Question

chapter 02 quiz: the research enterprise in psychology
total points: --/20
attempts left: 3
sasha is a musician who wants to know what kinds of melodies people tend to enjoy. in terms of the goals of the scientific enterprise, her question is about
\tdescription.
\tprediction.
\tcontrol.
\tmeasurement.

a group of scientists want to test whether having close friends in the same class improves student performance. if they want to apply an operational definition to this study, which of the following questions should they answer?
\thow student performance should be measured.
\twhat schools should be included in the study.
\twhy having friends in the same class might improve performance.
\thow many participants the study should include.

Explanation:

1. For the first question: The scientific goal of description involves identifying and characterizing patterns or phenomena. Sasha's question aims to identify what types of melodies people enjoy, which fits this goal. Prediction focuses on forecasting outcomes, control involves influencing variables, and measurement is a tool for research, not a core scientific goal here.
2. For the second question: An operational definition specifies how a variable will be measured or observed. Student performance is a key variable in the study, so defining how to measure it is the operational definition task. The other questions relate to study scope or causal reasoning, not operationalization.

Answer:

1. description.
2. How student performance should be measured.