Assignment 1 AN OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS RESEARCH Circle the correct answer: 1.1 The type of research designed to solve a problem by studying it and implementing a solution to the problem is called pure/action research. 1.2 The type of research where researchers focus on studying phenomena in their natural context, using multiple and subjective data sources is called qualitative/quantitative research. 1.3 In experimental studies, researchers manipulate the dependent/independent variable and observe its effect on the dependent/independent variable. 1.4 In causal-comparative studies, the independent variable is/is not manipulated. 1.5 In experimental studies, unplanned or uncontrolled variables which may affect the outcomes of the studies are called dependent/extraneous variables. 1.6 Studies in which extraneous variables are controlled are said to have high internal/external validity. 1.7 When the results of the study can be generalized to other settings and populations, the study is considered to have internal/external validity. 1.8 In studies where people behave in a way that is different from their normal behavior because they are being observed by the researchers, there may be a threat to the study’s statistical regression/external validity. 1.9 In most experimental studies, when the groups being compared are formed by randomly assigning people to groups, these groups are considered more/less similar to each other compared with the majority of studies where intact groups are being compared. 1.10 In pre-experimental studies, there is usually a greater/smaller number of threats to internal validity compared with true experimental studies. 1.11 Experimental and control groups are tested repeatedly before and after the intervention and quasi-experimental studies which are called time-series/ counterbalanced designs. 1.12 In studies where a counterbalanced design is used, all groups receive all interventions in the same/a different order. 1.13 A-B-A designs are used to study the effect of an intervention on individuals/groups. 1.14 A-B-A designs include one/two baseline phase(s) and one/two intervention phase(s). 1.15 Studies designed to measure how variables change over time, without the use of any planned intervention, are called cross-sectional/time-series studies. Circle the best answer. 1.16 The type of research which is aimed at testing theories and applying them to specific situations is called _____. a. applied research b. action research c. pure research d. basic research 1.17 Research conducted in the lab under a tight control of all variables is called _____. a. applied research b. action research c. pure research d. qualitative research 1.18 Studies where researchers look for changes in the dependent variable which may happen as a result of manipulating the independent variable are called ________ studies. a. experimental b. ex post facto c. causal-comparative d. qualitative 1.19 Studies which attempt to establish cause-and-effect relationship are called _____. a. qualitative studies b. descriptive studies c. experimental studies d. cross-sectional studies 1.20 Uncontrolled events happening outside longer-duration experimental studies which can have an effect on the dependent variable, may pose a threat to the study’s internal validity that is called _____. a. instrumentation b. statistical regression c. testing d. history 1.21 Causal-comparative research is also called _____. a. pre-experimental research b. time-series research c. action research d. ex-post facto research. 1.22 Experimental studies where two pre-existing groups are used as experimental and control groups are called _____. a. true experimental studies b. cross-sectional studies c. quasi-experimental design studies d. A-B-A case studies 1.23 Studies where groups are tested multiple times before and after the intervention are called _____. a. time-series studies b. counterbalanced studies c. Solomon Four Group studies d. one group pretest-posttest studies 1.24 Studies where data collected over two or more points in time for the same people are called _____. a. cross-sectional studies b. panel studies c. trend studies d. case studies 1.25 A study is designed to assess the effect of training programs on the skills of new manufacturing employees. Twice a day, the manager counts the number of units produced by the new employees who participated in the training. In this study, the independent variable is the ____. a. training program b. employee’s experience level c. number of units produced d. number of days each employee has worked 1.26 A study is designed to assess whether computer training is likely to increase accountants’ use of computers in their jobs. Two hundred accountants who have participated in a week long computer training session are observed for three months before and after the training to determine how many hours per week they use computers in their jobs. In this study, the dependent variable is the _____. a. week-long computer training course b. number of hours per week that accountants use computers on their jobs. c. observers who record computer use in their office. d. the duration of the study. 1.27 A company psychologist wants to conduct a causal-comparative study to explore the effect of IQ on the self-concept of employees. The psychologist administers a measure of self-concept to a group of 300 employees in three different departments. The employees’ IQ scores range from 95-135. In this study, the independent variable is the_____. a. company psychologist b. number of employees c. employees’ experience level d. employees’ IQ scores 1.28 A study is conducted to test two methods to treat depressed college students. Seventy students, ages 18-22, diagnosed as depressed, are randomly assigned to the two intervention groups. The two interventions consist of a series of weekly meetings and online chat among the members of each group and their counselors. A measure to assess their level of depression is administered to the study’s partici¬pants before and after the intervention. The design of the study is: a. true experimental design. b. counterbalanced design. c. quasi experimental design. d. time series. BASIC CONCEPTS IN STATISTICS Identify each as a variable or a constant: 2.1. The number of months in a year. 2.2 The gender of female business students in a study designed to investigate their career aspirations. 2.3. The age when people choose to retire. 2.4. The GMAT scores of the senior business class students. Identify each variable as continuous or discrete: 2.5. Grade level 2.6. Age 2.7. Height 2.8. Number of children in a family Identify each as nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio: 2.9. The TV channel watched the most on Thursday night in four cities. 2.10. The percentage of respondents watching each TV program at 8:00pm on Thursday. 2.11. Ranking of the 5 most important problems in the U.S.A. today. 2.12. List of GMAT scores for the business schools in the county. 2.13. Classification of students by the state where they were born. 2.14. The number of residents in six different states. 2.15. Class rank. Classify each as descriptive or inferential statistics: 2.16 The mean quality scores of all the plants owned by a company. 2.17. The results of the TV ratings as obtained by A.C. Nielsen for 3000 households with the people-meter (the “black box”). 2.18 The number of employees signing up for a new health insurance plan. 2.19 The blood pressure of a group of volunteers given a new experimental drug to lower blood pressure. Fill in the blanks: 2.20 The most important characteristic of a good sample is that it is _________ of the population. 2.21. A study where numerical information about the total population is gathered by including all members of the population is called a __________. 2.22. The sample’s statistics are used to estimate the population’s _________. 2.23. When every 20th person is chosen from a group of 1000 people, we obtain a __________ sample. 2.24. A hypothesis that predicts that there is a difference or relationship between variables or groups is called the __________ hypothesis, and is represented by the symbol HA or H1. 2.25. When means from two groups are compared, the null hypothesis states that the difference between the means is _________. 2.26. In order to decide whether the null hypothesis should be rejected or retained, the sample statistic obtained as a result of the statistical calculations is compared to the appropriate __________, found usually in a table in an appendix in statistics books. 2.27. In many statistical tests, degrees of freedom (df) are calculated by subtracting 1 from _______. Circle the correct answer: 2.28 A biased sample contains a random/systematic error. 2.29 A random sample is always/may not always be representative of the population from which it was selected. 2.30. To analyze data measured on a nominal scale, researchers should use parametric/nonparametric statistics. 2.31. The information gained about the sample is used to generalize to the population and to estimate its values in descriptive/inferential statistics. 2.32. Inferential statistics may/may not include descriptive statistics, such as the mean. 2.33. When we predict which mean is going to be higher, our hypothesis is directional/nondirectional. 2.34. If we reject the null hypothesis at p<.01, we are more/less confident that we made the right decision compared with rejecting the null hypothesis at the p<.05 level. 2.35. When there is a very small difference between means obtained on a measure at the end of a study, the null hypothesis is likely to be rejected/retained. 2.36. A low correlation is more likely to be statistically significant when the sample size is large/small. 2.37. When the probability level is set prior to the start of the study, it is represented by the letter p/alpha (α). 2.38. The error made by researchers who retain a null hypothesis when in fact it should be rejected is called Type I/Type II error. 2.39 The hypothesis that always states that the correlation is not significantly different from zero is the null/alternative hypothesis. 2.40. Effect size is used to evaluate the practical/statistical significance of the study. 2.41. When selecting a number of equal-size samples from the same population, the means of the samples are likely to be the same as/different from the population mean. 2.42. The standard error of the means is the standard deviation of the sample means/population means. 2.43. To estimate a population value that is of interest to them, researchers use the effect size/confidence interval. Circle the best answer: 2.44. Equal distances between the various points on the scale are found in __________. a. a nominal scale b. an ordinal scale c. both nominal and ordinal scales d. both interval and ratio scales 2.45. Using numbers to represent categories of observations is an example of a(n)______ scale. a. nominal b. ordinal c. interval d. ratio 2.46. Equal distances between the various points on the scale, as well as an absolute zero, are found in a(n) ____ scale. a. nominal b. ordinal c. interval d. ratio 2.47. A sampling procedure where every member of the population has an independent and equal chance of being selected is called a _______ sample. a. systematic b. random c. stratified d. convenience 2.48. A sample that represents proportionally each segment of the population is a ________ sample. a. random b. systematic c. stratified d. convenient 2.49. When every 15th person is selected from a population of 2000 people, the obtained sample is a __________ sample. a. stratified b. systematic c. random d. biased