Leedy & Ormrod Ch 1

Well-designed research manages to minimize or avoid:

• Assumptions.

• Predictions.

• Theory.

• Bias.

Which of the following is defined as a reasonable guess, or a logical supposition, for explaining the phenomenon under investigation?

• Theory

• Inference

• Hypothesis

• Interpretation

The process of formal research begins with the identification of:

• Research hypotheses.

• A feasible research plan.

• Available participants.

• A research problem.

Which of the following is defined as an organized body of concepts and principles intended to explain a particular phenomenon?

• Theory

• Inference

• Hypothesis

• Interpretation

 To be considered true research, a project must:

• A. gather together a body of existing information and communicate it in a clear and concise way.

• Uncover obscure or esoteric information and bring it to the consideration of the broader research community.

• Gather and interpret information in a systematic fashion so as to increase understanding of some phenomenon.

• Produce definitive conclusions regarding the subject of study.

One indication that a piece of information is of high quality is that the information:

• Is found on the Internet.

• Is found in a juried (or refereed) research report.

• Resulted from a project that received corporate funding.

• Is the firsthand account of a personal experience.

Assumptions come into play:

• In regard to nearly every aspect of every research study.

• In qualitative research but not in quantitative research.

• When research is not well thought out.

• Rarely, if ever.

A well-designed and well-conducted study:

• Answers questions of importance in the field.

• Raises questions of importance to the field.

• Answers some questions and raises other questions.

Researchers ______ their phenomenon of interest on the basis of data analysis.

• Make inferences about

• Know facts about

• Define

• Identify

Three of the following come into play as the researcher analyzes the data.  Which one does NOT?

• The study hypothesis/hypotheses

• Preferences for certain outcomes

• The logical reasoning process

• Assumptions

Which of the following examples illustrates research the way it is defined in Leedy and Ormrod (2010)?

• Sally is writing a paper about the effects of the Harry Potter books on the reading habits of fourth graders in the United States and United Kingdom. She goes to a research library to find information to include in her paper.

• Ian wants to know why the population of songbirds has declined in recent years in the Sutton Wilderness Area. He carefully collects soil and water samples, systematically surveys the entire area for predators, and then sits down to make sense of his findings.

• Leonard is starting a woodworking business and is not sure how to calculate the cost of his labor so he can be both profitable and fair to the customers. He asks several established business owners how they calculate labor changes

• Bill is doing a report on the sonnets of Shakespeare. He carefully reads a number of sonnets and then carefully reads scholarly reviews of those same sonnets written by various Shakespeare scholars. He synthesizes all of this information in his report.

A primary function of the methodology is to:

• Guide and control the acquisition of data.

• Extract meaning from the data that have been gathered.

• Both a and b

• Neither a nor b

Good economy of expression may be achieved through using

• Short words.

• Short sentences.

• Direct, simple declarative sentences.

• Short paragraphs.

• All of the above.

The purpose of formal research is to:

• Prove or disprove the study hypotheses.

• Support or fail to support the study hypotheses.

• Identify alternative hypotheses.

• Move beyond the need for hypotheses.

A writer ust be careful when using the pronouns this, that, these, and those.  The writer can eliminate or reduce vagueness of these pronouns by

• Using them to modify a noun (e.g., this frenulum, that hypothalamus, these electrodes, those mice).

• Using them frequently.

• Clarifying what is being referred to for the reader.

• A and c.

Your chapter states: “Research is, by its nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical.”  Explain why “cyclical” is an appropriate description of the research process.  Then explain why “helical” is a better description.

Describe an example of the word research being used inappropriately.  Be clear about how your example deviates from the definition of research offered in the chapter.

Graduate professors like to insist that the completion of thesis or dissertation research is not merely an “academic exercise” or final hurdle to obtaining the desired degree.  Explain at least one personal benefit that the individual derives from completing a high- quality thesis or dissertation.  Then explain at least one societal benefit that follows from the individual’s completion of a high-quality thesis or dissertation.

In the most rigorous tests of hypotheses, the researcher sets out to fail to support the hypothesis.  Why is the attempt to fail to support a more rigorous test of the hypothesis than an attempt to support it?