Questions regarding reasoning about the design and execution of research on the MCAT test are designed to prove your ability to perform scientific tasks. Additionally, these questions will challenge you to demonstrate your understanding of components of scientific methodology.
Reasoning About the Design and Execution of Research Skills
In portions of the MCAT exam, you will be asked to demonstrate your design and execution of research skills by doing the following:
- Determining the Role of Observations, Theory and Past Findings in Scientific Questioning
- Determining Research Questions and Hypotheses that are Testable
- Identifying the Differences Between Samples and Populations
- Identifying the Differences Between Results That Do and Don’t Support Generalities About Populations
- Recognizing the Relationships Among Variables in a Study
- Reasoning About the Methods Employed to Conduct Natural Science Research
- Reasoning About the Methods Employed to Conduct Behavioral and Social Science Research
- Reasoning About the Specific Features of Research Studies
- Reasoning About Specific Ethical Issues Used in Scientific Research
In portions of the MCAT exam, questions from the Social, Psychological and Biological Foundations of Behavior sections may ask you to do the following:
- Determine the Basic Components Used in Survey Methods in Psychology and Sociology
- Determine the Basic Components Used in Ethnographic Methods in Psychology and Sociology
- Determine the Basic Components Used in Experimental Methods in Psychology and Sociology
- Pick a Hypothesis Regarding Semantic Activation
- Determine the Extent in Which A Finding Can Be Generalized to the Population
- Determine the Experimental Setup Researchers Used to Manipulate Self-Confidence
- Determine an Appropriate Way to Assess Prejudiced Studies
- Reason About the Potential Impact of Using Self-Report Measures for A Study
- Find Third Variables that may be Complicating the Findings of a Study
- Make Judgments About the Reliability and Validity of Certain Measures
- Determine if Researchers May Have Violated Ethical Codes