Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Research

1. Which research paradigm is based on the pragmatic view of reality?

a. quantitative research

b. qualitative research

c. mixed research

d. none of the above

2. Which research paradigm is least concerned about generalizing its findings?

a. quantitative research

b. qualitative research

c. mixed research

d. none of the above

3. Which of the following best describes quantitative research?
a. the collection of nonnumerical data
b. an attempt to confirm the researcher’s hypotheses
c. research that is exploratory

d. research that attempts to generate a new theory

4. A condition or characteristic that can take on different values or categories is called ___.
a. a constant
b. a variable
c. a cause-and-effect relationship

d. a descriptive relationship

5. A variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable is called a(n):
a. categorical variable
b. dependent variable
c. independent variable
d. intervening variable

6. All of the following are common characteristics of experimental research except:
a. it relies primarily on the collection of numerical data
b. it can produce important knowledge about cause and effect
c. it uses the deductive scientific method
d. it rarely is conducted in a controlled setting or environment

7. Qualitative research is often exploratory and has all of the following characteristics except:
a. it is typically used when a great deal is already known about the topic of interest
b. it relies on the collection of nonnumerical data such as words and pictures
c. it is used to generate hypotheses and develop theory about phenomena in the world
d. it uses the inductive scientific method

8. Which type of research provides the strongest evidence about the existence of cause-and-effect relationships?
a. nonexperimental Research
b. experimental Research

9. What is the key defining characteristic of experimental research?
a. extraneous variables are never present
b. a positive correlation usually exists
c. a negative correlation usually exists
d. manipulation of the independent variable

10. In _____, random assignment to groups is never possible and the researcher cannot manipulate the independent variable.
a. basic research
b. quantitative research
c. experimental research
d. causal-comparative and correlational research

11. What is the defining characteristic of experimental research?

a. resistance to manipulation

b. manipulation of the independent variable

c. the use of open-ended questions

d. focuses only on local problems

12.. A positive correlation is present when _______.
a. two variables move in opposite directions.
b. two variables move in the same direction.
c. one variable goes up and one goes down
d. several variables never change.

13. Research in which the researcher uses the qualitative paradigm for one phase and the quantitative paradigm for another phase is known as ______.
a. action research
b. basic research
c. quantitative research
d. mixed method research
e. mixed model research

14. Research in which the researcher uses both qualitative and quantitative research within a stage or across two of the stages in the research process is known as ______.
a. action research
b. basic research
c. quantitative research
d. mixed method research
e. mixed model research

15.. Research that is done to understand an event from the past is known as _____?
a. experimental research
b. historical research
c. replication
d. archival research

16. ______ research occurs when the researcher manipulates the independent variable.
a. causal-comparative research
b. experimental research
c. ethnography
d. correlational research

17.. Which of the following includes examples of quantitative variables?
a. age, temperature, income, height
b. grade point average, anxiety level, reading performance
c. gender, religion, ethnic group
d. both a and b

18.. What is the opposite of a variable?
a. a constant
b. an extraneous variable
c. a dependent variable

d. a data set

19. Which of the following is the type of nonexperimental research in which the primary independent variable of interest is categorical?
a. causal-comparative research
b. experimental research
c. qualitative research
d. mixed research

20. Which of the following can best be described as a categorical variable?
a. age
b. annual income
c. grade point average
d. religion

21. In research, something that does not "vary" is called a ___________.
a. variable
b. method
c. constant
d. control group

22. When interpreting a correlation coefficient expressing the relationship between two variables, it is very important to avoid _______.
a. checking the strength of relationship
b. jumping to the conclusion of causality
c. checking the direction of the relationship

d. expressing a relationship with a correlation coefficient

23. A researcher studies achievement by children in poorly funded elementary schools. She develops a model that posits parent involvement as an important variable. She believes that parent involvement has an impact on children by increasing their motivation to do school work. Thus, in her model, greater parent involvement leads to higher student motivation, which in turn creates higher student achievement. Student motivation is what kind of variable in this study?

a. Manipulated variable

b. Extraneous variable

c. Confounding variable

d. Mediating or intervening variable

24. The strongest evidence for causality comes from which of the following research methods?

a. Experimental

b. Causal-comparative

c. Correlational

d. Ethnography

25. Which correlation is the strongest?

a.   +.10

b.   -.95

c.   +.90

d.  -1.00

26. The correlation between intelligence test scores and grades is:

a. Positive

b. Negative

c. Perfect

d. They are not correlated

Answers:

1. c

2. b

3. b

4. b

5. c

6. d

7. a

8. b

9. d

10. d

11. b

12. b

13. d

14. e

15. b

16. b

17. d

18. a

19. a

20. d

21. c

22. b

23. d

24. a

25. d

26. a