Question

Dr. Guidry conducts a study examining the relationship between the number of friends one has and the experience of daily stress and life satisfaction. She randomly samples 1,500 elderly men and women in the Memphis, Tennessee, area in the southern United States. Below are her findings. < Life satisfaction and experience of daily stress: r = -.57 ( p = .01) < Number of friends one has and experience of daily stress: r = .09, not sig. < Number of friends one has and life satisfaction: r = .36 ( p = .04) Dr. Oswald submits her study for publication in a scientific journal. If one of the peer reviewers is concerned about the external validity of her study, which of the following is the most important aspect of Dr. Oswald’s study to consider?
a.Outliers
b. Moderators
c. Random
d. Curvilinear scores

Answer 1

Question options:

I believe the options to the question are:

a) The random sampling technique used to recruit the participants

b) The number of people in the sample

c) The use of three measured variables

d) The number of significant findings

Answer:

a. The random sampling technique used to recruit the participants

Explanation:

The random sampling technique would be considered under the review of external validity of the study.

Why? The external validity as opposed to the internal validity of a study determines how much the results or conclusions of a study can be applied outside the context of that study. The random sampling technique would reveal how sampling was conducted and whether it reflects an objective/impartial study.