Research Design in Counseling, 4th Edition by Paul Heppner – Test Bank

Research Design in Counseling, 4th Edition by Paul Heppner – Test Bank

CHAPTER 6: Choosing Research Designs: Balancing Ideals and Realities

True/False questions

1. Unlike qualitative designs, quantitative approaches aim to understand the research questions of interest via interviews, observation, and artifacts and typically produce rich descriptions of the data to make interpretations of meaning.

Answer: False

2. Mixed methods designs utilize elements from both experimental and preexperimental designs.

Answer: False

3. Experimental control allows researchers to make inferences about causal relationships between variables, which is referred to as the internal validity of the study.

Answer: True

4. For a study to be truly high in external validity, the data-gathering procedures should not greatly alter routine procedures.

Answer: True

5. An experimental laboratory study relies upon the researcher setting up a situation to resemble one that is naturally occurring rather than observing participants in real-life settings.

Answer: True

6. The first factor to be considered while determining the usefulness of a particular research design is the resources and costs associated with that design.

Answer: False

7. Qualitative research can be particularly useful when investigating new topics about which very little is known.

Answer: True

8. An overreliance upon a specific design in a given topic area can produce a weak knowledge base.

Answer: True

9. According to the bubble hypothesis, if multiple research designs are advocated, each with different threats, the cumulative effect will result in a vague, less accurate picture of the topic under examination.

Answer: False

10. A series of isolated investigations accumulates more useful knowledge bases than does a series of related investigations that build on each other.

Answer: False

Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following is a true statement about the components of research?
2. Theory involves identifying the variables of interest in a study.
3. Measurement involves the use of statistical tools to test hypotheses.
4. Design provides the conceptual framework from which a study is structured and executed.
5. Analysis includes operationally defining the variables in a study.

Answer: c

2. One of the most critical requisites to be considered in a research design is:
3. to ensure homogeneity of sample.
4. to confirm the preexisting beliefs and expectations of researchers.
5. to rule out as many plausible rival hypotheses as possible.
6. to increase a researcher’s credibility in the academic community.

Answer: c

3. The research design myth is the belief that:
4. all experiments will be flawed somehow.
5. without the replication of a research design, results mean little.
6. research design is more important than statistical tools.
7. one research design is a priori “better” than others.

Answer: d

4. Which of the following is true of experimental control?
5. It allows researchers to make inferences about causal relationships between variables.
6. Studies that are high in experimental control do not allow researchers to randomly assign participants to treatments.
7. It prevents researchers from maximizing the variance of the variables.
8. Studies that are low in experimental control allow researchers to randomly assign participants to treatments.

Answer: a

5. Kerlinger’s MAXMINCON principle states that:
6. the overreliance upon a specific design in a given topic area can produce an unbalanced and weak knowledge base.
7. every research design has its strengths and weaknesses and there is no perfect design.
8. an experimental research should minimize the variance of the variable or variables pertaining to the research questions.
9. an experimental research should minimize the error variance of random variables due to errors of measurement or individual differences of participants.

Answer: d

6. Identify the pair of factors a researcher needs to consider while organizing counseling research, as proposed by Gelso (1979).
7. Internal validity and external validity
8. Volume and demographics
9. Construct validity and statistical conclusion validity
10. Objectivity and longitudinal value

Answer: a

7. Which of the following is a characteristic of descriptive laboratory studies?
8. High internal validity and high external validity
9. Low internal validity and low external validity
10. Low internal validity and high external validity
11. High internal validity and low external validity

Answer: b

8. Identify a true statement about descriptive field studies.
9. They are often high in external validity because a sample of participants can be taken directly from a population of interest.
10. They are often high in internal validity because an experimenter can randomly assign participants to treatments and manipulate one or more independent variables.
11. In these studies, a researcher makes inferences about causality based upon the results from a study.
12. In these studies, a researcher sets up a situation to resemble one that is naturally occurring rather than observing participants in real-life settings.

Answer: a

9. Which of the following research designs provides an opportunity to include the best combination of inferences about cause and generalizability that is attainable within a single study?
10. Descriptive field studies
11. Experimental laboratory studies
12. Descriptive laboratory studies
13. Experimental field studies

Answer: d

10. Gelso’s bubble hypothesis states that:
11. qualitative research design is a priori “better” than others.
12. research results are often skewed at the extreme ends of the bell curve.
13. all research designs will have some limitations.
14. if multiple research designs are used in a study, then there will be similar flaws in each design.

Answer: c