Research Design and Validity Quiz

A researcher wants to measure the effect of a new therapy program on anxiety levels. She tests participants’ anxiety before starting the program, conducts the therapy, and then measures anxiety again. What type of research design is she using?

• Cross-sectional study

• One-group post-test only

• One-group pre-test post-test

• Longitudinal study

A study is testing a new drug’s effect on memory. During the study, a nationwide power outage occurs, preventing some participants from completing their training sessions. What threat to internal validity might this introduce?

• Regression to the mean

• History

• Instrumentation

• Testing effect

A school administers a standardized test to students, then provides them with a math tutoring program, and retests them. However, the test questions are significantly different the second time. What threat to internal validity does this present?

• Maturation

• Selection bias

• Instrumentation

• Attrition

A psychologist finds that children who eat more fruits and vegetables tend to perform better in school. However, she did not control for socioeconomic status. What mistake might she be making?

• Confusing correlation with causation

• Committing a Type 1 error

• Using a biased measurement tool

• Miscalculating the P-value

A university researcher conducts a study on study habits among first-year students. By the end of the semester, some students drop out of the study because they are too busy. What threat to internal validity is this?

• Selection bias

• Testing effect

• Attrition

• History

A scientist is testing a new weight-loss program. Participants are chosen from a group of people who have recently gained a lot of weight. After a few months, they all appear to have lost some weight, but it’s unclear if it’s due to the program or natural fluctuations. What threat to validity is this?

• Maturation

• Testing effect

• Regression to the mean

• Instrumentation

A researcher conducts a study using a personality survey. Participants take the same survey multiple times throughout the study, and their answers start to become more consistent simply because they remember previous answers. What threat to internal validity does this illustrate?

• Selection bias

• Testing effect

• Instrumentation

• History

A company is testing a new training program by assigning employees to two different groups. However, they assign employees based on their department, leading to differences in experience levels between groups. What is the main issue with this approach?

• Attrition

• Selection bias

• Instrumentation

• History

A researcher is studying attention span in young children. Since the study takes several months, some children naturally become better at paying attention due to age rather than the intervention. What is this an example of?

• History

• Maturation

• Instrumentation

• Selection bias

A hospital is testing a new stress-reduction program. They randomly assign some employees to receive the program and others to continue with their usual routines. After the program, they compare stress levels. What research method are they using?

• One-group post-test only

• Experimental design

• Cross-sectional study

• Interrupted time-series design