Multiple Choice Questions

1. The hypothesis "The type of string (steel, nylon, nickel) used in a guitar decides its
timbre (sharp, soft, warm)" should be tested using
a. one sample T-test
b. independent sample T-test
c. correlation test
d. chi-square test
Ans: d. chi-square test
2. The hypothesis "Exposure to cold weather conditions increases the incidence of
common cold (more than average)" should be tested using
a. single tailed one-sample T-test
b. two tailed one-sample T-test
c. correlation test
d. chi-square test
Ans: a. single tailed one-sample T-test
3. In a survey study comparing ten textbooks on research methodology, one question
asks the readers to rate each book as "very interesting", "somewhat interesting",
"neutral", "somewhat boring", or "very boring". This is an example of
a. nominal data
b. ordinal data
c. interval data
d. ratio data
Ans: b. ordinal data
4. A study to determine the effect of chocolate consumption on memory functions,
data from 8 studies with randomised trials were pooled and statistically analysed.
This is an example of
a. survey/sampling
b. case study
c. meta-analysis
d. prediction/classification
Ans: c. meta-analysis
5. Which of the following is not a necessary characteristic of a hypothesis?
a. it should be empirically testable
b. it should be specific and precise
c. it should be theoretically proved
d. it should be internally consistent
Ans: c. it should be theoretically proved

Two Mark Questions

1. A pharmaceutical company claims that fish oil pills improve concentration in high-
school children. A study is to be conducted involving 20 children divided into two
groups, one of which is given fish oil pills. Frame a suitable hypothesis and state,
with justification, which type of test is to be used.
Ans:
Ha: There is an increase in concentration
H0: There is no increase in concentration
A single tailed independent sample t-test should be used, because:
i. the sample is small
ii. only the increase in concentration is to be tested, and
iii. the testing is done by comparing the measured concentration levels of the group
of children who were given the pills, with those who were not.
2. A survey is conducted to determine whether homoeopathy is effective, by
interviewing people visiting homoeopathy clinics in a locality. State two problems
in the methodology of this study, and suggest necessary modifications.
Ans:
The study has the following problems:
i. The sample is not representative, since only those who believe in the
effectiveness of homoeopathy are selected.
ii. The study is subjective. The questionnaire can only determine whether the
patients feel better, not whether there is true recovery.
Therefore, it should be modified as follows:
 i. The study should be conducted on a randomly selected group of people
including those who do not usually use homoeopathy.
ii. Recovery from the illness should be measured as objectively as possible using
medical instruments and diagnostic tools.

Three Mark Questions

1. A study is conducted to test whether the current practice of making attendance to

lectures mandatory at college levels improves student performance in exams. The
data consisted of attendance records and internal and final exam scores of 2021
first semester students. This included 78 students who were not allowed to write
the final exam due to attendance shortage. In these cases, only the internal test
scores were considered. Statistical testing confirmed that mandatory attendance
leads to an increase in performance. State three possible reasons why the findings
of this study may not be valid.
Ans:
i. The data is not homogeneous, as final exam scores are considered in some cases,
but not others (where they are unavailable).
ii. The study claims to be applicable to college students, but considers only first
semester students.
iii. The relationship, if any, might be purely correlational. The data provided do not
suggest a causal relationship – i.e., there is no justification to the claim that
attending classes has caused the students to perform well. It is possible that the
students who perform better are also more disciplined and therefore regularly
attend classes.
2. Give three distinct examples of hypotheses, each of which has one of the following
three problems (respectively):
a. Not empirically testable
b. Does not clearly specify variables between which the relationship is to
be established
c. Describes multiple issues

Justify each answer.

Ans:
i. Common salt tastes sweet except when it is mixed with saliva.
This is not empirically testable, as mixing with saliva is required to feel the
taste.
ii. There is a link between reading crime novels and cancer.
The nature of the "link" is not specified. It is unclear whether the claim is that
there is a correlation, a causal relation that leads to higher or lower incidence of
cancer in regular readers of crime novels, or a causal relation that leads cancer
victims to read more or fewer crime novels.
iii. High stress and low physical activity lead to obesity and depression.
Multiple relationships are attempted to be tested at the same time, which makes
it unclear which cause leads to which effects. If each result is claimed to have
multiple causes, these should be tested separately, as there can be no
meaningful measurement of "obesity and depression" as a combined effect.