Lesson 5.2.2

5.2.2 Analysing clinical data and HCPC guidelines Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 5

20 questions

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Lesson 5.2.2, Analysing clinical data and HCPC guidelines: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 5: Clinical psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What defines a longitudinal study?

    • The same participants are studied repeatedly over a period of time
    • Different groups are studied at one single point in time
    • The results of many separate studies are pooled statistically
    • Two cultures are compared at one moment

  2. What defines a cross-sectional study?

    • The same participants are followed for many years and measured repeatedly across that period
    • Existing data from a national archive is reanalysed by a researcher for a new purpose entirely
    • Research is conducted only in one country, with participants recruited from a single location
    • Different groups, often of different ages, are studied at one point in time

  3. What is a meta-analysis?

    • A detailed study of one individual over several years, recording changes in behaviour
    • A statistical combination of results from many studies addressing the same question
    • A single experiment repeated with a larger sample to confirm the original result is accurate
    • A survey of attitudes in several cultures carried out at one time, with the same questions

  4. What are primary data in research?

    • Data taken from a national archive without analysis
    • Data collected directly by the researcher for the specific study
    • Data that cannot be quantified in any way
    • Data collected earlier by someone else and reanalysed

  5. What are secondary data in research?

    • Data that are always qualitative in form
    • Data gathered only from participants in a laboratory
    • Data collected directly by the researcher at the start of a study
    • Data collected earlier by others and reanalysed for a new purpose

  6. What is cross-cultural research?

    • Studying only one culture in great depth
    • Comparing two groups within the same school
    • Comparing the same research question across different cultures
    • Analysing the same participant across several decades

  7. Which is a disadvantage of longitudinal designs?

    • They are always cheaper than cross-sectional designs
    • Results are available immediately after the first session
    • They never require ethical approval
    • Participants may drop out over time, causing attrition

  8. A team gathers depression scores from the same 200 adults at ages 20, 25 and 30. Which design is used and what is its main advantage?

    • Meta-analysis, because it pools results from many studies
    • Case study, because it gives an in-depth account of one person
    • Longitudinal, because it tracks change within the same individuals
    • Cross-sectional, because it avoids all attrition

  9. Four studies report prevalence of 10, 20, 30 and 40 per cent. What is the simple unweighted mean prevalence?

    • 20 per cent
    • 25 per cent
    • 35 per cent
    • 30 per cent

  10. A researcher reuses survey data collected by a national health agency. What is the main advantage?

    • Large existing samples can be analysed at low cost
    • The data are collected from participants who are known personally
    • The researcher avoids any need for ethical considerations
    • The researcher can control exactly how each question was asked

  11. Which approach would best test whether a diagnostic symptom profile is universal?

    • A laboratory experiment with a single group of students who all share the same background
    • Cross-cultural comparison using the same measure in several countries
    • A single case study of one patient in one clinic, followed closely over a long period
    • A survey of one town's residents taken at one point in time, using local interviewers

  12. A study collects data from a single clinic on one day. What is the main limitation for generalisation?

    • The clinic must have been funded by the government
    • The participants must have been paid for the session
    • The data cannot be analysed with statistics
    • Results may not generalise beyond that clinic and that time

  13. Why might a meta-analysis overestimate an effect?

    • Studies with significant results are more likely to be published, inflating the pooled effect
    • Statistical tests cannot be applied to pooled data drawn from several different studies at once
    • Meta-analyses always include too few participants overall, so the pooled estimate is unreliable
    • Researchers always report every result they obtain, including those that are not significant

  14. A longitudinal study finds mood declines over five years. Why is the cause hard to establish?

    • Longitudinal studies never record any change at all, because the same people are tested repeatedly
    • The participants were too old to be studied at all using the longitudinal method in the study
    • Mood cannot be measured reliably over any period, so no change can be recorded in the study
    • Maturation and other time-linked variables may explain the change, so the cause cannot be isolated

  15. A researcher uses a cross-sectional design for a quick adolescent study. What is the key trade-off?

    • It guarantees the same participants are measured twice
    • It is slower and more expensive but tracks development directly
    • It is quicker and cheaper but cannot track individual development over time
    • It requires no participants and relies only on records

  16. Which problem most threatens the comparability of a questionnaire used across cultures?

    • Translation changes the meaning of items, so the measure may not be equivalent
    • The questions are answered with a pencil rather than a pen, which changes how people respond
    • Participants are always given the same reward for completing it, which biases their answers
    • The questionnaire has too many pages to print easily, which makes it costly to distribute widely

  17. Which evaluation of meta-analysis as a method is the most balanced?

    • It removes the need for any study to be designed carefully, because pooling corrects every flaw
    • It increases statistical power and generalisability but depends on the quality and comparability of included studies
    • It always produces perfectly accurate results whatever the quality or design of the input studies
    • It is useless because it cannot combine data from several studies into one overall estimate at all

  18. Three studies have 40, 60 and 100 participants with effect sizes 0.2, 0.5 and 0.4. What is the sample-size weighted mean effect?

    • 0.37
    • 0.30
    • 0.39
    • 0.45

  19. A researcher wants to know whether a treatment effect persists one year later. Which design is most appropriate?

    • A single case study with no repeated testing
    • A cross-sectional comparison of treated and untreated groups at one time
    • A longitudinal design with a follow-up measurement of the same participants
    • A meta-analysis of studies that include no follow-up

  20. Which design is better for showing that an early factor predicts a later outcome?

    • A case study, because it focuses on one individual
    • A laboratory experiment, because it isolates the factor from time
    • A longitudinal design, because the factor is measured before the outcome
    • A cross-sectional design, because it measures both at the same time

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