Ethical Issues in Educational Research

Students who have faced many obstacles in educational settings were asked to participate in a study that required that they take a test. Many of the students scored poorly on the test. Which of the following ethical issues arises because the students feel that their low test scores are reflective of their abilities, rather than their circumstances?

• Anonymity

• Right to withdraw

• Debriefing

• Risk to participants

Dr. Miller believes cell phone usage affects short-term memory ability. He randomly selected 20 male students from his university to participate and gave them a survey. Participants were asked a series of questions about how often they use their cell phone and whether they recalled information about world events. The data from the survey is presented in the graph below. Which of the following accurately identifies the research method used?

• Experiment

• Case study

• Correlation

• Meta-analysis

Which of the following is an operational definition for short-term memory used in this study?

• Number of hours spent on a cell phone

• Number of correct details remembered about world events

• Number of participants surveyed in the study

• Number of data points in the graph

When Dr. Miller sees that the results yield a strong negative correlation coefficient, she tells a colleague that she knew that would be the result all along. Which of the following cognitive biases is Dr. Miller using when she speaks to her colleague?

• Confirmation bias

• Hindsight bias

• Overconfidence

• Sunk-cost fallacy

The figure represents which model of memory?

• The multi-store model of memory

• The working memory model

• The levels of processing model of memory

• The sensory memory model of memory

Professor Belvedere wants to help her anatomy students memorize the names of different parts of the body. Which of the following techniques will best help her students?

• Teaching them a rhyme for each word

• Asking them questions about the meaning of each word

• Writing the words in different colors and having the students think about the color that each word is printed in

• Having them write sentences where each word of the sentence starts with the same letter as one of the parts of the body

Researchers were interested in whether there is a correlation between binocular cues and depth perception. Which of the following would be an operational definition of depth perception?

How many times a person accurately judges the distance of an object?

• How far someone can see objects clearly

• Whether people can tell how far away something is

• How far away a research assistant stands from the participant

• How many times a person accurately judges the distance of an object

Skylar experienced brain damage after a car accident. Researchers were interested in assessing whether Skylar’s visuospatial abilities were affected. Skylar was shown 3 geometric figures, one at a time, for ten seconds. After each presentation, Skylar drew each one on a piece of paper. Researchers compared Skylar’s drawings to the original figure and scored each. Which of the following research methods is being used to assess Skylar’s abilities?

• An experiment

• A naturalistic observation

• A correlational study

• A case study

The data set represents the scores of students who took a standardized college placement exam at their own school and later took the same test at a neighboring school. Based on the data, which of the following conclusions can be made?

• Students perform better at their home school.

• Students perform better at the neighboring school.

• There is no significant difference in performance between the two schools.

• The test scores are unreliable.