
Univariate Statistics
28. A psychologist would use the analysis of covariance
when analyzing the data collected in a research study
in order to:
a. Maximize true score variability
b. Statistically remove the effects of extraneous
variables
c. Statistically analyze the effects of
confounding variables
d. Minimize the effects of random error
29. In order to assess interaction effects, a research study
must include at least:
a. 2 levels of one independent variable
b. More than 2 levels of one independent
variable
c. 2 levels each of 2 independent variables
d. 2 levels each of 2 dependent variables

30. You are interested in analyzing the difference in IQ

scores of two samples. Each sample consists of 25
students. The appropriate statistical technique is:
a. Multiple sample chi-square
b. Kolmogorov test
c. T test for independent samples
d. Regression
31. Which of the following is used to compare means?
a. 1-Way ANOVA
b. T-test
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
32. The relationship between main effects and
interactions is described as:
a. You can only have an interaction if both main
effects are significant
b. You can only have main effects if the
interaction is significant
c. You can only have either a main effect or an
interaction
d. None of the above
Correlational Techniques
33. Individuals scoring low on a quality of life scale
tend to score highly on a depression scale. This
relationship is an example of a:
a. Positive Correlation
b. Negative Correlation
c. Multiple Correlation
d. Point Biserial Correlation
34. Which of the following correlation coefficients is most
appropriate when data on both variables is rank ordered?
a. Biserial
b. Phi
c. Spearman
d. None of the above
35. A researcher obtains IQ scores and psychology exam
scores from a group of students. He correlated the 2
sets of scores and obtains an r of -.42. This means
approximately ___% of the variance in IQ scores is
shared in common with psychology exam scores.
a. 32
b. 58
c. 17
d. 42
Multivariate Statistics
36. A researcher uses scores on several measures to
predict scores on a criterion. The researcher is using
the multivariate technique known as:
a. Logistic Regression
b. Predictive Regression
c. Discriminant Regression
d. Multiple Regression
37. The least squares criterion is used to:
a. Determine the location of the regression line in
a scatter plot
b. Statistically remove the effects of a confounding
variable
c. Identify the criterion group that an examinee
most closely resembles
d. Determine if the model fits the data

38. In factor analysis, a factor loading expresses the

correlation between:
a. Communality and Component
b. Item and Component
c. Eigenvalue and Item
d. Synthetic factors are used instead of loadings
39. When a correlation coefficient is significantly higher
for males than for females, gender is acting as a:
a. Blocking variable
b. Suppressor variable
c. Dichotomous variable
d. Moderator variable
40. Dr. Locke wants to investigate his theory that past
performance determines ones feelings of self-efficacy
which in turn affect ones goals and goal attainment.
Which of the following techniques will be most useful
for this investigation?
a. Cannonical
b. Path Analysis
c. Discriminant Analysis
d. Both a and b
Interpretation of Measures
41. Mastery tests are ____________.
a. Criterion Referenced
b. Normed
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
42. According to classical test theory, measurement error is:
a. Unsystematic
b. Systematic
c. Both a and b
d. Due to invalidity
Reliability of Measurement
43. KR-20 is a variation of coefficient alpha that can be
used to test items that are:
a. Dichotomous
b. Polychotomous
c. Thurstone scaled
d. All of the above
44. The major problem when using percent agreement as a
measure of interrater reliability is that this method:
a. Tends to underestimate the level of agreement
b. Cannot be used when the variability of one
scorers scores differs substantially from another
c. Doesnt take into account chance agreement
d. There are no major problems with percent
agreement statistics
45. The same test is readministered to the same examinee
six times over a 12 month period and the examinee
gets six different scores. This suggests the test has:
a. Low reliability
b. Low predictive validity
c. Low convergent validity
d. High differential validity

Validity of Measurement
46. Tenured professors would be asked to review items
for an observational scale used to rate the
performance of 1st year instructors in order to
establish the scales ___________ validity.
a. Construct
b. Face
c. Criterion
d. Content
47. A school psychologist develops a test for high
school freshmen to identify students who are likely
to quit school prior to graduation. The psychologist
will be most interested in establishing which type of
validity for this test?
a. Content
b. Construct
c. Convergent
d. Criterion-Related
48. Which of the following is a measure of construct
validity?
a. Convergent
b. Divergent
c. Discriminative
d. All of the above
Test Construction, Features, and Utility
49. Which item difficulty level is associated with the
greatest differentiation of examinees:
a. +1
b. .5
c. .01
d. -1
50. When using an objective test:
a. An examinee will obtain the same score
regardless of who scores the test
b. Items included in the test have been found to
correlate highly with an objective criterion
c. The test must be administered in accord with
clearly defined guidelines
d. Both a and c
51. A D index refers to an items:
a. Discriminability
b. Difficulty
c. Distractibility
d. Both a and b
52. Mortality in a study refers to:
a. The death of subjects
b. The death of researchers
c. Loss of respondents to a treatment group
d. Both a and b

Answers Test V
1. c
2. d
3. d
4. b
5. b
6. a
7. a
8. b
9. d
10. b
11. b
12. a
13. b
14. c
15. c
16. a
17. b
18. a
19. a
20. d
21. c
22. b
23. b
24. c
25. a
26. c
27. b
28. b
29. c
30. c
31. c
32. d
33. b
34. c
35. c
36. d
37. a
38. b
39. d
40. b
41. a
42. a
43. a
44. c
45. a
46. d
47. d
48. d
49. b
50. a
51. a
52. c