Multiple Choice
Questions
(The answers are
provided after the last question.)
1. Mrs. Smith is writing her daily observations of a student
and writes, without interpretation, that the student is not completing the
class work and is constantly speaking out of turn. Which of the following
objectives does she appear to be using?
a. prediction
b. description
c. explanation
d. exploration
2. Which of the following is a form of research typically
conducted by teachers, counselors, and other professionals to answer questions
they have and to specifically help them solve local problems?
a. action research
b. basic research
c. predictive research
d. orientational research
3. How much confidence should you place in a single research
study?
a. you should completely trust a single research study.
b. you should trust research findings after different researchers have found
the same findings
c. neither a nor b
d. both a and b
4. The development of a solid foundation of reliable
knowledge typically is built from which type of research?
a. basic research
b. action research
c. evaluation research
d. orientational research
5. Which form of reasoning is the process of drawing a
specific conclusion from a set of premises?
a. rationalism
b. deductive reasoning
c. inductive reasoning
d. probabilistic
6. The idea that when selecting between two different
theories with equal explanatory value, one should select the theory that is the
most simple, concise, and succinct is known as ____________.
a. criterion of falsifiability
b. critical theory
c. guide of simplicity
d. rule of parsimony
7. Research that is done to examine the findings of someone
else using the "same variables but different people" is which of the
following?
a. exploration
b. hypothesis
c. replication
d. empiricism
8. ________________
is the idea that knowledge comes from experience.
a. rationalism
b. deductive reasoning
c. logic
d. empiricism
9. According to your text, what are the five key objectives
of science?
a. prediction, summary, conclusion, explanation, description
b. influence, prediction, questions, exploration, answers
c. exploration, description, explanation, prediction, influence
d. questions, answers, prediction, explanation, summary
10. A researcher designs an experiment to test how variables
interact to influence how well children learn spelling words. In this case, the
main purpose of the study was:
a. Explanation
b. Description
c. Influence
d. Prediction
11. There is a set of churches in the U.S. where part of the
service involves snake handling. The researcher wants to find out why the
people attending these churches do this and how they feel and think about it.
In this case, the primary purpose of the study is:
a. Exploration
b. Description
c. Influence
d. Prediction
12. Which of the
following is not a characteristic of a good theory or explanation?
a. It is parsimonious
b. It is testable
c. It is general
enough to apply to more than one place, situation, or person
d. All of the above
are characteristics of good theories
13. Which of the
following is not a basic assumption of science?
a. Science cannot
provide answers to all questions
b. It is possible to
distinguish between more and less plausible claims
c. Researchers should
follow certain agreed upon norms and practices
d. Science is best at
solving value conflicts, such as whether abortion is immoral
14. What general type of research is focused on collecting
information to help a researcher advance an ideological or political position?
a. Evaluation research
b. Basic research
c. Action research
d. Orientational
research
15. Which “scientific method” follows these steps: 1)
observation/data, 2) patterns, 3) theory?
a. Inductive
b. Deductive
c. Imductive
d. Top down
16. Rene Descartes is associated with which of the following
approached to knowledge generation?
a. Empiricism
b. Rationalism
c. Expert opinion
d. None of the above
17. Which scientific method is a top-down or confirmatory
approach?
a. Deductive method
b. Inductive method
c. Hypothesis method
d. Pattern method
18. Which scientific method is a bottom-up or generative
approach to research?
a. Deductive method
b. Inductive method
c. Hypothesis method
d. Pattern method
19. Which scientific method focuses on testing
hypotheses developed from theories?
a. Deductive method
b. Inductive method
c. Hypothesis method
d. Pattern method
20. Which scientific method often focuses on generating
new hypotheses and theories?
a. Deductive method
b. Inductive method
c. Hypothesis method
d. Pattern method
21. Which of the following statements is true of a theory?
a. it most simply means “explanation”
b. it answers the “how” and “why” questions
c. it can be a well developed explanatory system
d. all of the above are correct
Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. b
4. a
5. b
6. d
7. c
8. d
9. c
10. a
11. a
12. d
13. d
14. d
15. a
16. b
17. a
18. b
19. a
20. b
21. d