Communication Research Practice Questions

For each of the following questions, select the best answer from the given alternative choices. Additional instructions are given as necessary. Read each question and all alternatives carefully before selecting an answer.


Logic of Quantitative Research

1.1 How are "everyday ways of knowing" (like intuition, tradition, and authority) different from scholarly ways of knowing (research)?

1.2 The goal of behavioral (quantitative) approaches to communication research is best described as which of the following? 1.3 Which of the following statements is the most accurate description of the hypothetico-deductive research method? 1.4 Assume that a researcher observes a relationship between sunspot activity and stock market prices; specifically, when sunspot activity is high, stock market prices fall; when it is low, stock prices rise. Can the researcher assert that sunspot activity influences stock prices based on this observation alone?

Definitions

2.1 "A characteristic, attribute, or behavior of an individual that takes on different values for different individuals and can be measured or observed" best defines which of the following?

2.2 "A possible state or level of a variable" best defines which of the following? 2.3 "A statement of inquiry about a communication-related concept that asks how to describe it or how it is related to other concepts" best defines which of the following? 2.4 "The process of explaining and defining the concepts within a theory" best defines which of the following? 2.5 "The process of defining theoretical concepts so that they can be observed or measured" best defines which of the following? 2.6 "The process of observing phenomena and using those observations to make generalizations which then serve to help refine a formal theory" best defines which of the following? 2.7 "The set of individuals or objects whose characteristics or behavior are of interest" best defines which of the following? 2.8 "The individuals or objects selected for measurement or observation" best defines which of the following?

Simple Scenario:  Theory Building

Read the following paragraph and answer the next three questions

A researcher suspects that television sets emit energy that damages people's vision. To test her theory, she observes a sample of children (none of whom wear glasses) and measures how far away they sit from the television when they watch. Two years later, she observes the children again, this time seeing how many are wearing glasses. Her data suggest that young children who sit close to the television set are more often diagnosed as needing glasses than children who sit further away, and announces that her theory is supported.

3.1 In this situation, "distance from the television while watching" is what kind of variable?

3.2 What kind of variable is "whether or not a child wears glasses"? 3.3 Suppose a critic disagrees with the researcher, saying that it is possible that previously existing eye problems in the children may result in both sitting close to the TV and in needing glasses. "Previous existence of eye problems" is, in this case, an example of what kind of variable? 3.4 Which of the following is a characteristic of a "good" hypothesis? 3.5 What assertion about the variables being studied does the "null hypothesis" make?

Levels of Measurement

For the next five questions, identify the correct level of measurement for the variable that is described.

4.1 Cash on hand, measured in dollars.

4.2 Beauty pageant results, measured as "Miss America," "first runner-up," "third runner-up," "fourth runner-up," and "not a finalist." 4.3 Travel time to work each day, measured in hours and minutes. 4.4 Communication apprehension, measured using 12 5-point Likert-type scale items. 4.5 The answer to the question "Do you live on-campus?" measured as "Yes" or "No". 4.6 Which of the following are characteristics of interval data? 4.7 Which of the following are characteristics of nominal data?

Fill-In-the-Blanks

For the next seven questions, select the answer containing the word or words that most correctly fill in the blanks.

5.1 "Operationalization" is the process of translating ____________ into _____________ so that they can be measured, manipulated, or observed.

5.2 "Aggressiveness is related to age," is an example of a _____________ hypothesis of ______________. 5.3 In an _______________, the ______________ variable is always manipulated. 5.4 ___________ observation involves the examination of communication artifacts or archival data. 5.5 The proportion of a certain value within a population is called a population ____________; the proportion of a certain value within a sample is called a sample _____________. 5.6 Evaluating the external validity of a study involves judgments about the _________________ of the sample, the _____________ of the research setting, and the ________________ of the research method and results. 5.7 Methods of random sampling include ________________, ____________, and ________________ sampling. 5.8 An experiment with two independent variables is generally referred to as a _________________.

Simple Scenario:  Survey Questions

For the next two questions, refer to this example:

Instructions: Indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement:

Communication research is a real barrel of laughs. 

     1       2         3        4        5        6         7 

  strongly                   neutral                     strongly

  disagree                                                agree
6.1 What type of question is the example above? 6.2 What level of measurement is the example above?

Simple Questions:  The Research Article

The next five questions ask about the structure of a typical quantitative research report.

7.1 In a scholarly journal article or research report, where would you expect to find how the researcher operationalized the variables?

7.2 Where would you find a short summary of the research and its findings? 7.3 Where would you find citations to other related articles and reports? 7.4 Where would you find a discussion of the theory upon which the research is based? 7.5 Where would you find the researcher's assessment of possible implications of the research findings?

Hypotheses

For the next four questions, read the statement and indicate whether it is a hypothesis of association or difference and whether it is directional or non-directional.

8.1 "Individuals who are heavy users of mass media will be better informed about current political events than will individuals who are moderate or light users of mass media."

8.2 "Tolerance for ambiguity decreases with age." 8.3 "Communication competence is related to self-confidence." 8.4 "Men will be different from women in terms of communication assertiveness."

Validity

9.1 A measurement technique is said to have "predictive validity" if it possesses which of the following characteristics?

9.2 A measurement technique is said to have "concurrent validity" if it possesses which of the following characteristics? 9.3 Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between internal validity and external validity?

Scenario:  Threats to Validity

Read the following scenario and answer the next four questions.

An education researcher is interested in the effectiveness of a new method of teaching reading to 1st graders. She divides the students into two groups and gives each of them a reading test. She trains several teachers in how to teach reading using the new method. Over the course of the school year, one group is taught using the new method; the other group is taught using the old method. At the end of the school year, she tests both groups again and compares their scores to see if the new method is more effective than the old.

10.1 Suppose the researcher divided the 1st graders into groups based on their scores on the first test, with high scorers placed in the "old method" group and low scorers placed in the "new method" group. What threat to internal validity might occur?

10.2 Suppose that, on the day of the second test, several students are absent because their parents are told that the test is "optional". What threat to internal validity might occur? 10.3 Suppose that the researcher regularly visits the "new method" classrooms in order to observe the teachers and the children. What threat to internal validity might occur? 10.4 Suppose that the "new method" is supposed to be used by three of the school's first grade teachers, but that one of those teachers decides to incorporate different methods that he thinks will work better. What threat to internal validity might occur?

Scenario:  Experimental Designs

Read the following paragraph and answer the next three questions.

A researcher decides to investigate the relationship between public speaking experience and self-confidence. She obtains subjects from a pool of volunteers and randomly assigns them to one of two conditions.

In the first condition, subjects receive a one-week public speaking course consisting of two hours each day practicing various types of speeches, receiving critiques, and evaluating each other's work. In the second condition, subjects do not attend this class.

All subjects fill out a questionnaire at the end of the week. The questionnaire includes three items measured on a 7-point Likert-type scale which asks subjects about their confidence in their own abilities to meet challenges, overcome obstacles, and solve problems which they may encounter. These items are then added together to create a "self-confidence scale".

11.1 What kind of design has the researcher used?

11.2 Which of the following is the treatment group? 11.3 The fact that the subjects were volunteers can be used to support which of the following statements?

Data Analysis:  Describe a Sample

To answer the next five questions, refer to the set of numbers below:
  

1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7
12.1 What is the mean? 12.2 What is the mode? 12.3 What is the median?

Hypothesis Testing

13.1 Suppose a researcher wishes to compare the scores of two groups on some variable, called Y. Group 1 has a mean of 3.9; Group 2 has a mean of 4.2. What one piece of additional information would tell her the most about the differences between the two groups?

13.2 Suppose the same researcher conducts a t-test on the data she has available and discovers that the value of t is 4.33, p < .05. What is the appropriate conclusion for her to draw?