Introduction

Exam Two covers materials presented in the class lectures and chapters 13-17 of the Babbie textbook. It contains two sections. In the first section, students will be asked to answer fifteen multiple-choice questions worth 2 points each. In the second section students will be asked to answer two short-answer questions worth 15 points each.

Dr. Sapp's Office Hours are MWF, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., or by appointment. Students are invited to come to the office at any time and I will be happy to discuss the class materials with you.

Readings:

Babbie Textbook: Chapters 15-16.
Validity and Reliability.
Class Notes.

Key Terms

Chapter 15: distorter variable, elaboration model, replication, spurious relationship, suppressor relationship, moderating variable (class notes), mediating variable (class notes), aggregation bias (class notes), ecological fallacy (class notes), zero-order relationship.

Chapter 16: ANOVA, discriminant analysis, factor analysis, inferential statistics, partial regression analysis, proportionate reduction in error, statistical significance, t-ratio (class notes), chi-square test of independence (class notes), degrees of freedom (class notes).

Validity and Reliability

content validity, construct validity, history, maturation, cueing, Cronbach's alpha

Discussion Topics

1. Be prepared to identify direct, mediating, and moderating relationships in a diagram of a causal model. Be prepared to identify possible spurious and suppressor relationships in this diagram.
2. Be prepared to define and describe the differences between standard deviation and standard error.
3. Be prepared to describe measurement error, sampling error, and standard error in relation to one another.
4. Be prepared to describe why standard error needs to be as small as possible.
5. Be prepared to describe the test-retest, alternative forms, split-half, and internal consistency approaches to estimating reliability. Be prepared to describe the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
6. Be prepared to describe content (face) validity and construct validity. Be prepared to describe why evaluations of construct validity might fail to show acceptable content validity.

Help Session

Wednesday, October 8th, 5:00pm to 6:00pm, First Floor, East Hall.