Deck 2: Sociological Research

Question 1

Most observation research takes the form of a case study.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Secondary analysis is referred to as "obtrusive" research because it includes a variety of reactive research techniques.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One of the benefits of scientific knowledge is that its methods build in mechanisms for self-correction.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

All social research makes use of hypotheses.

Question 5

In participant observation studies,researchers must decide whether to let people know they are being studied.

Question 6

The dependent variable is manipulated to show an outcome or effect on another variable.

Question 7

Knowledge that is acquired by tradition is based on the assumption that knowledge is best gained by direct,systematic observation.

Question 8

Grounded theory is an inductive approach theory that links theory and data collection as the research process.

Question 9

Reliability is the extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure.

Question 10

Unstructured interviews involve asking all research participants the same questions.

Question 11

Researchers are required by a code of ethics to weigh the societal benefits of research against the potential costs to participants.

Question 12

Finding a correlation between two variables allows a researcher to determine "cause and effect."

Question 13

Feminist research methods support the idea that researchers should be neutral and detached.

Question 14

The major advantage of the controlled experiment is the researcher's control over the environment and the ability to isolate the experimental variable.

Question 15

Books,graffiti,and television programs can all be sources of data for secondary analysis.

Question 16

Maintaining confidentiality means the research cannot link a given response to a given respondent.

Question 17

The deductive approach to research begins with the collection of data.

Question 18

Explanatory studies are designed to find out what is happening to whom,where,and when.

Question 19

Interviews are a useful research method for eliciting information about complicated or sensitive matters

Question 20

Field research provides opportunities for researchers to view from the inside what may not be obvious to an outside observer.

Question 21

Imagine that a researcher wanted to better understand dominant expressions of women's gender and sexuality.Which research design would reflect an unobtrusive research approach?

A) interviewing women
B) conducting an online survey
C) performing an experiment
D) reviewing women's magazines

Question 22

In a simple random sample,all members of a population have equal chance of being selected to participate in the research study.

Question 23

Questionnaires elicit high rates of response from participants.

Question 24

Triangulation requires researchers to confirm their findings using experimentation.

Question 25

Control groups are those that are exposed to changes in the independent variable.

Question 26

Participant observation involves collecting systematic observations while being part of the activities of the group being studied.

Question 27

Surveys have the benefit of representing people's ideas or experiences well.

Question 28

Qualitative studies rely on the formation of hypotheses.

Question 29

Validity is the extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure.

Question 30

Variables are frequently used in quantitative research.

Question 31

Many researchers avoid using the Internet to conduct research due to ethical issues.

Question 32

Thanks to a recent court decision,investigators can be assured that they can,in normal circumstances,assure confidentiality to their research participants.

Question 33

A weakness of secondary analysis is that the data are hard to obtain and quite expensive to use.

Question 34

A researcher wanted to learn more about neighbourhood environments,so he collected data about the sizes of homes,the width of roads and sidewalks,and the number of trees.With this information,he hopes to better understand social characteristics of neighbourhoods such as income levels,educational attainment,or crime rates.Which type of research approach best describes this project?

A) objective
B) deductive
C) subjective
D) inductive

Question 35

Critical research strategies require investigators to oppose government policies.

Question 36

Field research typically generates quantitative data.

Question 37

Questions in unstructured interviews are quite often derived from the answers to previous questions.

Question 38

Feminist research methods were developed to rectify a perceived bias against women in the processes of research design and data collection.

Question 39

When subjects change their behaviour in response to knowing they are being studied,this is referred to as reactivity.

Question 40

What specific ethical problem does the use of big data present?

A) Participants' information is not protected.
B) Participants likely have not consented to engaging in research.
C) Participants' identities may be revealed.
D) There are no ethical concerns since the research is anonymous.

Question 41

You decide to study a new religious group that has bought the house next door by attending their meetings twice a week for a period of approximately eight to ten months.Which of the following decisions must you now make?

A) whether to use a structured interview or a self-administered questionnaire
B) whether to let people know they are being studied
C) whether to randomly assign subjects or allow self-selection into the experimental and control groups
D) what available data should be included in the secondary analysis

Question 42

What does "ensuring anonymity" mean?

A) The researcher is able to identify a given person's responses but promises not to do so.
B) The research cannot match a given response with a given respondent.
C) The researcher refrains from collecting personal information about participants.
D) The researcher obtains written consent before collecting personal information.

Question 43

What does "maintaining confidentiality" mean?

A) The researcher is able to identify a given person's responses but promises not to do so
B) The research cannot identify a given response with a given respondent
C) The researcher refrains from collecting personal information about participants
D) The researcher obtains written consent before collecting personal information

Question 44

Andrea is conducting a laboratory experiment on altruism.Which statement best describes a weakness in her approach?

A) It is unreliable.
B) It is inaccurate.
C) It is unethical.
D) It is artificial.

Question 45

As parental income increases,so does the likelihood that a child will attend a postsecondary institution.Which term best describes "parental income" in that statement?

A) an operator
B) a variable
C) a concept
D) a stimulus

Question 46

Which research approach values close contact with a group of participants and immersion in their culture?

A) experiments
B) field research
C) secondary data analysis
D) surveys

Question 47

Researchers investigating responses to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina found that reports in the media greatly exaggerated interpersonal violence and danger.What research method best reflects the approach they used to make this conclusion?

A) experiment
B) secondary data analysis
C) structured interviews
D) unstructured interviews

Question 48

Suppose a researcher is analyzing meanings or social relationships by interpreting the narratives of school children's journals.Which type of research models would be employed?

A) qualitative research models
B) observational research models
C) quantitative research models
D) systemic research models

Question 49

Which example best represents an empirical approach to knowing?

A) an individual seeks guidance from an imam
B) a student asks her teacher for an answer
C) a patient consults with his lawyer
D) a gardener records plant activity

Question 50

The following sentence is an example of which concept? "Increased exposure to television causes a decrease in girls' self-esteem."

A) variable
B) hypothesis
C) theory
D) definition

Question 51

Which term best describes research that takes the form of an in-depth,multifaceted investigation of a single event,person,or social grouping?

A) qualitative inquiry
B) a case study
C) complete observation
D) field research

Question 52

In attempts to measure the relationship between religiosity and political affiliation,a recurring issue is whether church membership provides an accurate indicator of a person's religious beliefs.Which term does this concern relate to most directly?

A) validity
B) reliability
C) predictability
D) variability

Question 53

Which of the following could be described as a descriptive approach to studying health?

A) the percentage of people who exercise daily
B) the relationship between social class and the likelihood of going to the gym
C) how often people eat kale
D) whether exercise is a cross-cultural phenomenon

Question 54

Which research method does NOT approach research with an aim to better understand participants' perspective?

A) experimental research
B) critical research
C) feminist research
D) field research

Question 55

According to the text,what does successful field research require?

A) having sufficient funding to pay people for information
B) cultivating good relationships with the community
C) ensuring that government supports the research objectives
D) working with other scholars established in the field

Question 56

Which type of study attempts to determine why certain events occur?

A) explanatory
B) informational
C) normative
D) descriptive

Question 57

A recent experiment conducted by the dating site OKCupid investigated the effect of intentionally mismatching people.What type of research approach best represents this example?

A) critical research project
B) experiment
C) ethnography
D) participant observation

Question 58

What is a characteristic of "critical research," according to William Carroll?

A) It should be objective.
B) It should be radical.
C) It should be timely.
D) It should be valid.

Question 59

What was the main independent variable in Latané and Darley's experiment on helping in emergency situations?

A) the time that elapsed from the start of the victim's seizure until the participant left the room to get help
B) the participant's level of altruism
C) the number of other people the participant believed had also heard the victim's distress
D) the amount of medical training the participants had before joining the experiment

Question 60

Sarah begins to act altruistically once she discovers her actions are under study.What phenomenon is Sarah exhibiting?

A) predictability
B) reactivity
C) generalizability
D) validity

Question 61

How do scientific explanations differ from the other ways of knowing?

A) Science uses a normative approach.
B) Scientific knowledge is systematic.
C) Knowledge derived from scientific inquiry cannot be refuted.
D) Science is subjective.

Question 62

What is a disadvantage of self-administered questionnaire research?

A) This type of research is expensive to administer.
B) Response rates may be low.
C) Participants cannot be guaranteed anonymity.
D) It can be difficult to find participants.

Question 63

Which researcher is likely to be working with 'big data'?

A) one reviewing census information
B) one analyzing a family diary
C) one conducting interviews with a local motorcycle gang
D) one performing experiments with university students

Question 64

When Tenzin chooses the sample for his research,he wants to ensure that the sample is a miniature version of the Canadian population as a whole.What type of sample is Tenzin using?

A) general sample
B) representative sample
C) random sample
D) stratified sample

Question 65

In the text,what was Russel Ogden's master's thesis on euthanasia used to demonstrate?

A) How harm to participants must be weighed against the overall contribution of the study to the advancement of science
B) How lenient ethical principles were in relation to studies conducted in the 1970s compared to those in place today
C) How researchers sometimes violate the ethical principle of informed consent in order to carry out their research
D) How the ethical principle of confidentiality can come into conflict with the law

Question 66

A researcher decides to research the culture of bodybuilders by joining this group.He begins a strict regimen of weightlifting,adheres to a strict diet,and even participates in some amateur competitions.What type of research is this?

A) complete observation
B) participant observation
C) direct observation
D) member observation

Question 67

A recent experiment conducted by the dating site OKCupid investigated the effect of intentionally mismatching people.On what grounds would sociologists most likely oppose such research?

A) Participants were being watched.
B) Participants' personal information was collected.
C) Participants were unwitting subjects.
D) Participants' behaviour was being manipulated.

Question 68

What are scientists trying to achieve when they try to ensure that their biases and values do NOT affect their research?

A) reliability
B) objectivity
C) verifiability
D) subjectivity

Question 69

Suppose a researcher meets with the subjects of her study and asks each a series of questions.Which data collection method is she using?

A) researcher-administered questionnaire
B) interview
C) structured survey
D) structured experiment

Question 70

In what approach does the researcher collect information or data and then generate theories from the analysis of those data?

A) objective
B) deductive
C) subjective
D) inductive

Question 71

A team of researchers recently decided to conduct an experiment originally made famous by Stanley Milgram in the 1950s in order to test whether Milgram's results still hold today.Which term best describes their activities?

A) replication
B) authentication
C) confirmation
D) substantiation

Question 72

In a simple random sample,what condition must be present?

A) The participants chosen accurately reflect the larger population.
B) Systematic procedures are used to select research participants.
C) Every member of the entire population has the same chance of being selected.
D) The likelihood of being selected for the sample is unknown.

Question 73

Why are variables important?

A) They generate qualitative data.
B) They provide descriptions of social life.
C) They determine the appropriate participants.
D) They outline how concepts can be measured.

Question 74

Suppose a study researched government transcripts to establish what types of themes occur most frequently.Which term refers to this kind of research?

A) field research
B) content analysis
C) participant observation
D) ethnography

Question 75

In the hypothesis "Among university students taking an Introduction to Sociology course,older students tend to score higher on multiple choice tests than younger students," what term would we use to refer to "score higher on multiple choice tests"?

A) independent variable
B) dependent variable
C) operational variable
D) intervening variable

Question 76

Which term refers to the extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure?

A) validity
B) reliability
C) predictability
D) variability

Question 77

Suppose you and your classmates were asked an identical set of questions concerning your attitudes toward a discounted bus transit pass in an interview.In what type of research would you be participating?

A) an experiment
B) a case study
C) secondary data analysis
D) a survey

Question 78

Why is sociological research necessary?

A) It allows us to confirm commonsense beliefs.
B) It offers a more informed understanding of human social interaction.
C) It provides validation for personal experiences.
D) It helps to outline causes of behaviour.

Question 79

In the hypothesis "Among university students taking an Introduction to Sociology course,older students tend to score higher on multiple choice tests than younger students," what term would we use to refer to age?

A) independent variable
B) dependent variable
C) operational variable
D) intervening variable

Question 80

What is the primary role of research ethics?

A) to ensure the data collected are valid
B) to outline how objective information will be collected
C) to protect research participants
D) to help frame hypotheses