Question

Maritza is conducting a study on the importance of similarity in friendships. she recruits pairs of friends and asks them about the similarities in their personalities, values, and hobbies as well as their perceived closeness, their perceived relationship quality, and the length of their friendship. after analyzing her results, she finds that similarity in values is strongly associated with the measures of friendship, but similarity in personalities and hobbies is not associated with friendship.

Which of the following questionable research practices is Maritza engaging in when she recruits pairs of friends, measures various aspects of their relationships, and selectively reports only the association between similarity in values and measures of friendship, excluding the results related to similarity in personalities and hobbies?

A. Cherry-Picking Results
B. HARKing (Hypothesizing After Results are Known)
C. Outcome Switching
D. P-hacking

Answer 1

Maritza is engaging in the questionable research practice of a. cherry-picking results when she selectively reports only the association between similarity in values and measures of friendship, excluding the results related to similarity in personalities and hobbies.

Step-by-step explanation:

Maritza is engaging in the questionable research practice of cherry-picking results when she selectively reports only the association between similarity in values and measures of friendship, excluding the results related to similarity in personalities and hobbies. Cherry-picking results is a form of biased reporting, where only the results that support a particular hypothesis or desired outcome are presented, while disregarding or omitting contradictory findings. In this case, Maritza's focus on similarity in values may suggest a bias towards a specific expectation or preconception about the importance of values in friendships.