AP Psych - Non-Environmental Research Methods - Review

Which of the following best defines a case study in psychological research?

• An in-depth analysis of a single individual or group with a unique trait

• A controlled experiment with random assignment

• A survey of a large population

• A statistical summary of multiple studies

What is the primary purpose of a meta-analysis in research?

• To observe behavior in a natural setting

• To combine results from multiple studies to identify patterns

• To manipulate variables in a laboratory

• To study one person in detail

Naturalistic observation is best described as:

• Observing subjects in their natural environment without interference

• Conducting interviews in a laboratory

• Assigning participants to experimental groups

• Analyzing data from previous experiments

Which of the following is a key feature of a correlational study?

• It determines cause and effect

• It measures the relationship between two variables

• It involves manipulating variables

• It focuses on a single case

Which of the following is an example of a case study?

• A psychologist spends years observing and documenting the behavior of a single patient with a rare disorder

• Researchers survey 1,000 people about their sleep habits

• Scientists combine data from 20 studies on memory

• Observing children playing in a park

If a researcher wants to understand the general trend in findings about the effects of sleep on memory by analyzing results from many different studies, which method should they use?

• Case study

• Meta-analysis

• Naturalistic observation

• Correlational study

A psychologist observes how children interact with each other on a playground without interfering. Which research method is being used?

• Case study

• Meta-analysis

• Naturalistic observation

• Correlational study

Which scenario best illustrates a correlational study?

• Measuring the relationship between hours studied and test scores among students

• Assigning students to different study groups and comparing their results

• Interviewing a single student about their study habits

• Reviewing multiple studies on student performance

A researcher wants to know if there is a relationship between stress levels and hours of sleep among teenagers. Which research method should they use?

• Case study

• Meta-analysis

• Naturalistic observation

• Correlational study

Suppose a researcher observes that as the number of hours spent on social media increases, the amount of sleep decreases among high school students. What can the researcher conclude from this correlational study?

• Social media causes less sleep

• There is a relationship between social media use and sleep, but causation cannot be determined

• Sleep causes more social media use

• There is no relationship between the two variables