Practical Problems in Research Methods

SECTION I: Short Cases Part A: Sampling Case 1: Sampling Hispanic Adults by Telephone Case 2: Using a Sample of Convenience Case 3: Using Quota Sampling Case 4: Using an Incentive to Increase Response Rate Case 5: Obtaining a Sample of Psychotherapy Clients Part B: Measurement Case 6: Measuring the Attractiveness of Participants Case 7: Measuring Social Desirability Case 8: Measuring Students' Distant Memories Case 9: Evaluating an Acculturation Scale Case 10: Determining the Validity of Self-Reports Part C: Operational Definitions Case 11: Defining "Physical Abuse" of Children Case 12: Defining "Economic Well-Being" Case 13: Defining "Substance Abuse" Among Pregnant Women Case 14: Defining a "Social Interaction" Case 15: Defining "Sex" in a National Survey Part D: Procedures Case 16: Controlling the Distribution of a Questionnaire in a Nutrition Study Case 17: Identifying Duplicate Responses to an Anonymous Questionnaire Case 18: Using a Simulated Setting to Evaluate Disciplinary Fairness Training Case 19: Using Confederates in an Experiment Case 20: Working with Severely Angry Participants Part E: Experimental/Causal Comparative Designs Case 21: Selecting Participants for a Comparison of Asian and White Americans Case 22: Forming Experimental and Control Groups in a Study of Drug Prevention Case 23: Forming Comparison Groups in Classroom Research on Reading Case 24: Forming Comparison Groups for a Study of Postpartum Disorders Case 25: Identifying Comparison Groups for a Study of Childhood Abuse Part F: Protecting the Rights of Participants/Ethical Considerations Case 26: Using Deception in a Study of Social Interactions Case 27: Prescreening Adolescents for Stress Case 28: Estimating HIV Rates Among Young Men Case 29: Soliciting Professors for a Study of Their Intellect Case 30: Hiding the Purpose of a Study from Employees Part G: Interpretation of Results Case 31: Interpreting Cause-and-Effect: Health Risk Behaviors of Adolescents Case 32: Interpreting Results in Light of Social Desirability Case 33: Evaluating Attrition in a Study on Hypnosis Case 34: Interpreting Differences in Physical Victimization Case 35: Interpreting Reported Differences in Husbands' Marital Aggression SECTION II: LONGER CASES Case 36: Using Interviews to Measure Mothers' Use of Physical Discipline Descriptor: Measurement Case 37: Defining Group Therapy Used with Elementary School Children Descriptor: Operational Definition Case 38: Getting Informed Consent for Research During an Emergency Descriptor: Ethics Case 39: Interpreting Data on Cigarette Smoking by Seventh Graders Descriptor: Interpretation Case 40: Encouraging Responses to a Mailed Survey Descriptors: Sampling, Interpretation Case 41: Interpreting Limitations in a Study of Childhood Cancer and Stress Descriptors: Sampling, Interpretation Case 42: Studying the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages to Minors Descriptors: Sampling, Procedures, Ethics Case 43: Identifying Heroin Addicts Who Falsify Information Descriptors: Sampling, Measurement, Ethics Case 44: Observing Children's Aggressiveness on the Playground Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics, Interpretation Case 45: Introducing Participants to a Study on Lie Telling Descriptors: Measurement, Operational Definitions, Procedures Case 46: Measuring Sex-Role Stereotyping Among Children Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics Case 47: Studying Suicide Ideation and Acculturation Among Adolescents Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics Case 48: Encouraging Truthfulness in Telephone Interviews Descriptors: Measurement, Interpretation Case 49: Estimating the Credibility of Young Children's Reports Descriptors: Measurement, Ethics, Interpretation Case 50: Designing an Experiment on Cross-Cultural Training Descriptors: Measurement, Experimental Design, Ethics, Interpretation Case 51: Designing an Experiment on Worrying Among the Elderly Descriptors: Operational Definition, Experimental Design, Interpretation Case 52: Designing an Experiment on Reducing the Risk of Bulimia Descriptors: Operational Definition, Experimental Design Case 53: Interpreting a "Natural Experiment" on Anonymous Testing for HIV Descriptors: Causal Comparative Design, Interpretation