Question 1

The split-half method is when

Accepted Answer

A) researchers split the research team in two and train different kinds of researchers to accomplish different tasks associated with the study. 
B) researchers split the concepts they're studying into two groups and decide which one is more accurate. 
C) researchers randomly split the set of items for a measure into two sets to create two separate measures instead of one. 
D) an experiment uses a control group. 
A) researchers split the research team in two and train different kinds of researchers to accomplish different tasks associated with the study. 
B) researchers split the concepts they're studying into two groups and decide which one is more accurate. 
C) researchers randomly split the set of items for a measure into two sets to create two separate measures instead of one. 
D) an experiment uses a control group.

Question 2

The test-retest method is an approach in which

Accepted Answer

A) the same measure is administered to a sample and then re-administered to the same sample later. 
B) the same measure is administered to two different samples at different points in time. 
C) the same measure is administered to two different samples at the same point in time. 
D) two different measures are administered to the same sample at two different points in time. 
A) the same measure is administered to a sample and then re-administered to the same sample later. 
B) the same measure is administered to two different samples at different points in time. 
C) the same measure is administered to two different samples at the same point in time. 
D) two different measures are administered to the same sample at two different points in time.

Question 3

What is the purpose of a pilot test?

Accepted Answer

A) It is used after a study is conducted to check if the results are accurate. 
B) It is used to see how well the measure works and whether it presents any problems that need to be fixed before the study is carried out. 
C) It is used to test only controversial questions on a survey. 
D) It is used to make sure the researcher is up to the task of carrying out the full project. 
A) It is used after a study is conducted to check if the results are accurate. 
B) It is used to see how well the measure works and whether it presents any problems that need to be fixed before the study is carried out. 
C) It is used to test only controversial questions on a survey. 
D) It is used to make sure the researcher is up to the task of carrying out the full project.

Question 4

The CES-D is considered a reliable composite measure because

Accepted Answer

A) the alpha score when used in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health)is 0.87. 
B) the items are not used on any other scale-they are unique to the CES-D. 
C) people's responses to one item on the CES-D do not seem to predict their responses to other items. 
D) the items on the CES-D are relatively new and have not been used in many different studies. 
A) the alpha score when used in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health)is 0.87. 
B) the items are not used on any other scale-they are unique to the CES-D. 
C) people's responses to one item on the CES-D do not seem to predict their responses to other items. 
D) the items on the CES-D are relatively new and have not been used in many different studies.

Question 5

Which of the following is an assumption of OLS regression?

Accepted Answer

A) The dependent variable will predict changes in the independent variable. 
B) The values in a sample follow a bell curve pattern or normal distribution. 
C) The coefficient will be -0.50. 
D) Cases in the sample are not randomly selected. 
A) The dependent variable will predict changes in the independent variable. 
B) The values in a sample follow a bell curve pattern or normal distribution. 
C) The coefficient will be -0.50. 
D) Cases in the sample are not randomly selected.

Question 6

In Chapter 5,the authors argue that educational attainment can be measured in many different ways,which makes it difficult to clearly conceptualize and operationalize.Come up with another concept that you think would also be difficult to study,but that might be something interesting for a sociological investigation.In a paragraph,explain the difficulty and how you might go about measuring your topic of interest to make it as reliable as possible.

Accepted Answer

Answers to this question will have some

Question 7

Which of the following is a term that describes the consistency of items on a scale and assesses how well responses to the first item on a scale predict responses to the second item?

Accepted Answer

A) concurrent validity 
B) face validity 
C) external validity 
D) internal reliability 
A) concurrent validity 
B) face validity 
C) external validity 
D) internal reliability

Question 8

Which of the following terms refers to whether results are true or accurate?

Accepted Answer

A) fact 
B) reliability 
C) validity 
D) robustness 
A) fact 
B) reliability 
C) validity 
D) robustness

Question 9

Lincoln and Guba (1985)argue that instead of validity and reliability,qualitative research should instead be judged based on

Accepted Answer

A) composite variables. 
B) credibility and dependability. 
C) statistical significance. 
D) a high Cronbach's alpha. 
A) composite variables. 
B) credibility and dependability. 
C) statistical significance. 
D) a high Cronbach's alpha.

Question 10

Write a paragraph in which you discuss two difficulties sociologists face in ensuring their research is valid and reliable.Use clear examples from the text to support your answer.

Accepted Answer

There are a wide range of appropriate an

Question 11

If a researcher asks a participant in a study to envision himself or herself as an unemployed autoworker living in Detroit,Michigan,with a partner and two children,who is struggling to afford food and housing,the researcher is using a

Accepted Answer

A) survey. 
B) precise measure. 
C) vignette. 
D) normal distribution. 
A) survey. 
B) precise measure. 
C) vignette. 
D) normal distribution.

Question 12

A team of researchers wants to study whether the type of neighborhood a person lives in impacts his or her health.Because many different observers will be involved in the study,there is a need to make sure these different observers agree with each other when they make evaluations about neighborhood type and about what "health" looks like.If the various observers agree when they look at the data,they would have achieved which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) coding 
B) intercoder reliability 
C) a high Cronbach's alpha 
D) high accuracy 
A) coding 
B) intercoder reliability 
C) a high Cronbach's alpha 
D) high accuracy

Question 13

A team of researchers is using surveys to study college students' feelings about the dining hall on campus.In order to ensure reliability,the researchers employ a test-retest method.One potential problem with a test-retest might be that

Accepted Answer

A) students might decide not to participate in the survey,which would result in the surveys that were collected being considered invalid. 
B) students might not understand the test-retest method and therefore the researchers could not complete the surveys. 
C) it is very difficult to successfully employ a test-retest method on a college campus. 
D) the dining hall could have changed its food in between the two survey points and therefore students' attitudes about the dining hall may have changed. 
A) students might decide not to participate in the survey,which would result in the surveys that were collected being considered invalid. 
B) students might not understand the test-retest method and therefore the researchers could not complete the surveys. 
C) it is very difficult to successfully employ a test-retest method on a college campus. 
D) the dining hall could have changed its food in between the two survey points and therefore students' attitudes about the dining hall may have changed.

Question 14

The NAS poverty line may offer a more accurate picture of poverty in the United States than the FPL,but it

Accepted Answer

A) is not possible to use it in all 50 states. 
B) may not take into account geographic differences. 
C) may not be as reliable a measure over time. 
D) gives a much more negative picture of poverty in the United States. 
A) is not possible to use it in all 50 states. 
B) may not take into account geographic differences. 
C) may not be as reliable a measure over time. 
D) gives a much more negative picture of poverty in the United States.

Question 15

Experiments might potentially be critiqued for problems with external validity.Why?

Accepted Answer

A) Experiments are often poorly designed. 
B) It is hard to know if what happens in a lab setting will happen in the real world. 
C) Experiments are often poorly biased. 
D) Participants who volunteer for experiments are often unreliable. 
A) Experiments are often poorly designed. 
B) It is hard to know if what happens in a lab setting will happen in the real world. 
C) Experiments are often poorly biased. 
D) Participants who volunteer for experiments are often unreliable.

Question 16

A perfect Cronbach's alpha score is

Accepted Answer

A) 0.1. 
B) 1. 
C) 0.6. 
D) 0. 
A) 0.1. 
B) 1. 
C) 0.6. 
D) 0.

Question 17

The terms validity and reliability would be most applicable to which of the following projects?

Accepted Answer

A) an interview-based study with 50 respondents on attitudes toward political engagement 
B) a focus group including 10 participants on the subject of religious affiliation 
C) participant observation carried out in a hospital to identify how patients of different ages are treated by doctors 
D) a nationally representative survey of 1,200 Americans about their TV viewing habits 
A) an interview-based study with 50 respondents on attitudes toward political engagement 
B) a focus group including 10 participants on the subject of religious affiliation 
C) participant observation carried out in a hospital to identify how patients of different ages are treated by doctors 
D) a nationally representative survey of 1,200 Americans about their TV viewing habits

Question 18

Classroom quality can be measured in many different ways.If a researcher is careful to map out each dimension of classroom quality,and observers have a clear plan for how to determine classroom quality when they see it,what have the researchers accomplished?

Accepted Answer

A) They have increased the reliability of their research method. 
B) They made it possible to identify which kinds of classrooms are more likely to be effective. 
C) They created a fair assessment tool for determining which classrooms are problematic. 
D) They made it possible to determine that a classroom quality scale will have a high alpha. 
A) They have increased the reliability of their research method. 
B) They made it possible to identify which kinds of classrooms are more likely to be effective. 
C) They created a fair assessment tool for determining which classrooms are problematic. 
D) They made it possible to determine that a classroom quality scale will have a high alpha.

Question 19

The CBCL,HOME,and CLASS are measures often used in research because they

Accepted Answer

A) are almost always 100% accurate. 
B) are applicable to all populations,and therefore can be used in many different research contexts. 
C) have been vetted and therefore researchers can have confidence in using them. 
D) only attempt to gather small amounts of information and therefore are less likely to be inaccurate. 
A) are almost always 100% accurate. 
B) are applicable to all populations,and therefore can be used in many different research contexts. 
C) have been vetted and therefore researchers can have confidence in using them. 
D) only attempt to gather small amounts of information and therefore are less likely to be inaccurate.

The split-half method is when

The test-retest method is an approach in which

What is the purpose of a pilot test?

The CES-D is considered a reliable composite measure because

Which of the following is an assumption of OLS regression?

Which of the following is a term that describes the consistency of items on a scale and assesses how well responses to the first item on a scale predict responses to the second item?

Which of the following terms refers to whether results are true or accurate?

Lincoln and Guba (1985)argue that instead of validity and reliability,qualitative research should instead be judged based on

Write a paragraph in which you discuss two difficulties sociologists face in ensuring their research is valid and reliable.Use clear examples from the text to support your answer.

If a researcher asks a participant in a study to envision himself or herself as an unemployed autoworker living in Detroit,Michigan,with a partner and two children,who is struggling to afford food and housing,the researcher is using a

A team of researchers is using surveys to study college students' feelings about the dining hall on campus.In order to ensure reliability,the researchers employ a test-retest method.One potential problem with a test-retest might be that

The NAS poverty line may offer a more accurate picture of poverty in the United States than the FPL,but it

Experiments might potentially be critiqued for problems with external validity.Why?

A perfect Cronbach's alpha score is

The terms validity and reliability would be most applicable to which of the following projects?

Classroom quality can be measured in many different ways.If a researcher is careful to map out each dimension of classroom quality,and observers have a clear plan for how to determine classroom quality when they see it,what have the researchers accomplished?

The CBCL,HOME,and CLASS are measures often used in research because they

The Art and Science of Social Research: An Introduction

Research Foundations: Linking Sociological Theory to Research

Ethical Issues in Social Science Research

From Concepts to Models: Hypotheses, Operationalization, and Measurement

Sampling Strategies

Experimental Research

Evaluation Research

Ethnography

In-Depth Interviewing

Materials-Based Methods

Social Network Analysis

Univariate and Bivariate Analysis of Quantitative Data

Multivariate and Advanced Quantitative Methods

Analysis of Qualitative Data

Communicating Social Science Research Findings

Filters

Exam 5: Evaluating Research: Reliability and Validity

The split-half method is when

The test-retest method is an approach in which

What is the purpose of a pilot test?

The CES-D is considered a reliable composite measure because

Which of the following is an assumption of OLS regression?

Which of the following is a term that describes the consistency of items on a scale and assesses how well responses to the first item on a scale predict responses to the second item?

Which of the following terms refers to whether results are true or accurate?

Lincoln and Guba (1985)argue that instead of validity and reliability,qualitative research should instead be judged based on

Write a paragraph in which you discuss two difficulties sociologists face in ensuring their research is valid and reliable.Use clear examples from the text to support your answer.

If a researcher asks a participant in a study to envision himself or herself as an unemployed autoworker living in Detroit,Michigan,with a partner and two children,who is struggling to afford food and housing,the researcher is using a

A team of researchers is using surveys to study college students' feelings about the dining hall on campus.In order to ensure reliability,the researchers employ a test-retest method.One potential problem with a test-retest might be that

The NAS poverty line may offer a more accurate picture of poverty in the United States than the FPL,but it

Experiments might potentially be critiqued for problems with external validity.Why?

A perfect Cronbach's alpha score is

The terms validity and reliability would be most applicable to which of the following projects?

Classroom quality can be measured in many different ways.If a researcher is careful to map out each dimension of classroom quality,and observers have a clear plan for how to determine classroom quality when they see it,what have the researchers accomplished?

The CBCL,HOME,and CLASS are measures often used in research because they

The Art and Science of Social Research: An Introduction

Research Foundations: Linking Sociological Theory to Research

Ethical Issues in Social Science Research

From Concepts to Models: Hypotheses, Operationalization, and Measurement

Sampling Strategies

Experimental Research

Evaluation Research

Ethnography

In-Depth Interviewing

Materials-Based Methods

Social Network Analysis

Univariate and Bivariate Analysis of Quantitative Data

Multivariate and Advanced Quantitative Methods

Analysis of Qualitative Data

Communicating Social Science Research Findings

Filters