PSY 301 EXAM 2 SDSU UPDATED ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. Conceptual definition of a variable
Answer:
A researcher's definition of a variable at the theoretical level
Question:
2. Operational definition of a variable
Answer:
a researcher's specific decision about how to measure or manipulate the conceptual variable.
Question:
3. Self-Report Measure
Answer:
A method of measuring a variable in which people answer questions about themselves in a
questionnaire or interview.
Question:
4. Observational Measure
Answer:
A method of measuring a variable by recording observable behaviors or physical traces of behaviors.
Also called behavioral measure.
Question:
5. phsyiological measures
Answer:
A method of measuring a variable by recording biological data.
Question:
6. Qualitative(Categorical) Variable
Answer:
A variable whose levels are categories (e.g., male and female). Also called nominal variable.
Question:
7. Quantitative Variable
Answer:
A variable whose values can be recorded as meaningful numbers.
Question:
8. Ordinal scale
Answer:
A quantitative measurement scale whose levels represent a ranked order, and in which distances
between levels are not equal (e.g., order of finishers in a race).
- Ex best selling books, time to finish exams
, Question:
9. Interval scale
Answer:
A quantitative measurement scale that has no "true zero," and in which the numerals represent equal
intervals (distances) between levels (e.g., temperature in degrees)
- Ex IQ scores, temperature in Farenheit or Celsius, Likert and Likert-type questions
Question:
10. Ratio Scale
Answer:
A quantitative measurement scale in which the numerals have equal intervals and the value of zero
truly means "none" of the variable being measured.
- Ex. Score on an exam, number of eye blinks, minutes of listening to music
Question:
11. Test-retest Reliability
Answer:
The consistency in results every time a measure is used
- We expect this for constructs like IQ or personality traits
Question:
12. Inter-rater Reliability
Answer:
The degree to which two or more coders or observers give consistent ratings of a set of targets.
- Most relevant for observational measures
Question:
13. Internal Reliability
Answer:
In a measure that contains several items, the consistency in a pattern of answers, no matter how a
question is phrased. Also called internal consistency.
- Relevant to questionnaires involving multiple items
Question:
14. Cronbach's alpha
Answer:
A correlation-based statistic that measures a scale's internal reliability. Also called coefficient alpha.
- mathematically combines the AIC and the number of items in the scale. The closer Cronbach's alpha
is to 1.0, the better the scale's reliability.
- For self-report measures; researchers are looking for Cronbach's alpha of .80 or higher
Question:
15. correlation coefficient (r)
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. Conceptual definition of a variable
Answer:
A researcher's definition of a variable at the theoretical level
Question:
2. Operational definition of a variable
Answer:
a researcher's specific decision about how to measure or manipulate the conceptual variable.
Question:
3. Self-Report Measure
Answer:
A method of measuring a variable in which people answer questions about themselves in a
questionnaire or interview.
Question:
4. Observational Measure
Answer:
A method of measuring a variable by recording observable behaviors or physical traces of behaviors.
Also called behavioral measure.
Question:
5. phsyiological measures
Answer:
A method of measuring a variable by recording biological data.
Question:
6. Qualitative(Categorical) Variable
Answer:
A variable whose levels are categories (e.g., male and female). Also called nominal variable.
Question:
7. Quantitative Variable
Answer:
A variable whose values can be recorded as meaningful numbers.
Question:
8. Ordinal scale
Answer:
A quantitative measurement scale whose levels represent a ranked order, and in which distances
between levels are not equal (e.g., order of finishers in a race).
- Ex best selling books, time to finish exams
, Question:
9. Interval scale
Answer:
A quantitative measurement scale that has no "true zero," and in which the numerals represent equal
intervals (distances) between levels (e.g., temperature in degrees)
- Ex IQ scores, temperature in Farenheit or Celsius, Likert and Likert-type questions
Question:
10. Ratio Scale
Answer:
A quantitative measurement scale in which the numerals have equal intervals and the value of zero
truly means "none" of the variable being measured.
- Ex. Score on an exam, number of eye blinks, minutes of listening to music
Question:
11. Test-retest Reliability
Answer:
The consistency in results every time a measure is used
- We expect this for constructs like IQ or personality traits
Question:
12. Inter-rater Reliability
Answer:
The degree to which two or more coders or observers give consistent ratings of a set of targets.
- Most relevant for observational measures
Question:
13. Internal Reliability
Answer:
In a measure that contains several items, the consistency in a pattern of answers, no matter how a
question is phrased. Also called internal consistency.
- Relevant to questionnaires involving multiple items
Question:
14. Cronbach's alpha
Answer:
A correlation-based statistic that measures a scale's internal reliability. Also called coefficient alpha.
- mathematically combines the AIC and the number of items in the scale. The closer Cronbach's alpha
is to 1.0, the better the scale's reliability.
- For self-report measures; researchers are looking for Cronbach's alpha of .80 or higher
Question:
15. correlation coefficient (r)
