Home

Chapter 2

Ask Yourself

Ask Yourself


This activity contains 18 questions.

	Review: Why might a researcher choose structured observation over naturalistic observation? How about the reverse? What might lead the researcher to opt for clinical interviewing over systematic observation? (pp. 42–44)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Review: What strengths and limitations do the clinical method and ethnography have in common? (pp. 48–49)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Apply: A researcher wants to study the thoughts and feelings of children who have a parent serving in the military in Iraq. Which method is best suited for investigating this question? (pp. 46–47)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Review: Explain why a research method must be reliable to be valid, yet reliability does not guarantee validity. (pp. 51–52)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Apply: In studying the development of attention in school-age children, a researcher wonders whether to make naturalistic observations or structured observations. Which approach is best for ensuring internal validity? How about external validity? Why? (pp. 51–52)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Connect: Why is it better for a researcher to use multiple research methods rather than just one method to test a hypothesis or answer a research question? (pp. 51–52)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Review: Why can we infer a cause-and-effect relationship in laboratory experiments but not in correlational studies? (pp. 52–54)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Review: Why are natural experiments less precise than laboratory and field experiments? (pp. 54, 56)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Apply: A researcher compares children who went to summer leadership camps with children who attended athletic camps. She finds that those who attended leadership camps are friendlier. Should the investigator tell parents that sending children to leadership camps will cause them to be more sociable? Why or why not? (pp. 52–53)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Connect: Reread the description of the study of aggressive boys and their friendships on page 44. What type of research design did the researchers use, and why? (pp. 44, 53–54)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Review: Explain how cohort effects can distort the findings of both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. How does the sequential design reveal cohort effects? (pp.57–58, 60)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Review: What design is best suited to studying processes of change, and why? When researchers use this design, what factors can threaten the internal validity of their findings? (pp. 57–58)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Apply: A researcher wants to know whether children enrolled in child-care centers in the first few years of life do as well in school as those who are not in child care. Which developmental design is appropriate for answering this question? Explain. (pp. 57–58)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Reflect: Suppose a researcher asks you to enroll your baby in a 10-year longitudinal study. What factors would lead you to agree and stay involved? Do your answers shed light on why longitudinal studies often have biased samples? Explain. (p. 58)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Review: Explain why researchers must consider children’s age-related capacities to ensure that they are protected from harm and have freely consented to research. (pp. 62–65)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Apply: When a researcher engaged in naturalistic observation of preschoolers’ play, a child said, “Stop watching me!” Using the research rights in Table 2.4, indicate how the researcher should respond, and why. (p. 63)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Connect: Review the experiment on music lessons and intelligence reported in the Biology and Environment Box on page 55. Why was it ethically important for the researchers to offer music lessons to the no-lessons control group during the year after completion of the study? (pp.55, 63)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

	Reflect: Suppose you want to conduct clinical interviews with school-age children, each of whom has a parent with AIDS, to elicit their thoughts and feelings about living with a parent who has a chronic, stigmatizing illness. After obtaining parental consent to ask about this sensitive, private topic, what steps would you take throughout the interview to ensure that you have the children’s informed consent? (pp. 63–65)   To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Copyright © 1995 - 2009, Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Allyn & Bacon Legal and Privacy Terms