Kona and Kuri are trying to decide on which research method they should employ for a project

Since the time of European exploration of Australia, the topography of the continent has been mapped from a colonial cartographic perspective. Colonial government guidelines have ‘controlled’ the knowledge base of understanding of the landscape for non-Indigenous Australians. This perspective has lead to a coloniallytainted sense of place for non-Indigenous (and some Indigenous) Australians. Such Euro-centric focused governance and management of the development of Australia understanding of the landscape was strongly exemplified during a recent six-month review of State forest names in Victoria. By the beginning of 2004 over 90 percent of State forests in Victoria did not have officially registered names in the Australian Gazetteer. Thus, the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) employed the researchers to undertake a pilot study program, investigating different methods for officially naming the State forests in the Midlands Region of Victoria. The authors were assisted in this process by a steering committee which had representatives from DSE, Aboriginal Affairs Victoria (AAV) and the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL). This pilot study program focussed on producing a best practice model for naming State forest areas, which would then be utilised for all State forests across Victoria. It was understood by the researchers that place names were markers of national, regional, local and personal identity, and as such, part of the State forest review concentrated on recognising all the various historical and contemporary identities apparent in the Midlands region. This attempt at recognising historical and contemporary associations with the State forest areas proved to be a challenge. Difficulties arose in multiple areas of the review process. It is important to take a moment to reflect upon the processes of place naming, before discussion of the current project can begin. We must ask, ‘why do we name?’ and ‘how do we name?’ before we can understand what the problems encountered with naming and changing names are.

1. Validity is concerned with ______________ whereas reliability is concerned with _______________.

   a. the extent to which you are accurately capturing the actual reality; the likelihood of being able to replicate your measures
   b. the extent to which you are discovering causality; the extent to which you are correct
   c. the extent to which you can replicate your measures; the likelihood that you have obtained the truth
   d. the level of confidence you have in your findings in terms of its statistical significance; the level of confidence you have in your ability to reproduce the finding in a different environment
   

2. John Watson once famously said: “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own special world to bring them up in, and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, beggar-man and thief.” Which of the following is not an assumption that he is making?

   a. Learning is heavily influenced by the environment.
   b. The environment has the ability to overcome genetic predisposition.
   c. Children can learn from the environment.
   d. Children learn better than adults.
   

3. If a research question is falsifiable, it implies that…

   a. Evidence has shown that it is wrong.
   b. The hypothesis is not testable.
   c. The question cannot be empirically tested.
   d. It can be wrong.
   

4. Which of the following hypotheses is least likely to be falsifiable?

   a. There are no aliens in the universe.
   b. Aliens exist.
   c. Children who have siblings are more likely to believe in aliens than those who don't.
   d. Aliens prefer coffee to hot chocolate.
   

5. What is the relationship between framework and specific theories?

   a. Framework theories directly lead to falsifiable hypotheses but specific theories lead to research questions.
   b. Framework theories lead to specific theories.
   c. Specific theories lead to testable hypotheses, which then inform us whether the framework theory is correct.
   d. Framework theories lead to empirical hypotheses whereas specific theories lead to conceptual hypotheses.
   

6. Empirically operationalizing a variable entails which of the following?

   a. Identifying its cause
   b. Developing a way to measure it
   c. Agreeing on its theoretical roots
   d. Agreeing on its neural correlates
   

7. According to Stanovich, operationism and essentialism differ most critically on which of the following properties?

   a. Causality
   b. Testability
   c. Validity
   d. Reliability
   

8. Which of the following is least important when choosing a research methodology?

   a. Resources available
   b. Research question of interest
   c. Your interests
   d. Ethics
   

9. A correlational design establishes which of the following qualities between two variables?

   a. Causality
   b. Association
   c. Mediation
   d. Independence
   

10. Which of the following is not a true assumption that researchers make about random assignment?

    a. It allows for causal inferences to be made.
    b. It allows for different conditions or groups in the experiment to be highly similar to each other besides the key manipulation of interest.
    c. Differences between conditions or groups can be attributed to the experimental manipulation.
    d. All extraneous variables have been eliminated.
    

11. Quantitative research is best described by which of the following statements?

    a. They are always experimental.
    b. They always involve numerically measured data.
    c. The data are always on a nominal scale.
    d. The research question is never addressed using statistics.
    

12. Moderating variables ___________ whereas mediating variables ___________.

    a. explain; cause
    b. influence; explain
    c. explain; influence
    d. cause; influence
    

13. When using an experimental design, researchers are interested in…

    a. the causal relation the dependent variable has on the independent variable.
    b. the causal relation the independent variable has on the dependent variable.
    c. the association between independent and dependent variables.
    d. the association between the mediating and dependent variables.
    

14. A frequently cited weakness of laboratory based experimental design is its…

    a. reliability
    b. causality
    c. validity
    d. consistency
    

15. Why might a researcher opt for a non-experimental method in lieu of an experimental method?

    a. In certain situations, it might be unethical to manipulate certain variables.
    b. In certain situations, it is unethical to claim causality.
    c. In certain situations, researchers want to claim more than just an association between two variables.
    d. In certain situations, researchers want to claim a causal relation exists.
    

16. Non-experimental designs are sometimes better because they may be more ____________, but ________________.

    a. reliable than experimental designs; less valid
    b. valid than experimental designs; they cannot claim causality
    c. valid than experimental designs; fail to make any associations between their measurements
    d. reliable than experimental designs; do not allow for testable hypotheses
    

17. Qualitative research methods are best described by which of the following statements?

    a. They are focused on empirical observations that can be quantified.
    b. They are more objective than quantitative designs because researchers are very focused on objective measurements and description.
    c. They are more focused on the subjective experience of the participant than quantitative designs.
    d. They are less focused on meaning and more focused on outcomes.
    

18. A grounded theory approach is usually…

    a. top-down and theory driven.
    b. bottom-up and atheoretical.
    c. top-down and atheoretical.
    d. bottom-up and theory driven.
    

19. A researcher who tries find a hidden or non-obvious meanings derived from data is hoping to achieve which of the following?

    a. Realism
    b. Relativism
    c. Description
    d. Interpretation
    

20. If a test consists of items that all measure more or less the same construct, what can you assume to be true?

    a. The test has high construct validity.
    b. The test has high internal consistency.
    c. The test has high conclusion validity.
    d. The test has high test-retest reliability.
    

21. The degree to which a finding can be generalized to other samples is captured by…

    a. internal validity.
    b. conclusion validity.
    c. external validity.
    d. construct validity.
    

22. The use of multiple methods best satisfies which of the following circumstances?

    a. Situations in which the research questions is poorly defined.
    b. Situations in which the researcher is dissatisfied with the weaknesses that compromise validity in using only a single method.
    c. Situations in which causality cannot be claimed because of confounding variables.
    d. Situations in which one's hypotheses were not supported by empirical data.
    

23. The language acquisition device and Piaget's construct of assimilation and accommodation were both used to illustrate untestable theories. What does this suggest?

    a. The two examples are both falsifiable, which means they are within the realm of science.
    b. The two examples are both not falsifiable, and thus they cannot be true.
    c. The two examples are both not falsifiable and lie outside the realm of science.
    d. The two examples or both falsifiable and lie outside the realm of science.
    

24. What differentiates causal designs from correlational designs?

    a. Causal designs have dependent variables and correlational designs do not.
    b. Causal designs have more participants than correlational designs.
    c. Causal designs are more ethical than correlational designs.
    d. Causal designs are often not feasibly done and researchers must resort to a correlational design.
    

25. In experimental design, which of the following is necessary to be able to detect an effect caused by your manipulation?

    a. Two different groups: control and experimental.
    b. Random sampling.
    c. Random deviation.
    d. Two different samples.
    

What type of research evaluates the relationship among variables?

Is a reliability assessment where a measure is divided into two halves and the halves are compared?

Why might a researcher select to use a naturalistic observation?