Deck 10: Qualitative Field Research

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of focus groups?

A)Focus group moderators require special skills.
B)Focus group data are easy to analyze.
C)Focus groups are often difficult to assemble.
D)Focus groups allow for multiple viewpoints to be heard.
E)Focus groups afford the researcher less control than individual interviews

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In a complete qualitative interviewing process,a researcher will perform all but which of the following?

A)thematize
B)statistically analyze
C)transcribe
D)verify
E)design

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is POOR advice for recording observations in the field?

A)Don't trust your memory anymore than you have to
B)You must always take notes during the observation
C)Take notes in stages
D)Advance preparation on recording anticipated observations better enables you to record unanticipated observations
E)All of these choices are good advice

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Sara wanted to learn about battered women.She entered the world of a battered women's shelter and lived with the women in order to fully learn about the views of these women.She wanted to write a detailed and accurate description about the lives that the women reported.Which of the following approaches best describes Sara's research paradigm?

A)Naturalist
B)Ethnomethodology
C)Grounded theory
D)Institutional ethnography
E)Participatory action research

Question 5

In comparison to experiments and surveys,field research has

A)greater reliability and greater validity
B)greater reliability and less validity
C)less reliability and greater validity
D)less reliability and less validity
E)can't tell without more information about the particular study

Question 6

An advantage(s)of field research is(are)

A)it enables the researcher to draw statistical conclusions about the population
B)the researcher can control the variables under study
C)social processes can be studied over time
D)hypotheses can be rigorously tested
E)all of these choices are advantages of field research

Question 7

Which of the following is not part of grounded theory?

A)Analyses of patterns
B)Analyses of themes
C)Analyses of common categories
D)All of these choices are part of grounded theory
E)Analyses of patterns and analyses of themes

Question 8

A(n) is a study that focuses on giving detailed and accurate description rather than explanation

A)Ethnomethodology
B)Naturalism
C)Ethnography
D)Grounded theory
E)Case study

Question 9

Which of the following is POOR advice for a qualitative field interviewer?

A)Learn to listen,think,and talk almost at the same time
B)Be more interested than interesting
C)Do not deviate from the schedule of preestablished questions
D)Don't try to halt your respondent's line of discussion even if it's not on topic
E)All of these choices provide GOOD advice

Question 10

Among the advantages of field research is(are)that it

A)yields precise descriptive statements about a large population
B)involves the uniform application of precise operational definitions
C)allows for the modification of research design
D)produces definitive conclusions
E)is an extremely reliable technique

Question 11

Michael is spending three months living in a commune doing participant observation in order to fully understand and document the lives of the people who reside there.What is the likely result of Michael's research?

A)Structured interview
B)Unstructured interview
C)Ethnography
D)Case study
E)Extended case study

Question 12

To examine the social interactions of online role-playing gamers,a relatively new social phenomena,Kyoko developed a rough outline of what to look for before setting out on observation.This outline was intended to guide,but not specifically structure the observations.What approach did Kyoko use?

A)ethnomethodology
B)grounded theory
C)case study
D)the extended case method
E)participatory action approach

Question 13

An example(s)of the complete participant role is(are)

A)joining a sorority or fraternity to study initiation rituals without revealing your identity as a researcher
B)standing at a street corner and watching whether males or females are more likely to jay-walk
C)telling a motorcycle gang that you are a researcher and would like to ride with them for a year to understand their interaction patterns
D)being a newspaper reporter who interviews union workers to learn about recent strike efforts
E)all of these choices are examples of the complete participant role

Question 14

Professor Miller planned to tape six focus groups to examine citizens' attitudes toward park development.As a research methods student,you told Miller that an advantage of the focus group method is(are)that

A)moderators require little specialized skill
B)moderators easily control the focus group's discussion
C)data tapes are easily analyzed
D)high face validity
E)differences between the groups,should they occur,are easily explained

Question 15

Jennifer is interested in understanding the dynamics within an economically diverse high school.She interviews a wide variety of students,as well as the staff and faculty to understand how race has an effect on their education.Jennifer is using what sort of research paradigm?

A)participatory action research
B)ethnomethodology
C)ethnography
D)case study
E)institutional ethnography

Question 16

Dr.Fielding is interested in the stratification system in the United States and how it is perpetuated through time.Fielding decides to examine the experiences of minority students who seek college counseling in high school.He interviews minority students in four high schools to learn whether their personal experiences tell him something about stratification in the U.S.After interviewing the minority students Fielding interviews non-minority students,school administrators,guidance counselors,teachers,parents,and social workers at the same four high schools..Fielding is probably using a/an approach.

A)participatory action research
B)ethnomethodology
C)ethnography
D)case study
E)institutional ethnography

Question 17

Which of the following is the best example of a breaching experiment?

A)Walking into an elevator and turning to face the door.
B)Opening an umbrella on a beautiful day.
C)Closing an umbrella after the rain ends.
D)Looking at the sky when birds fly by.
E)None of these choices exemplify a breaching experiment

Question 18

Jenny wants to do research that tells the stories of rape victims.She wants to tell "their stories" the way they "really are." Jenny is using a paradigm.

A)Naturalist
B)Ethnomethodology
C)Grounded theory
D)Case study
E)Participating action research

Question 19

Grounded theory begins with

A)patterns
B)hypotheses
C)key variables
D)data collection
E)either patterns,hypothesis,key variables,or data collection

Question 20

Professor Milne was preparing to do qualitative interviewing in a field research project.Milne knew that you were a research methods student and asked for your advice.You told Milne

A)try not to alter the specific wording of questions
B)try to use the same probes with the same wording for each respondent
C)try not to alter the sequence of questions
D)be sure to think up interesting things to say when the conversation lulls
E)none of these choices

Question 21

The complete participant must always be a genuine member and participate in what he or she is studying.

Question 22

Researchers Glaser and Strauss have advocated that which part of a research study should be eliminated when following the tenets of grounded theory?

A)Methodology
B)Conclusion
C)Literature Review
D)Analysis/discussion
E)Conclusion

Question 23

The "Convert" is more likely to run the risk of "going native" than the "Martian."

Question 24

In qualitative interviewing,interactions can only be done in a face-to-face or telephone interview context.

Question 25

Unstructured interviews are less appropriate for field research than structured interviews.

Question 26

Jamie asks women about their personal experiences in the labor market in order to uncover the power relations that govern those experiences.What paradigm is Jamie using?

A)Naturalism
B)Ethnomethodology
C)Grounded theory
D)Institutional ethnography
E)Participatory action research

Question 27

Your field notes should record what you know happened NOT what you think happened.

Question 28

Researchers who assume the role of the complete participant are unlikely to affect what they are studying.

Question 29

The qualitative field research interview is typically

A)Unstructured
B)Structured
C)Similar to the survey interview
D)Unstructured and similar to the survey interview
E)Structured and similar to the survey interview

Question 30

The difference between just a case study and the extended case method involves

A)Units of analysis
B)Testing social theory
C)Difference in research paradigms
D)Data analysis
E)Interpretation of results

Question 31

Because the work of sociologists and journalists are different,they should not use the same interviewing techniques.

Question 32

Qualitative field researchers must always participate in what they are studying.

Question 33

All forms of field research involve participant observation.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of focus groups?

A)Focus group moderators require special skills.
B)Focus group data are easy to analyze.
C)Focus groups are often difficult to assemble.
D)Focus groups afford the researcher less control than individual interviews.
E)All of these choices are disadvantages of focus groups.

Question 35

Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory.

Question 36

Qualitative researchers should take notes and record events as soon as possible to ensure the greatest accuracy.

Question 37

Specific methods do not link to specific paradigms.

Question 38

Focus group participants are typically selected via probability samples.

Question 39

Qualitative field research differs from other forms of observation in that it is both a data-collecting and a theory-generating activity.