Quantitative design: Ungraded review questions

Which of the following is NOT true about expost facto design? It is not experimental and data are collected after the fact. it is causal-comparative and it is considered the best way to make causal inference It is used when randomization is not possible.

Which of the following is NOT true about observational research? It is non-experimental Correlations between variables are studied The researcher must observe the subjects in the field. One of the weaknesses is that correlation does not necessarily imply causation.

Traditionally, most Evangelicals and Republicans work hand in hand Traditionally, most Evangelicals and Republicans work hand in hand. Professor Trump would like to conduct a study to affirm that religious conservatism (independent variable) tend to push people to political conservatism (dependent variable). His research assistant Sarah said that this so-called causal study is problematic. What is/are the flaw(s)? Even if two variables are statistically correlated, it may not be a causal relationship. There are many other factors influencing political orientation, but Trump’s study does not take them into account. It is possible that the causal link is reversed (political position  religious belief) or bidirectional (political position  religious belief). All of the above

After examining international assessment scores (PISA, TIMSS) and the GNP per capita of many countries, Dr. April May found that there is no relationship between test performance and economic achievement. She concluded that better test skills do not necessarily lead to better job performance. What is her mistake (Choose the best answer)? Ecological fallacy: She infers from country- level data (summary data) to individuals. International assessment data are unreliable. Those tests are culturally biased. PISA and TIMSS do not use multi-stage sampling. All of the above

Dr. Noel Bobbie wants to conduct a nationwide survey Dr. Noel Bobbie wants to conduct a nationwide survey. Which of the following sampling scheme should she use? Convenience sampling Simple random sampling Multi-stage sampling All are good.

Dr. Kent Clark, who works for the state government, wants to ensure that the sample collected from California can represent the state population. Assume that he has access to the state census data. What should he do? Check the population to make sure that it is normally distributed. Check whether simple random sampling is properly implemented. Check the sample properties against the population properties. All of the above

Which of the following is NOT a reason for doing a pilot study? Spot errors and ambiguity in wording. Spot errors in the interface design and the protocol Find out how long it takes to complete the survey Increase the sample size by including data collected from the pilot study

Completeness Efficiency Insight None of the above If the survey is too long, the respondents might lose their patience. They might skip questions or didn’t answer the questions carefully. Therefore, it is better to keep the survey short by not including redundant questions. This is in alignment with which criterion of research design? Completeness Efficiency Insight None of the above

In a 5-point Likert scale “3” is regarded as the middle position In a 5-point Likert scale “3” is regarded as the middle position. Which of the following statements is false? “3” is ambiguous. It could mean “N/A,” “no opinion,” “I don’t care,” or “neither agree nor disagree.” Some researchers use a 4-point scale to overcome the problem of vagueness in “3.” Users should be allowed to choose “other” and then explain the answer. “3” is universally accepted as the middle position and thus the data are accurate.

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of online survey? Lower error rate More freedom (e.g. skip logic) Randomize item order to counter the testing effect Higher completion rate

Which of the following statement(s) is/are true? Survey data are not very accurate because people do not tell you the truth all the time. Behavioral data are collected in experimental setting. Researchers cannot use Web-based data collected by Google, YouTube, and Facebook due to ethical concerns (e.g. privacy). All of the above