Research Methods in Psychology Exam
Questions with Certified Solutions
open ended questions - Answer allow respondents to answer in any way that they would like. Choose
this type of question when you need various spontaneous answers, rich in information. Because answers
often be categorized and coded, this is not a very efficient method.
Forced-choice question - Answer respondents give their opinion by picking the best of 2 or more
options. Often used for current issues or asking preference between two choices
Likert scale (or likert-type scale) - Answer People are presented with a statement and are asked to use a
rating scale to indicate their degree of agreement. Semantic differential format: rate a target object
using a numeric scale that is anchored with adjectives
Leading questions - Answer questions that use certain wording to evoke a certain response from
respondents.
Double negatives - Answer when asking these types of questions, the participant may have trouble
understanding what exactly the question is asking, and therefore the construct validity is lowered.
Question order - Answer earlier questions can change the way that respondents understand and answer
the later questions.
Response set: (also known as nondifferentiation) - Answer a type of shortcut respondents can take when
responding to a survey that occurs when respondents respond similarly to all questions
"Yea-saying" (also known as acquiescence) - Answer occurs when people say yes or strongly agree to
every item instead of thinking instead of thinking carefully about each one.
"Nay-saying" - Answer occurs when people say no or strongly disagree to every item instead of thinking
instead of thinking carefully about each one.
, Fence sitting - Answer playing it safe by answering in the middle of the scale, especially when survey
items are controversial.
Social desirability - Answer if a particular answer is going to make a person look socially "bad", then they
may avoid that answer and respond dishonestly.
observer bias - Answer when observer expectations influence their interpretation of the outcomes of
the study
observer effects - Answer when behavior of participants changes to match observer expectations
reactivity - Answer when people change their behavior when they know a person is watching
Populations - Answer an entire set of people or products in which you are interested
sample - Answer a smaller set, taken from the population
biased/unrepresentative sample - Answer some members of the population of interest have a much
higher probability of being included in the sample compared to other members
unbiased/representative sample - Answer all members of the population have equal chance of being
included in the sample
Convenience sampling - Answer sampling only people who are readily available to participate
Self-selection - Answer using only people who volunteer to participate
Probability sampling - Answer every member of the population of interest has an equal chance of being
selected for the sample, regardless of if they are close by, easy to contact, or motivated to respond.
Simple random sampling - Answer throw names in a hat
Questions with Certified Solutions
open ended questions - Answer allow respondents to answer in any way that they would like. Choose
this type of question when you need various spontaneous answers, rich in information. Because answers
often be categorized and coded, this is not a very efficient method.
Forced-choice question - Answer respondents give their opinion by picking the best of 2 or more
options. Often used for current issues or asking preference between two choices
Likert scale (or likert-type scale) - Answer People are presented with a statement and are asked to use a
rating scale to indicate their degree of agreement. Semantic differential format: rate a target object
using a numeric scale that is anchored with adjectives
Leading questions - Answer questions that use certain wording to evoke a certain response from
respondents.
Double negatives - Answer when asking these types of questions, the participant may have trouble
understanding what exactly the question is asking, and therefore the construct validity is lowered.
Question order - Answer earlier questions can change the way that respondents understand and answer
the later questions.
Response set: (also known as nondifferentiation) - Answer a type of shortcut respondents can take when
responding to a survey that occurs when respondents respond similarly to all questions
"Yea-saying" (also known as acquiescence) - Answer occurs when people say yes or strongly agree to
every item instead of thinking instead of thinking carefully about each one.
"Nay-saying" - Answer occurs when people say no or strongly disagree to every item instead of thinking
instead of thinking carefully about each one.
, Fence sitting - Answer playing it safe by answering in the middle of the scale, especially when survey
items are controversial.
Social desirability - Answer if a particular answer is going to make a person look socially "bad", then they
may avoid that answer and respond dishonestly.
observer bias - Answer when observer expectations influence their interpretation of the outcomes of
the study
observer effects - Answer when behavior of participants changes to match observer expectations
reactivity - Answer when people change their behavior when they know a person is watching
Populations - Answer an entire set of people or products in which you are interested
sample - Answer a smaller set, taken from the population
biased/unrepresentative sample - Answer some members of the population of interest have a much
higher probability of being included in the sample compared to other members
unbiased/representative sample - Answer all members of the population have equal chance of being
included in the sample
Convenience sampling - Answer sampling only people who are readily available to participate
Self-selection - Answer using only people who volunteer to participate
Probability sampling - Answer every member of the population of interest has an equal chance of being
selected for the sample, regardless of if they are close by, easy to contact, or motivated to respond.
Simple random sampling - Answer throw names in a hat
