2: Overview of the Scientific Method

What is the purpose of professional journals?

• To publish original research articles

• To summarize previously published research

• To present new theories

• To review empirical research reports

What is the main focus of a review article?

• Presenting new theories

• Summarizing previously published research

• Publishing original research articles

• Reviewing empirical research reports

What is a double-blind peer review?

• A process where reviewers know the identity of the researcher(s)

• A process where reviewers do not know the identity of the researcher(s)

• A process where researchers know the identity of the reviewers

• A process where researchers and reviewers know each other's identity

What determines the interestingness of a research question?

• The answer being in doubt

• The answer having important practical implications

• The answer filling a gap in research literature

• All of the above

What does feasibility of a research question depend on?

• Time, money, and technical knowledge

• Access to research participants

• Equipment and materials

• All of the above

What is a hypothesis?

• A coherent explanation of one or more phenomena

• A specific prediction about a new phenomenon

• A review article presenting a new theory

• A process of theory development

What is a variable?

• A quantity or quality that varies across people or situations

• A specific prediction about a new phenomenon

• A coherent explanation of one or more phenomena

• A characteristic of an individual

What is a quantitative variable?

• A variable that represents a characteristic of an individual

• A variable that is typically measured by assigning a number

• A variable that varies across people or situations

• A variable that is measured by assigning categories

What is an operational definition?

• A definition of the variable in terms of how it is measured

• A smaller portion of the population

• A probability sampling procedure

• A measure of dispersion

What is internal validity?

• The degree to which we can generalize the findings

• The degree to which we can confidently infer a causal relationship

• The average distance between scores and the mean

• The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution