Deck 3: Doing Sociological Research

Question 1

Sociological study that starts with a specific research question focused on some generally-held principle is called reasoning.

A) inductive
B) deductive
C) conceptual
D) applied

Answer 1

B

Question 2

How scientific is sociology?

A) Sociology is always completely scientific.
B) Sociology aspires to be both scientific and humanistic.
C) All sociological research strictly adheres to the scientific method.
D) Sociology is not one of the empirical sciences.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Sir Francis Bacon originally defined , which involves several steps of the research process.

A) deductive reasoning
B) inductive reasoning
C) qualitative research
D) scientific method

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Developing a research question is the step in the research process.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Question 5

Which of the following is not a step in the scientific research process?

A) Hypothesis testing
B) Finding funding for the research
C) Observation
D) Data analysis

Question 6

A researcher who lives among the homeless in an effort to understand their norms is carrying out:

A) participant observation.
B) content analysis.
C) unobtrusive observation.
D) survey research.

Question 7

How is doing a replication study useful?

A) A replication study can indicate what changes have occurred since the original study was conducted.
B) A replication study is only useful if the first study was conducted incorrectly.
C) If the original researcher replicates the study, it is more useful than other researchers replicating the original study.
D) A replication is usually less expensive because most of the work has previously been done.

Question 8

The research technique in which the sociologist is the researcher but is also involved in the activities being studied is called

A) subjective analysis.
B) participant observation.
C) actor-action research.
D) ethnography.

Question 9

When Bobby reviews existing research to develop a research question he is involved in _.

A) a literature review
B) data collection
C) data analysis
D) research design

Question 10

Which of the following is not a source of sociological research questions?

A) Past studies that one may want to expand further
B) Past research that one would like to develop a critique of
C) An observation in everyday life
D) All of these may be a source.

Question 11

In what way does sociological knowledge differ from philosophy and personal belief?

A) In sociological study the theory must be testable.
B) Sociology focuses only on social problems.
C) Sociological is never humanistic.
D) Philosophy and personal beliefs are based on empirical evidence.

Question 12

Which of these is not important when assessing whether or not information available on the Internet is valid?

A) What kind of organization is responsible for the website
B) What variables are discussed and whether a causal connection between the variables is stated
C) If the research is based on a random sample or if it is biased
D) The date the website was last updated

Question 13

Research that is exactly the same as a previous study, but on a different group of people or in a different time or place, is called a study.

A) carbon
B) replication
C) reified
D) spurious

Question 14

Reasoning that begins with specific observations about which one draws conclusions is called reasoning.

A) inductive
B) deductive
C) conceptual
D) applied

Question 15

The is the overall logic of the research project, including what observational method will be used.

A) review of the literature
B) causal logic of the project
C) research design
D) sociological analysis

Question 16

The is the second step in creating a research design.

A) available funding
B) research question
C) review of the literature
D) hypothesis

Question 17

Qualitative research is based on .

A) survey data
B) statistics
C) replicated results
D) interpretive observations

Question 18

Professor Conway is reading the previous research completed on his research question. Professor Conway is _.

A) developing a hypothesis
B) reviewing the literature
C) performing content analysis
D) searching the web

Question 19

A sociological study explores whether there is any truth to the stereotype that women are bad drivers. Which of the following types of reasoning would be used in this type of study?

A) Inductive reasoning
B) Applied reasoning
C) Deductive reasoning
D) Conceptual reasoning

Question 20

Mark eats every day in the same cafeteria on campus and notices that everyone seems to sit with the same group of people whenever they come to eat. Mark notices that people seem to be sitting with others who share traits such as race or gender, and decides to explore if this is the case. What kind of reasoning does this involve?

A) Applied reasoning
B) Inductive reasoning
C) Deductive reasoning
D) Conceptual reasoning

Question 21

Which of these statements about variables is true?

A) A variable must always be very concrete and straightforward.
B) A variable must always be as abstract as possible.
C) Research is often designed to discover how variables influence each other.
D) Only two variables may be included in any particular study.

Question 22

The variable that is presumed to have an effect on or cause something else is called the variable.

A) dependent
B) independent
C) intervening
D) test

Question 23

Which type of research would Mary use if she wants to take an in-depth look at how mothers and daughters interact?

A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Experimental
D) Historical

Question 24

Based on what you read, you think that people whose parents are divorced are more likely to become divorced themselves. As you begin your research, you state your belief explicitly. This is an example of a _ .

A) research design
B) statement of causality
C) hypothesis
D) generalized conclusion

Question 25

Which of these statements explains why indicator variables are used to study concepts?

A) Sociologists have no way of measuring concepts.
B) Concepts cannot be observed directly.
C) Concepts cannot be included as variables in a study.
D) Indicators are more easily defined.

Question 26

If research clearly established that "study time determines the grades that a student earns," grades are the variable.

A) dependent
B) independent
C) control
D) intervening

Question 27

To study the difference in academic achievement between male and female athletes, one might look at rates of graduation among university students involved in sports. This is an example of research.

A) quantitative
B) qualitative
C) inductive
D) nonscientific

Question 28

Which of the following statements about hypothesis testing is true?

A) All sociological research follows the model of hypothesis.
B) A hypothesis is a demonstration of fact.
C) A hypothesis may be either accepted or rejected.
D) Only qualitative studies use hypotheses.

Question 29

How are most hypotheses stated or formulated?

A) As an outline of steps that will take place
B) As a list of possible outcomes
C) As if-then statements
D) As a logical argument with evidence presented

Question 30

Concepts are

A) empirically testable hypotheses.
B) abstract ideas that are potentially measureable.
C) ideas that can be directly seen.
D) characteristics of a person of a group.

Question 31

In the example of the United Nations' human development index, life expectancy and educational attainment are used as _____ for level of well-being, which is a(n) _.

A) independent variables / dependent variable
B) indicators / concept
C) concepts / indicator
D) control variables / experimental variable

Question 32

In the statement, "Diet determines one's life expectancy," diet is the variable.

A) dependent
B) independent
C) intervening
D) control

Question 33

A characteristic that may have more than one value or score is called a(n) .

A) variable
B) value
C) hypothesis
D) observation

Question 34

In a study of the impact of parental prejudice on the attitudes of their child, the attitudes of the child are the variable.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) intervening
D) control

Question 35

Which of these statements can be said of all sociological research?

A) It is all quantitative.
B) It is all qualitative.
C) It always has a plan for the collection of data.
D) It always follows the model of hypothesis.

Question 36

When a researcher uses numerical analysis, she is engaged in research.

A) qualitative
B) quantitative
C) content
D) historical

Question 37

Professor Evans believes that if his students study more they will improve their exam scores. This is an example of

A) quantitative research.
B) qualitative research.
C) a hypothesis.
D) a variable.

Question 38

What is the term for an abstract characteristic that cannot be directly observed, but that can potentially be measured?

A) Variable
B) Concept
C) Hypothesis
D) Indicator

Question 39

When variables are used in a research project in order to measure an abstract concept, these are called variables.

A) dependent
B) independent
C) intervening
D) indicator

Question 40

Which of these statements is the best description of a variable?

A) A variable is something in which the researcher is not interested.
B) A variable is something that can have only one value.
C) A variable is something that can have more than one value or score.
D) A variable is a scientific statement of observation.

Question 41

When a researcher is concerned if a measure gives consistent results, s/he is focused on _.

A) reliability
B) validity
C) ethics
D) the Hawthorne effect

Question 42

When a researcher is measuring levels of well-being, the variables "life expectancy" and "educational obtainment" become , because they reflect an abstract concept.

A) a dependent variable
B) an indicator
C) a concept
D) none of the above

Question 43

Using multiple indicators of a concept likely makes the measure more .

A) reliable
B) valid
C) reactive
D) reflective

Question 44

Which of these is used by sociologists to ensure the reliability of measures?

A) They use measures that have proven to work in the past.
B) They use multiple indicators.
C) They warn people that they are being studied.
D) They define the concepts in advance.

Question 45

How do sociologists ensure the validity of their research findings?

A) They stick to a single indicator for a particular concept in order to avoid confusion.
B) They use more than one indicator for a particular concept.
C) They avoid using concepts at all because they are too abstract.
D) They replicate studies multiple times.

Question 46

Which of these is an example of secondary data?

A) The results of a researcher's questionnaire
B) Information on the population from the Census Bureau
C) The results of one's sociological telephone survey
D) Data gathered from doing participant observation

Question 47

What is the Hawthorne effect?

A) Researcher bias when interpreting results of data collection
B) People acting according to what they believe to be true
C) Subjects of research altering their behavior if they know they are being studied
D) Believing something will happen actually causing it to happen

Question 48

When choosing a research method, the first thing for sociologists to consider is

A) what sociological question is being investigated.
B) which research method is most popular at the time of the study.
C) if funding is available for that particular method.
D) the size of the desired sample.

Question 49

What is a sample?

A) Any subset of people of a population being studied
B) Another term for the population under study
C) The set of data that comes in response to a survey
D) A portion of data taken from another study to the one being done

Question 50

Professor Porter is interested in studying how students interact with faculty on her campus. All the students at her college represent the in her study.

A) population
B) sample
C) case study
D) experimental group

Question 51

A student's grades are not an accurate reflection of the student's intelligence. Therefore a student's grades lack in a study of intelligence.

A) validity
B) reliability
C) objectivity
D) abstraction

Question 52

When sociologists conduct surveys or engage in participant observation they are gathering data.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) background
D) experimental

Question 53

A student is given the same survey three times, each time sitting alone in a room. The student's results on the survey are different each time. This is an indication that the survey

A) is not reliable.
B) is not valid.
C) doesn't cover the material it was supposed to.
D) is biased.

Question 54

The gas gauge on your car is broken and always drops to empty when the tank is just half full. Although the gauge is inaccurate, it can still be said to be .

A) valid
B) reliable
C) an independent measure
D) inconsistent

Question 55

Whether or not a measurement gives the same results when it is repeated under the same conditions is an indication of the measurement's _.

A) validity
B) reliability
C) certainty
D) replicability

Question 56

When used as data for sociological analysis, national opinion polls, and census data are all considered .

A) invalid
B) unreliable
C) secondary sources
D) primary sources

Question 57

Social class and power are examples of:

A) a concept.
B) a hypothesis.
C) an indicator.
D) a scale.

Question 58

Which of the following is an example of primary data?

A) The research used in another sociologist's study
B) Police reports of crime
C) The results of a one's own sociological survey
D) Birth data from the Bureau of Vital Statistics

Question 59

Professor Stevens tells his students at the start of the class that he wants to measure how many pages of notes they take during class. Which of the following is of concern for Professor Stevens?

A) The Observational effect
B) The Thomas theorem
C) Murphy's law
D) The Hawthorne effect

Question 60

If a researcher is interested in studying all baseball teams, a randomly-selected team would represent a _.

A) correlation
B) population
C) sample
D) primary data source

Question 61

A gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for a study.

A) random sample
B) stratified sample
C) snowball sample
D) biased sample

Question 62

During which step of the research process do sociologists make their research discoveries?

A) Formulation of a hypothesis
B) Collection of data
C) Data analysis
D) Presentation of conclusions

Question 63

The ability to apply the findings from one study to a broader population is called .

A) generalization
B) validity
C) reliability
D) proving causality

Question 64

The process by which sociologists review the collected data to discover the patterns and uniformities that the data reveal is called .

A) sampling
B) data analysis
C) hypothesis testing
D) generalization

Question 65

Which of these is not a survey?

A) Questionnaire
B) Interview
C) Telephone or internet poll
D) Experiment

Question 66

What is necessary in order to draw the most accurate conclusions about a population while only studying part of it?

A) A sample that is at least 10 percent of the population
B) A representative sample
C) A group of people from the population who volunteers for the study
D) A sample that is at least half of the population

Question 67

A sociologist wants to find out what the attitudes toward drinking are among the students at the university where she works. What would be considered the population for this study?

A) A subset of the student population who will answer a questionnaire
B) The entire student body at that university
C) All of the university students in the U.S.
D) Everyone on that university campus, including students and non-students

Question 68

A research finding that was not being looked for and is unanticipated is called by researchers.

A) spurious
B) serendipity
C) intervening
D) valid

Question 69

The return rate for a survey is

A) the percentage of questionnaires distributed that are completed and returned.
B) what the total costs of conducting the survey are.
C) the amount of good data that the researcher can take from each survey returned.
D) the number of surveys returned but not completed.

Question 70

A researcher asks himself whether his results apply only to the people he studied or to the whole world. This researcher is questioning the of his research.

A) reliability
B) validity
C) generalizability
D) replication

Question 71

Which of the following is the most commonly used method in sociological research?

A) Survey
B) Participant observation
C) Analysis of secondary sources
D) Experiments

Question 72

The best way to ensure that a sample is representative of the population is to

A) make sure it is large enough.
B) select it oneself based on a review of potential sample members.
C) select it randomly.
D) select people who follow directions well.

Question 73

If the research conclusions may be generalized to a broader population, what does that mean?

A) Every member of the population has the same characteristics.
B) The findings match theoretical findings.
C) The research findings have direct application to policy.
D) The findings from the sample can be applied to the population.

Question 74

When people must respond to a question from a fixed list of possible answers to a question, this

A) makes the findings more valid.
B) increases reliability.
C) is an open-ended question.
D) is a closed-ended question.

Question 75

Researchers use the term "serendipity" to refer to

A) unexpected grant money.
B) findings that are unexpectedly found while analyzing the data for other findings.
C) any findings from their research that seem conclusive.
D) conclusions that support their hypothesis.

Question 76

If a sociologist wants to know how students feel about the cost of living in residence halls, the most appropriate research method to use would be .

A) an experiment
B) a survey
C) observation
D) searching university records

Question 77

Akasha creates a survey for her sociology course and gives it to her classmates. When she writes up her findings, she generalizes to all college students. Her generalization is unwarranted because her sample was

A) not given informed consent.
B) not paid to participate.
C) not randomly selected.
D) coerced.

Question 78

How do sociologists know if the sample they are using is representative?

A) If the people in the sample freely volunteered to serve as representatives
B) If the sample has an even number, decided by the researcher, of people from several different categories or backgrounds
C) If the sample has the same mix of people, in the same proportions, as the population being studied
D) If the participants have been interviewed to reveal possible bias

Question 79

A is a large collection of people, groups, or categories that a researcher studies and about which generalizations are made.

A) collectivity
B) sample
C) population
D) subject pool

Question 80

When Dr. Baker collects census data on farm loss he is using data.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) content
D) historical