Research methods 1: Practice Questions

Which measure of central tendency is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing by the total number of values?

A researcher uses a repeated measures design to test the effect of noise on task performance. To control for order effects, they divide the 20 participants into two groups. Group 1 performs the task in silence first, then in noise. Group 2 performs the task in noise first, then in silence. What is the name of this control technique?

A researcher is conducting a covert, non-participant observation of conformity behaviour in a public setting. They argue that this method is ethically justifiable because using an overt method would severely increase the risk of which threat to internal validity?

A distribution of scores is described as having a long tail extending towards the lower (negative) end of the scale, and the Mean is lower than both the Median and the Mode. What type of distribution is this?

A researcher conducts a study on memory using a repeated measures design. They are concerned that participants may perform better in the second condition due to practice. Identify the specific technique used to control this order effect and briefly explain how it is implemented.

A researcher conducted an observational study counting the number of times children displayed cooperative play during a 30-minute session. The observed scores for ten children were: 5, 8, 10, 5, 12, 6, 8, 11, 5, 10.

(a) Calculate the mode and the median for this set of data.

(b) Explain why a bar chart would be the most appropriate graph to display these results.