MSW 550 EXAM 3/ACTUAL EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH WELL DETAILED
ANSWERS/GRADE A+ ASSURED
Criteria for inferring causality - ANSWER✔✔-1) Cause (independent variable) must
precede the effect (dependent variable) in time
2) The two variables are empirically correlated (covary) with one
another
3) The observed empirical correlation (covariation) between the two variables can not
be due to the influence of a third variable that causes the two under consideration
internal validity - ANSWER✔✔--refers to the confidence we have that the results of a
study accurately depict whether one variable is or is not a cause of another
-the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of
the independent variable
external validity - ANSWER✔✔-the extent to which the results of a study can be
GENERALIZED to other situations and to other people
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA GREENWAYS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,threats to internal validity - ANSWER✔✔-Possible causes of a phenomenon that must
be controlled so a clear cause-effect inference can be made. If the cause of a change in a
study is not due to the independent variable(s) manipulation, then there is an
alternative explanation - a threat to internal validity.
seven prominent threats to internal validity - ANSWER✔✔-history,
maturation,
testing,
instrumentation changes,
statistical regression,
selection bias,
ambiguity about the direction of causal influence
statistical regression - ANSWER✔✔-the statistical tendency for extreme scores or
extreme behavior to be followed by others that are less extreme and closer to average
Ambiguity about the direction of causal influence (threats to internal validity) -
ANSWER✔✔-Internal validity threat that occurs when the direct of causation is unclear:
did X cause Y or did Y lead to X? Was it really the independent variable that caused the
change or was it the dependent variable that changed on its own?
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA GREENWAYS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, History (Threats to internal validity) - ANSWER✔✔-Sometimes an unpredictable but
significant outside event affects the study.
Ex: You've been giving seniors in a nursing home with depression counseling and
you're giving pre and post measurements of the difference. But on the day you're doing
the post-test, they give everyone in the nursing home hot fudge sundaes and their
scores are really high. Was it your counseling that helped, or the fudgy-goodness?
Historical event got in the way.
Maturation (threats to internal validity) - ANSWER✔✔-Was it your
intervention/independent variable that made the difference or did things just change
on their own with the passage of time?
Testing (threats to internal validity) - ANSWER✔✔-Sometimes just being tested
motivates people to behave differently than they would have.
instrumentation threat - ANSWER✔✔-a threat to internal validity that occurs when a
measuring instrument changes over time from having been used before
selection bias - ANSWER✔✔-In an experiment, unintended differences between the
participants in different groups. Comparisons don't have any meaning unless the
groups being compared are really comparable.
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA GREENWAYS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
QUESTIONS WITH WELL DETAILED
ANSWERS/GRADE A+ ASSURED
Criteria for inferring causality - ANSWER✔✔-1) Cause (independent variable) must
precede the effect (dependent variable) in time
2) The two variables are empirically correlated (covary) with one
another
3) The observed empirical correlation (covariation) between the two variables can not
be due to the influence of a third variable that causes the two under consideration
internal validity - ANSWER✔✔--refers to the confidence we have that the results of a
study accurately depict whether one variable is or is not a cause of another
-the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of
the independent variable
external validity - ANSWER✔✔-the extent to which the results of a study can be
GENERALIZED to other situations and to other people
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA GREENWAYS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,threats to internal validity - ANSWER✔✔-Possible causes of a phenomenon that must
be controlled so a clear cause-effect inference can be made. If the cause of a change in a
study is not due to the independent variable(s) manipulation, then there is an
alternative explanation - a threat to internal validity.
seven prominent threats to internal validity - ANSWER✔✔-history,
maturation,
testing,
instrumentation changes,
statistical regression,
selection bias,
ambiguity about the direction of causal influence
statistical regression - ANSWER✔✔-the statistical tendency for extreme scores or
extreme behavior to be followed by others that are less extreme and closer to average
Ambiguity about the direction of causal influence (threats to internal validity) -
ANSWER✔✔-Internal validity threat that occurs when the direct of causation is unclear:
did X cause Y or did Y lead to X? Was it really the independent variable that caused the
change or was it the dependent variable that changed on its own?
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA GREENWAYS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, History (Threats to internal validity) - ANSWER✔✔-Sometimes an unpredictable but
significant outside event affects the study.
Ex: You've been giving seniors in a nursing home with depression counseling and
you're giving pre and post measurements of the difference. But on the day you're doing
the post-test, they give everyone in the nursing home hot fudge sundaes and their
scores are really high. Was it your counseling that helped, or the fudgy-goodness?
Historical event got in the way.
Maturation (threats to internal validity) - ANSWER✔✔-Was it your
intervention/independent variable that made the difference or did things just change
on their own with the passage of time?
Testing (threats to internal validity) - ANSWER✔✔-Sometimes just being tested
motivates people to behave differently than they would have.
instrumentation threat - ANSWER✔✔-a threat to internal validity that occurs when a
measuring instrument changes over time from having been used before
selection bias - ANSWER✔✔-In an experiment, unintended differences between the
participants in different groups. Comparisons don't have any meaning unless the
groups being compared are really comparable.
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY OLIVIA GREENWAYS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
