A researcher is interested in discovering whether the topics of ...

[captainjonesify]

A researcher is interested in discovering whether the topics of written family complaints are shared by the majority of patients' families in a major university hospital, or whether merely a minority of the patients' families are disgruntled.
 
  The researcher goes throughout the hospital each day and hands family members a printed form and pencil and asks them to answer the ten questions, all of which have three to five responses, in return for a 3 off coupon to be used in the hospital cafeteria. What is this printed form called?
  a. A questionnaire
  b. A Likert scale
  c. A semantic differential scale
  d. An interview

Question 2

In a study of teasing among third-graders, after an intervention on peer interactions, behavioral observers collect the data, rating six behaviors on a 0- to 4-point scale.
 
  The observers are not trained by the same person, and there is no measure of interrater reliability. What is likely to happen?
  a. The variable of teasing will not be measured accurately.
  b. Peer interactions will not be able to be rated.
  c. The data will have to be scored independently by the researcher.
  d. Comparison with norms is unlikely.

[Anonymous]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
Questionnaires are printed self-report forms designed to elicit information that can be obtained from a subject's written responses. Likert scales determine opinion or attitude and contain a number of declarative statements with a scale after each statement. Semantic differential scales consist of two opposite adjectives with a seven-point scale between them. The subject is to select one point on the scale that best describes his or her view of the concept being examined. Interviews involve verbal communication during which the subject provides information to the researcher.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
Every variable must be measured in the same way, every time, or the results of the measurement will not be accurate. Measuring physiological variables using observation requires a quality tool for data collection and consistent use of this tool by data collectors. Thus, if the observations in a study are being conducted using multiple data collectors, it is essential that the consistency or interrater reliability of the data collectors be determined.