Applied Research Methods BE exam preparation
Example multiple-choice questions
Question 1:
In the introduction lecture was discussed that humans are scientist by nature. However, we
are not such very good scientists by nature. We make quite a lot of mistakes in doing science.
What is an example of such a mistake?
- Over-generalisation
Question 2:
Researcher Maerten Prins has conducted an internet survey among thousands of Dutch
young people. Collecting data via internet questionnaires is an attractive way of doing
research. What is a disadvantage?
- It is difficult to determine whether there is a response bias
- E.g., a certain group may be underrepresented in data compared with the sample you
are interested in compare statistical information of sample with reference group
- False: the response is always low in this research method (the response rate is usually
low, but not always low)
Question 3:
In the lecture ‘diary studies’ the lecturer described (semi-)random and fixed assessments.
Imagine the following: Carol is designing a study in which she wants to assess the
relationship between people’s physical activity and their perceived stress throughout the
workday. Carol has decided to assess this using diary methods. One of the things Carol needs
to decide upon is whether stress should be asked out on a random, semi-random, or fixed
assessment schedule. Her supervisor is thinking that it should be fixed assessment. However,
Carol feels that it should be random, but she struggles with convincing her supervisor of this.
She wrote down the following arguments she is thinking of using to convince her supervisor
of making the assessment schedule random.
1. “I think we should do it randomly to avoid reactivity and anticipation effects”.
2. “I think we should do it randomly to make sure measurements are evenly spread”.
Which of these arguments could Carol use to convince her supervisor of making the
assessment schedule random?
- Only argument 1 could be used
- Both less reactivity and anticipation effects compared to fixed assessments
Example multiple-choice questions
Question 1:
In the introduction lecture was discussed that humans are scientist by nature. However, we
are not such very good scientists by nature. We make quite a lot of mistakes in doing science.
What is an example of such a mistake?
- Over-generalisation
Question 2:
Researcher Maerten Prins has conducted an internet survey among thousands of Dutch
young people. Collecting data via internet questionnaires is an attractive way of doing
research. What is a disadvantage?
- It is difficult to determine whether there is a response bias
- E.g., a certain group may be underrepresented in data compared with the sample you
are interested in compare statistical information of sample with reference group
- False: the response is always low in this research method (the response rate is usually
low, but not always low)
Question 3:
In the lecture ‘diary studies’ the lecturer described (semi-)random and fixed assessments.
Imagine the following: Carol is designing a study in which she wants to assess the
relationship between people’s physical activity and their perceived stress throughout the
workday. Carol has decided to assess this using diary methods. One of the things Carol needs
to decide upon is whether stress should be asked out on a random, semi-random, or fixed
assessment schedule. Her supervisor is thinking that it should be fixed assessment. However,
Carol feels that it should be random, but she struggles with convincing her supervisor of this.
She wrote down the following arguments she is thinking of using to convince her supervisor
of making the assessment schedule random.
1. “I think we should do it randomly to avoid reactivity and anticipation effects”.
2. “I think we should do it randomly to make sure measurements are evenly spread”.
Which of these arguments could Carol use to convince her supervisor of making the
assessment schedule random?
- Only argument 1 could be used
- Both less reactivity and anticipation effects compared to fixed assessments
