COUC 515 Quiz: Program Evaluation and Research Designs
Exam 2026/2027 Questions & Answers with Rationales |
Liberty University
SECTION 1 — FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH DESIGNS
1. What is the primary purpose of a research design?
A. To provide an overall plan for answering a research question
B. To guarantee statistically significant findings
C. To eliminate all researcher judgment
D. To replace data analysis
Answer: A
Rationale: A research design provides the overall structure for
collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data in relation to the research
question.
2. Which research design is strongest for investigating causal effects
when random assignment is feasible?
A. Experimental design
B. Descriptive design
C. Correlational design
D. Case study
Answer: A
Rationale: Experimental designs manipulate an independent variable
and use random assignment or other controls to strengthen causal
inference.
,3. What is the defining feature of an experimental study?
A. Manipulation of an independent variable
B. Absence of measurable variables
C. Exclusive use of interviews
D. Reliance on historical documents
Answer: A
Rationale: Experimental research involves deliberate manipulation of
an independent variable to examine its effects.
4. What is random assignment?
A. Assigning participants to conditions by chance
B. Selecting participants from a population by convenience
C. Allowing participants to choose their treatment
D. Selecting only participants with desired characteristics
Answer: A
Rationale: Random assignment distributes participants among
experimental conditions by chance.
5. Why is random assignment valuable?
A. It can help balance preexisting participant characteristics across
conditions
B. It guarantees external validity
C. It eliminates the need for informed consent
D. It guarantees a large sample
,Answer: A
Rationale: Random assignment helps reduce systematic differences
between groups before an intervention begins.
6. What is the control group in an experiment?
A. A comparison group that does not receive the experimental
intervention or receives a specified comparison condition
B. The group with the largest sample
C. The group selected first
D. The group that always improves
Answer: A
Rationale: A control or comparison group provides a basis for
evaluating what happens without the experimental treatment or under
an alternative condition.
7. What is an experimental group?
A. The group receiving the intervention or experimental condition being
studied
B. The group excluded from analysis
C. The group that provides demographic information only
D. The group selected from a different population
Answer: A
Rationale: The experimental group receives the intervention or
condition whose effects are being investigated.
, 8. What is a quasi-experimental design?
A. A design examining an intervention without full random assignment
B. A design containing no variables
C. A literature review
D. A purely qualitative interview study
Answer: A
Rationale: Quasi-experimental designs examine intervention effects
but lack one or more features of a true randomized experiment.
9. What is a pretest-posttest design?
A. Measuring an outcome before and after an intervention
B. Measuring participants only after treatment
C. Measuring only the control group
D. Measuring two unrelated populations
Answer: A
Rationale: Pretest-posttest designs compare measurements taken
before and after an intervention or condition.
10. What is a posttest-only design?
A. Measuring outcomes after the intervention without a pre-
intervention measurement
B. Measuring outcomes before intervention only
C. Measuring participants every day
D. Conducting only qualitative interviews
Answer: A
Exam 2026/2027 Questions & Answers with Rationales |
Liberty University
SECTION 1 — FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH DESIGNS
1. What is the primary purpose of a research design?
A. To provide an overall plan for answering a research question
B. To guarantee statistically significant findings
C. To eliminate all researcher judgment
D. To replace data analysis
Answer: A
Rationale: A research design provides the overall structure for
collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data in relation to the research
question.
2. Which research design is strongest for investigating causal effects
when random assignment is feasible?
A. Experimental design
B. Descriptive design
C. Correlational design
D. Case study
Answer: A
Rationale: Experimental designs manipulate an independent variable
and use random assignment or other controls to strengthen causal
inference.
,3. What is the defining feature of an experimental study?
A. Manipulation of an independent variable
B. Absence of measurable variables
C. Exclusive use of interviews
D. Reliance on historical documents
Answer: A
Rationale: Experimental research involves deliberate manipulation of
an independent variable to examine its effects.
4. What is random assignment?
A. Assigning participants to conditions by chance
B. Selecting participants from a population by convenience
C. Allowing participants to choose their treatment
D. Selecting only participants with desired characteristics
Answer: A
Rationale: Random assignment distributes participants among
experimental conditions by chance.
5. Why is random assignment valuable?
A. It can help balance preexisting participant characteristics across
conditions
B. It guarantees external validity
C. It eliminates the need for informed consent
D. It guarantees a large sample
,Answer: A
Rationale: Random assignment helps reduce systematic differences
between groups before an intervention begins.
6. What is the control group in an experiment?
A. A comparison group that does not receive the experimental
intervention or receives a specified comparison condition
B. The group with the largest sample
C. The group selected first
D. The group that always improves
Answer: A
Rationale: A control or comparison group provides a basis for
evaluating what happens without the experimental treatment or under
an alternative condition.
7. What is an experimental group?
A. The group receiving the intervention or experimental condition being
studied
B. The group excluded from analysis
C. The group that provides demographic information only
D. The group selected from a different population
Answer: A
Rationale: The experimental group receives the intervention or
condition whose effects are being investigated.
, 8. What is a quasi-experimental design?
A. A design examining an intervention without full random assignment
B. A design containing no variables
C. A literature review
D. A purely qualitative interview study
Answer: A
Rationale: Quasi-experimental designs examine intervention effects
but lack one or more features of a true randomized experiment.
9. What is a pretest-posttest design?
A. Measuring an outcome before and after an intervention
B. Measuring participants only after treatment
C. Measuring only the control group
D. Measuring two unrelated populations
Answer: A
Rationale: Pretest-posttest designs compare measurements taken
before and after an intervention or condition.
10. What is a posttest-only design?
A. Measuring outcomes after the intervention without a pre-
intervention measurement
B. Measuring outcomes before intervention only
C. Measuring participants every day
D. Conducting only qualitative interviews
Answer: A
