Why is psychology considered a science? Discuss this in relation to one of the major approaches to the study of psychology covered in the texts: Psychology Assignment, NUS, Singapore

Section 1: The Science of Psychology and Research Methods in Psychology

1. Why is psychology considered a science? Discuss this in relation to one of the major approaches to the study of psychology covered in the texts.
2. There are several types of bias that can affect the execution of psychological research. Identify one example of this and discuss one way in which research methodology can minimize the impact of this bias.
3. There are four main scales of measurement: the nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales. For one (1) of these scales, describe the primary characteristics and provide an example of a research application of this scale in psychological research.
4. Identify and discuss two (2) of the features that distinguish bad examples of psychological research from good examples of psychological research.
5. Define what is meant by ‘operationalization’ in psychological research and give an example of an operational definition.
6. Raykov and Marcoulides (2010) identify latent constructs as an important part of the behavioral and social sciences. Identify one type of latent construct studied in psychological research and discuss 2 of the challenges associated with the measurement of this construct.
7. Why is it important to calculate measures of central tendency (e.g., the mean) and spread (e.g., the standard deviation) in statistics? Discuss at least 2 reasons.
8. The spread of a data set is an important aspect of statistical analysis. Briefly describe how the variance is calculated and explain why the standard deviation is a preferred measure of spread compared to the variance.

   Section 2: Psychometrics

9. Objective tests are one category of the psychometric test described by Wellington (2008). Describe 2 features of an objective test and give an example of behavior or function this type of psychometric test might measure.
10. Wellington (2008) discusses three myths about the assessment of IQ. Select one of these myths and discuss an example in which this myth could impact the testing of a person’s IQ level.
11. Correlations and t-tests are two types of statistical techniques used to analyze psychometric data. Explain 2 differences between the application of these two techniques when they are used to analyze data.
12. Define one form of validity in psychometric theory AND explain 2 reasons why evidence for this type of validity may improve a psychometric scale. **Note. Do not select face validity.
13. Define one form of reliability in psychometric theory AND explain 2 reasons why evidence for this type of reliability may improve a psychometric scale.
14. What are the 2 differences between reliability and validity? Explain why validity is more important than reliability in most cases of psychometric measurement.
15. What is a program evaluation? Why would you want to conduct a program evaluation?
16. Program evaluators can find themselves in ethical dilemmas because evaluations are associated with the expenditure of resources and provision of services. Provide two examples of ethical dilemmas that may arise during the course of an evaluation study.