I picked C for the same reason the others did--what did your students pick and did they say why? Carol
Carol L. DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University 518 West Locust Street Davenport, Iowa 52803 Phone: 563-333-6482 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://web.sau.edu/psychology/psychfaculty/cdevolder.htm The contents of this message are confidential and may not be shared with anyone without permission of the sender. -----Original Message----- From: Julie Osland [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Fri 3/14/2008 10:41 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] help with exam item I would pick answer c. That was the one that jumped out at me. Why? I'll start by explaining why I didn't pick the others. I didn't pick "A" because yes, a theory is strengthened when you get similar results based on different methodologies but it by no means a guarantee, and by finding different outcomes it can indicate the boundary conditions of the theory. I didn't pick "B" because of of the fact that an operational definition specifies how a variable will be measured or manipulated and a 10 point scale is a way of operationally defining stress. So that one was out. C explains why you should not expect A. One researcher might find a particular outcome, such as stress and grades to be correlated but it may not be replicable beyond his/her very specific experimental paradigm (IV manipulation used, measures used, etc). It's an issue of construct validity. Is the operational definition of 'stress' a valid one? Is number of minutes spent arguing a valid measure of stress or might it be measuring something else, such as anger/hostility? Those are my 2 cents. Julie Osland [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Either I am losing my mind or something is wrong. I used the following item > on an exam. Not one student picked the answer I thought was "correct". I > believe originally the item came from a test bank (which I no longer have) > that accompanies the Cozby research methods text. Every single one of my > students picked the same answer and it's not the answer I thought was best. > > Can I call on tipsters to tell me which answer they think is correct and why? > I will later tell you which answer I thoughtw as correct and why. > > 1. Two researchers tested the hypothesis that college students grades and > stress are related. One researcher operationally defined stress as the number > of minutes spent arguing with others. The other researcher defined stress as > the amount of tension at any point in time measured on a 10-point scale. > Which of the following statements is accurate? > a. Because their hypotheses are identical, the two > researchers should have similar results. > b. The only valid definition is the number of minutes > spent arguing with others because it is the only > objective measure. > c. The difference in operational definitions of stress > could lead to quite different results. > > Thanks > > Annette > > > Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > University of San Diego > 5998 Alcala Park > San Diego, CA 92110 > 619-260-4006 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) -- Dr. Julie A. Osland, M.A., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Psychology Wheeling Jesuit University 316 Washington Avenue Wheeling, WV 26003 Office: (304) 243-2329 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
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