The basic idea underlying experimental research is to assess the impact of:

a dependent variable on an independent variable. an independent variable on a dependent variable. a descriptive variable on a dependent variable. an intervening variable on a dependent variable.

Which of the following is an example of what your text refers to as an "intervention study?"
comparing whether students who are given "school dollars" for doing their homework perform better than students who are not given school dollars comparing math achievement test scores of Mr. Lyon's and Mrs. DeVine's second-grade classes comparing achievement scores of urban, suburban, and rural elementary schools assessing the threats to internal validity inherent in quasi-experimentation

Which of the following characteristics is NOT at the center of experimental research designs?
applying an intervention to one or more groups measuring outcomes at the end of the experiment providing demographic information on research participants designing procedures to address threats to validity conducting statistical comparisons of different groups

What is the problem with not having a control group in an experimental design?
There are too few participants, thus reducing statistical power. You are unable to conclude if changes in the experimental group are due to the intervention. The unit of analysis is individual students, but the experimental treatment applies to a whole group. Not having a control group also means there can be no comparison group.

Which of the following is an example of a between-group design?

Assess achievement levels in math versus science at a high school. Track smoking incidence of high school juniors in Ottawa County, Michigan. Compare phonics versus whole language instruction on reading comprehension. Track science achievement from fourth grade to fifth grade in selected elementary schools.

What distinguishes a "true" experiment from a "quasi-experiment"?

True experiments have no threats to internal validity. Quasi-experiments have no threats to internal validity. True experiments have random assignment to conditions. Quasi-experiments have random assignments to conditions.

Random assignment : random selection ::

placing in groups : equal probability of inclusion in study equal probability of inclusion in study : placing in groups sample : population population : sample

A necessary condition to determine whether an intervention to reduce adolescent smoking has an effect is:
random selection of participants. pretest measures of adolescent smoking. a "true" experimental design. randomized block design.

A university admissions officer seeks to determine if SAT score predicts college GPA. She also measures parental income because she believes it also correlates with college GPA. In this case parental income is a:
control factor. covariate. threat to validity. matching variable.

blocking variable : covariate ::

correlational design : experimental design experimental design : correlational design control variable : independent variable independent variable : control variable

A researcher who uses an English-only, timed intelligence test that has a heavy emphasis on mathematics computing and problem solving as an outcome measure in an intervention is likely to suffer a threat to which kind of validity?
consequential validity internal validity construct validity language validity

A school district's director of research chose students with the highest number of truancies to test the effectiveness of a truancy-intervention program on increasing school attendance. After six months he found that this program reduced the number of school days missed by those with the highest truancy rates. What is the biggest threat to validity in this design?
statistical regression; a threat to internal validity maturation; a threat to internal validity statistical regression; a threat to statistical conclusion validity

maturation; a threat to statistical conclusion validity

An elementary school has two third-grade classrooms using project-based science and two classrooms using traditional instruction. Students in the two traditional classrooms learn of the "new and fun" science experiments their peers in the other class get to do. They complain to the teacher about this. The teachers believe this is creating dissatisfaction and perhaps lower achievement in their classrooms. Which threat to internal validity does this illustrate?
diffusion of treatments resentful demoralization selection bias instrumentation bias

What is one strategy researchers should NOT employ to reduce threats to external validity?
Make participation in the experiment convenient. Use the same treatment in each setting. Replicate the study over and over again. Use pretest measures to ensure equivalency between experimental and control groups.

Which of the following is an example of a factorial design?

pretest and posttest measures of attitudes toward science among middle school students effects of levels of depression (low, medium, high) and type of instruction (standard lecture vs. graphic images) on students' attitudes toward smoking interrupted time series design during an entire academic year, tracking gender differences in math achievement effects of district hiring policy on staff morale and student achievement

Why is quasi-experimental design more often used in educational research than true experimental design?
Ethical concerns arise over controlling student behavior too much.

Use of pretests creates the potential for threats to internal validity such as rivalry and resentful demoralization. Random selection is not possible. Most often students are already assigned to groups (e.g., classrooms) before an experimental design is in place.

Which of the following is a bigger problem in quasi-experiments than in true experiments?

instrumentation statistical regression statistical power maturation

Which of the following is an example of an interaction effect in a factorial design?

Male and female students each reported more positive reactions to the ninth-grade health class when it was taught by a teacher of their own gender. Smoking decreases from middle school to the beginning of high school, and then rises again in 11th grade. Traditional lecture does worse than project-based lab/problem-solving for both science and math achievement. Children's self-esteem drops significantly in later elementary school years.

Student smoking rates were measured once a year during a 4-year intervention designed to decrease teen smoking. Which of the following extraneous factors would cause the most concern with regard to interpreting this repeated-measures design?
A new high school was built between Year 1 and Year 2 of the intervention. Cost of cigarettes went up 55% over the 4 years of the intervention. Some students elected to attend the intermediate school district for job-skills training their senior year. Measures were taken in the fall during Year 1 and Year 2, but in the spring during Year 3 and Year 4.

Which of the following is best studied with a single-subject research design?

assessing the effectiveness of substantial daily tutoring on an EI student

assessing the effectiveness of "looping" first- and second-grade teachers on student achievement. content analysis of fourth-grade curriculum objectives as an alternative to factorial design when only small sample sizes are available