refers to purposeful and goal-directed thinking used to define and solve problems and to make decisions or form judgments related to a particular situation or set of circumstances. Communication Collaboration Knowledge application and analysis Critical thinking Organization

Reliability and validity reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. in the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways. unfortunately, being consistent in measurement does not necessarily mean that you have measured something correctly. to illustrate this concept, consider a kitchen scale that would be used to measure the weight of cereal that you eat in the morning. if the scale is not properly calibrated, it may consistently under- or overestimate the amount of cereal that’s being measured. while the scale is highly reliable in producing consistent results (e.g., the same amount of cereal poured onto the scale produces the same reading each time), those results are incorrect. this is where validity comes into play. validity refers to the extent to which a given instrument or tool accurately measures what it’s supposed to measure. while any valid measure is by necessity reliable, the reverse is not necessarily true. researchers strive to use instruments that are both highly reliable and valid.

As a result of a labeling mistake at the chemical factory, a farmer accidentally sprays weedkiller rather than fertilizer on half her land. as a result, she loses half of her productive farmland. if the property of diminishing returns applies to all factors of production, she should expect to seea. a decrease in the marginal productivity of her remaining land and an increase in the marginal productivity of her labor. b. an increase in the marginal productivity of her remaining land and an increase in the marginal productivity of her labor. c. an increase in the marginal productivity of her remaining land and a decrease in the marginal productivity of her labor. d. a decrease in the marginal productivity of her remaining land and a decrease in the marginal productivity of her labor.

Keisha took the vark inventory and discovered she prefers to learn mainly through visual and kinesthetic modes. which study strategy would best match these preferences?