Nursing Elites

1. An experimental design __________.

• A. allows researchers to gather information in natural life circumstances without altering the participants' experiences
• B. looks at relationships between participants' characteristics and their behavior or development
• C. permits inferences about cause and effect because researchers evenhandedly assign people to treatment conditions
• D. has one major limitation: researchers cannot infer cause and effect

Correct answer: C

Rationale: An experimental design permits inferences about cause and effect because researchers evenhandedly assign people to treatment conditions. This means that researchers can manipulate certain variables and observe the effects on participants, allowing them to determine causation between variables. This is a key strength of experimental research designs. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because they do not accurately describe the primary purpose or strength of experimental designs. Experimental designs do not focus on gathering information in natural life circumstances (A), looking at relationships between characteristics and behavior (B), or have the limitation of not being able to infer cause and effect (D).

2. Which research method is an outgrowth of psychoanalytic theory?

• A. naturalistic observation
• B. structured observation
• C. ethnography
• D. the clinical method

Correct answer: D

Rationale: The clinical method is an outgrowth of psychoanalytic theory. This method involves in-depth, one-on-one interviews or therapy sessions to explore an individual's unconscious thoughts and emotions. It aims to gain insight into the underlying causes of behavior and psychological issues, aligning with the foundational principles of psychoanalytic theory developed by Sigmund Freud. Choices A, B, and C are not directly associated with psychoanalytic theory. Naturalistic observation, structured observation, and ethnography focus on observing behavior in natural settings, systematic observation in controlled environments, and studying cultures and societies, respectively, which are not specific to the psychoanalytic approach.

3. To study the impact of biological aging on motor skills, researchers focus on __________.

• A. sedentary adults
• B. competitive athletes
• C. men in their mid- to late thirties
• D. women in their childbearing years

Correct answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: competitive athletes. Competitive athletes are often studied by researchers to investigate the impact of biological aging on motor skills because their performance is closely linked to physical abilities. Sedentary adults (choice A) may not provide a clear understanding of the relationship between biological aging and motor skills as they may not engage in consistent physical activity. Men in their mid- to late thirties (choice C) and women in their childbearing years (choice D) may not represent a group where motor skills are as finely tuned and critical to performance as in competitive athletes.

4. Dr. McBride wants to know if the teacher's use of encouragement in the classroom affects the children's self-esteem. To assign children to treatment conditions, Dr. McBride should __________.

• A. carefully distribute the children according to their test scores
• B. divide the children so each group has an equal number of boys and girls
• C. draw the children's names out of a hat
• D. assign the quieter children to the same treatment condition

Correct answer: C

Rationale: Drawing the children's names out of a hat is a way to randomly assign them to treatment conditions. Random assignment helps to ensure that any differences in self-esteem that may be observed in the study are not due to pre-existing characteristics of the children. This method helps to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the teacher's use of encouragement and the children's self-esteem. Choice A is incorrect because assigning children based on test scores may introduce bias into the study. Choice B is incorrect as balancing gender is not relevant to the research question. Choice D is incorrect as it introduces a bias by selecting a specific group of children based on a characteristic unrelated to the study objective.

5. To overcome some of the limitations of traditional developmental designs, investigators sometimes use __________ designs, in which they conduct several similar cross-sectional or longitudinal studies.

• A. sequential
• B. experimental
• C. correlational
• D. quasi-experimental Answer: A Page Ref: 36 Skill Level: Remember Topic: Studying Development Difficulty Level: Easy

Correct answer: A

Rationale: Sequential designs involve conducting multiple similar cross-sectional or longitudinal studies to overcome limitations of traditional developmental designs. By combining different types of study designs, researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of development over time. This approach allows for more robust conclusions and can help address potential confounding variables that may impact the results.

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