assignment 8 validity and threats

PART TWO: Spot the Internal Validity Threat that is MOST likely at work for each of the following scenarios: Use the key below to match the study validity description with the specific validity threat. 
A.    Maturation
B.    Regression to the mean
C.    Selection
D.    Mortality
E.    Instrumentation
F.    Testing
G.    History
H.    Interactions
I.    Diffusion
J.    No Threat

1.    After completing the pre-exposure questionnaire, all students were randomly assigned to the either the anti-cyberbullying intervention or the fake-news intervention. Once students were assigned to their condition, they were not allowed to socialize with students in the other reading program, which was easy to control as the school was large enough that students never interacted. To adequately assess the effectiveness of the anti-cyberbullying intervention program, the researchers made sure to use the exact same questions for the pre- and post-exposure questionnaires, including an emphasis on picking out what was and what was not bullying, and assessing when students were willing to intervene when they saw cyberbullying. Some of the students even commented that they recalled seeing some of the post-exposure questions before. After comparing the post-exposure scores for the two conditions, the researchers found no differences between students in the cyberbullying intervention condition and the “fake-news” intervention condition, with participants in both conditions having similar intentions to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario?
a.    Maturation 
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

2.    The researchers were able to look at the prior records of the students for experiences with cyberbullying and/or in-person bullying (either being bullied themselves or witnessing some bullying among others). Reasoning that these children might have more personal experience with potential cyberbullying interventions, the researchers made sure that they were placed only in the fake-news intervention condition. Researchers thought it would be a better test of the cyberbullying intervention if all participants in that condition started with little personal knowledge of cyberbullying. The researchers found that students in the cyberbullying intervention condition had a higher intention to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim compared to children who were exposed to the fake-news intervention. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario?
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

3.    To see how effective the anti-cyberbullying intervention was compared to the fake-news control group intervention, the researchers kept careful records of all students who logged in for the pre-exposure questionnaire, and they made sure to match up the same student so the pre-exposure and post-exposure questionnaires could be compared. Unfortunately, the researchers noticed that although 95% of participants in the anti-cyberbullying condition returned to complete the post-exposure questionnaire, only 70% of participants in the fake-news intervention condition returned to complete the post-exposure questionnaire. The researchers found that students in the cyberbullying intervention condition had a higher intention to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim compared to children who were exposed to the fake-news intervention. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario?
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat 

4.    Despite being assured that the online modules for both the anti-cyberbullying intervention and the fake-news intervention were ready to run, the researchers found that there were a lot of glitches with the online fake-news intervention program. It was often sluggish, loading images at a very slow rate. Students often needed to logout and then log back in to get the program to work. The cyberbullying intervention program did not have the same glitches, with all students in that condition reporting that the online module was very smooth. The researchers found that students in the cyberbullying intervention condition had a higher intention to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim compared to children who were exposed to the fake-news intervention. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario?
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

5.    After completing the pre-exposure questionnaire, all students were randomly assigned to the either the anti-cyberbullying intervention or the fake-news intervention. Once students were assigned to their condition, they were not allowed to socialize with students in the other reading program, which was easy to control as the school was large enough that students never interacted. Although the pre-exposure questionnaire and post-exposure questionnaire had a lot in common in terms of content area (including an emphasis on picking out what was and what was not cyberbullying and assessing when students were willing to intervene when they saw cyberbullying), the questions differed from the pre-exposure questionnaire to the post-exposure questionnaire. The researchers found that students in the cyberbullying intervention condition had a higher intention to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim compared to children who were exposed to the fake-news intervention. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario?
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

6.    After seeing the pre-exposure questionnaire scores, the researchers were concerned about some of the students who scored very low. To make sure these low scoring students would benefit from the study, the researchers made sure that these students were assigned to the anti-cyberbullying intervention program while students who had moderate or high pre-exposure questionnaire scores were randomly assigned to either the anti-cyberbullying or fake-news intervention programs. After comparing the post-exposure scores for the two conditions, the researchers found no differences between students in the cyberbullying intervention condition and the “fake-news” intervention condition, with participants in both conditions having similar intentions to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario? 
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

7.    About two weeks into the study, a new TV program started airing in town. The program targeted 10-year-olds, using entertaining cartoons to teach kids concepts like standing up to bullying or reporting any bullying behavior they saw to trusted adults. Most of the kids involved in the study fell in love with the TV show, though the show appealed mostly to girls, focusing on non-physical bullying (malicious gossip, character attacks, attacks regarding the way someone looks or talks, etc.). The researchers found that there was no difference between female students in the anti-cyberbullying intervention program and female students in the fake-news intervention program, though male students seemed to be much more likely to intervene when seeing cyberbullying if they were in the anti-cyberbullying intervention program than if they were in the fake-news intervention program. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario? 
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

8.    About two weeks into the study, a new TV program started airing in town. The program targeted 10-year-olds, using entertaining cartoons to teach kids concepts like standing up to bullying or reporting any bullying behavior they saw to trusted adults. Most of the kids involved in the study fell in love with the TV show. The researchers found no differences between students in the cyberbullying intervention condition and the “fake-news” intervention condition, with participants in both conditions having similar intentions to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario?
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

9.    During the study, a lot of cyberbullying occurred in the school district where the study was taking place. Due in part to their newfound anti-cyberbullying training, students in the anti-cyberbullying intervention were well-prepared to intervene when they saw such cyberbullying and did so effectively. The ability of these students to deal with such cyberbullying caught the attention of those in fake-news intervention condition, who asked for tips on how to deal with cyberbullying themselves. After comparing the post-exposure scores for the two conditions, the researchers found no differences between students in the cyberbullying intervention condition and the “fake-news” intervention condition, with participants in both conditions having similar intentions to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario? 
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat

10.    The research study began at the start or a new school semester. This was the first year that students were officially given computer training at school, with instructors showing them how to use computer programs and how to complete documents online. Due to their young age, very few of the students had ever answered questionnaires online, so this presented a good opportunity for both the researchers and the students to learn about online surveys as well as computers in general. When the study ended a three weeks later, the students were much more familiar with both computers and how online questionnaires worked. The researchers found no differences between students in the cyberbullying intervention condition and the “fake-news” intervention condition, with participants in both conditions having similar intentions to intervene on behalf of a cyberbully victim. Which internal validity threat is most likely occurring in this scenario?
a.    Maturation
b.    Regression to the mean
c.    Selection
d.    Mortality
e.    Instrumentation
f.    Testing
g.    History
h.    Interactions
i.    Diffusion
j.    No Threat