Deck 3: Sex Research

Question 1

"Enlargement" and "concealment" are examples of:

A)memory distortion.
B)purposeful distortion.
C)sampling bias.
D)errors of estimation.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A sex researcher is interested in conducting a study on the sexual behavior of African-American individuals in polyamorous relationships and manages to contact 60 such individuals to participate in the study.In research terms, this group of participants is defined as the researcher's:

A)cohort.
B)sample.
C)population.
D)control group.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In sampling, volunteer bias in sex research would not be a problem if:

A)those who refuse to participate are identical in their sexual behavior to those who do participate.
B)a very small sample size is taken.
C)those who refuse to participate drop out immediately, allowing for others to be sampled in their place.
D)the differences in the sexual behavior of those who participated are significantly large.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A sex researcher is interested in studying the sexual behavior of all sexually-active 18-year-old Hispanic males living in the United States.He ultimately manages to study each one of these individuals.In this example, the researcher has gathered data from a:

A)sample.
B)population.
C)self-report.
D)probability sample.

Question 5

People who refuse to participate in sex research differ in some ways from those who do participate.This leads to the problem of _____.

A)enlargement
B)concealment
C)implicit association
D)volunteer bias

Question 6

A questionnaire for a sex study asks the respondents the total number of sexual partners they have had in their lives.Although John has only had sex with a single partner, John lists the total as ten.This is an example of _____.

A)enlargement
B)concealment
C)causal inference
D)implicit association

Question 7

Margaret is having an affair with her neighbor, Tom.However, when an interviewer in a sex study asks her whether she has ever had any sexual relations with anyone outside of her marriage, her answer is, "No, never." This is an example of _____.

A)enlargement
B)concealment
C)causal inference
D)volunteer bias

Question 8

Which of the following is the most common method for measuring sexuality?

A)Eye tracking
B)Implicit Association Test
C)Self-reports
D)Pupil dilation

Question 9

When people respond to questions about sexuality, sometimes they exaggerate and other times they tend to minimize or hide certain facts.In which of the following methods of measuring sexuality would this problem arise?

A)Eye-tracking
B)Implicit Association Test
C)Self-reports
D)Direct observations

Question 10

In a study, participants were made to wear optical devices that measured the point of their gazes.They were shown pictures in order to evaluate which parts of the pictures the participants stared at the most.Which of the following methods is described in this example?

A)fMRI
B)Genital measures
C)Content analysis
D)Eye-tracking

Question 11

A researcher is studying the incidence of child sexual abuse in public schools and she sends a questionnaire to 1,000 randomly selected students' homes in the month of January.The questions ask how frequently parents engage in certain behaviors like hitting, criticizing, and punishing their children.The same questionnaires are sent to the same participants in June of the same year.However, this time less than 500 questionnaires are returned.This survey faces the problem of:

A)refusal or nonresponse.
B)lack of probability sampling.
C)lack of test-retest reliability.
D)no volunteer bias and accurate memory.

Question 12

Which of the following is a limitation of the use of fMRI in studying brain activity?

A)Participants must be lying very still to get good images.
B)Participants must not eat anything for 12 hours before they are tested.
C)The anatomy is measured but not the actual brain activity.
D)Repeated exposure may lead to brain damage.

Question 13

In a study of sexuality, 500 possible participants were considered for a sample.These people were contacted and asked to participate in the study.Half of them agreed to participate.However, a majority of the participants were male.Which of the following problems is this study most likely to have due to high male participation?

A)Observer bias
B)Probability sampling
C)Volunteer bias
D)Concealment

Question 14

The most difficult part of the sampling procedure in sex research is:

A)contacting the people identified in the sample.
B)getting the people in the sample to participate.
C)adopting a method for obtaining the sample.
D)identifying the population to be sampled.

Question 15

A sex researcher is interested in understanding the trends in contraceptive use among women living in the United States.For this purpose, he obtains a convenience sample of 70 sexually-active 21-year-old females across the country.However, upon closer investigation, it was discovered that all the participants had one characteristic in common-they all had engaged in intercourse before the age of 15.Based on this we may conclude that:

A)the sample is highly representative of the entire female population of the country.
B)the results obtained from the study may not be true of all 21-year-old females.
C)the results obtained from the study are free from volunteer bias.
D)the results obtained from the study may be extrapolated to the population.

Question 16

In a study of human sexuality, a scientist records various kinds of sexual encounters between heterosexual couples.The tape is then studied to ascertain patterns in their sexual behavior.Which of the following best describes this method of studying sexuality?

A)Self-reports
B)Eye tracking
C)Direct observations
D)Implicit Association Test

Question 17

_____ is defined as the problem that occurs when sex researchers can study only those people who have agreed to participate in the study.

A)Concealment
B)Enlargement
C)Conformity bias
D)Volunteer bias

Question 18

Which of the following is an accurate observation about convenience samples in sex research, such as that used in the Janus report?

A)They do not give a good picture of what is going on in the general population.
B)They show similar results to larger studies like the General Social Survey.
C)They are appropriate when only a limited area of behavior is being researched.
D)They are appropriate only if data from recent experiences is being gathered.

Question 19

In conducting a study of sexual research, you collect your sample from walk-ins at a local doctor's office.This type of sample is a:

A)product of probability sampling.
B)random sample.
C)convenience sample.
D)systematic and representative sample of the local community.

Question 20

A _____ sample is chosen in a haphazard manner relative to the population of interest.

A)systematic
B)convenience
C)probability
D)random

Question 21

The computer-assisted self-interview:

A)accommodates poor readers through audio components.
B)lacks the privacy that written questionnaires provide.
C)uses biological measures to test the response of participants.
D)relies on direct observation methods of collecting data.

Question 22

In a study about sexuality, participants of a perfectly random sample were truthful and tried to give information that was as accurate as possible.Identify the factor that is most likely to make their self-reports inaccurate in this context.

A)Difficulties with estimates
B)Concealment
C)Volunteer bias
D)Enlargement

Question 23

The findings of a research study on the sexual habits of adolescents are printed in a medical journal along with the names of those who participated in the study.In ethical terms, this study has violated the:

A)principle of informed consent.
B)principle of protection from harm.
C)cost-benefit principle.
D)justice principle.

Question 24

Which of the following is true of a participant's right to quit a study on sexuality at any time?

A)Quitting a sexuality study forms a part of informed consent.
B)This right of the participant prevents shrinking of the sample.
C)Quitting is part of the cost-benefit approach.
D)This right was established by Kinsey.

Question 25

Anonymity of responses in sex research stems from the ethical principle of _____.

A)informed consent
B)justice in research ethics
C)protection from harm
D)participant observation

Question 26

Which among the following is an example of enlargement in sex research?

A)A 44-year-old man who claims he has never had an extramarital affair.
B)A 27-year-old woman who claims to have had 4 sexual partners in the last year.
C)A 30-year-old woman who claims that she always experiences multiple orgasms during sex.
D)A 16-year-old female student who claims that she is rarely attracted to her male classmates.

Question 27

Which of the following is a major advantage of direct observation over self-reports?

A)It is accurate.
B)It takes less time to complete.
C)It costs very little.
D)It is easy to obtain a probability sample.

Question 28

A new drug for the treatment of syphilis is tested only on patients of low socioeconomic status (SES).Only patients whom the researchers felt would benefit from the drug are chosen and given the choice to participate in the study.The participants are given information about how the drug will affect their bodies and warned about a list of possible side-effects.However, patients from high SES neighborhoods are not contacted.Which of the following can be inferred from this study?

A)It undermines the justice principle.
B)It lacks informed consent.
C)It lacks any protection from harm.
D)It incurs less cost but has more benefits.

Question 29

Informed consent and protection from harm in sexual research are best described as:

A)ways to ensure that your study is valid.
B)ways to ensure that your study will be reliable and accurate.
C)unwarranted principles in a cost-benefit approach.
D)ethical standards for conducting research on sexuality.

Question 30

In a perfect test-retest reliability:

A)people disagree from one time to the next.
B)a correlation of around .50 exists between the two sets of responses.
C)people's responses vary because of memory lapses.
D)a correlation of 1.0 exists between the two sets of responses.

Question 31

Sponsoring agencies and sex researchers attempt to minimize the stress to participants in a study while still gaining valuable knowledge.This is done by:

A)preserving the anonymity of the researcher.
B)maximizing the potential danger to participants by justifying the importance of their findings.
C)using the principle of non-anonymous responses.
D)using a cost-benefit approach.

Question 32

Which of the following statements is true of the computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) method?

A)It results in a higher number of fudged responses.
B)It is not suitable for individuals with poor reading skills.
C)It can be combined with an audio component.
D)It offers little privacy to respondents.

Question 33

A 30-year-old man frequents book stores that sell erotic literature.However, when asked about this in a research study, he denies ever having been to one.In sex research, this tendency is defined as:

A)enlargement.
B)volunteer bias.
C)concealment.
D)causal inference.

Question 34

Which of the following is a method of assessing whether self-reports are accurate?

A)Volunteer bias
B)Cost-benefit approach
C)Test-retest reliability
D)Content analysis

Question 35

Researchers have an obligation to ensure that research risks and benefits are distributed fairly across all groups in society.This is known as the principle of:

A)equality in research.
B)justice in research ethics.
C)informed consent.
D)legality of research.

Question 36

Informed consent in research means that participants:

A)sign a confidentiality form.
B)do not have the right to be told the purpose of the research.
C)are entitled to anonymity of their response.
D)have the right to know what they will be asked to do.

Question 37

Which of the following problems is best minimized by assuring participants of response anonymity and convincing them that the research will be used for scientific purposes?

A)Influence of extraneous factors
B)Memory distortion
C)Volunteer bias
D)Purposeful distortion

Question 38

Rosie volunteers to complete a sex survey for Ivan Masterful, a doctoral student working on his dissertation.One of the questions refers to the number of times the respondent has had unprotected sexual intercourse.Rosie marks "less than two times" even though she knows the number is higher.This is an example of:

A)volunteer bias.
B)enlargement.
C)concealment.
D)problems with estimating.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is true of the direct observation methods of studying sexuality?

A)They have a high level of inaccuracy.
B)They are expensive and time-consuming.
C)They often result in purposeful distortion.
D)They generally have a very large sample size.

Question 40

Factors other than the survey by itself can influence responses.For example, the gender or ethnicity of the interviewer may influence participants.These factors are known as:

A)reliability factors.
B)internal factors.
C)extraneous factors.
D)validity re-test factors.

Question 41

Kinsey's associates felt that the most questionable statistic from the Kinsey studies was the incidence of:

A)male homosexuality.
B)animal contact by males.
C)premarital sex.
D)extramarital sexual contact.

Question 42

Which of the following methods of data collection were used in Project SIGMA?

A)Daily diaries
B)Questionnaires
C)Self-report tools
D)Direct observations

Question 43

Which of the following statements is true of the Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR)?

A)It found that the age of first intercourse had declined over the last several decades.
B)Its sample comprised men and women aged between 18 and 65 across the country.
C)It used the face-to-face interviewing method.
D)It had a very low response rate of only 37 per cent.

Question 44

Debra wants to conduct a sex study on individuals who enjoy sadomasochism.She contacts a few of her friends who engage in sadomasochistic behavior.In turn, they contact others whom they know are sadomasochists or attend S/M parties.Eventually, a sample of 200 participants is obtained.Identify the type of sampling method used in this survey.

A)Stratified sampling
B)Probability sampling
C)Random sampling
D)Snowball sampling

Question 45

According to Ford and Norris's sex study, which of the following groups was far more likely to have partners outside their ethnic group?

A)Native Americans
B)Latinos
C)African Americans
D)Asian Americans

Question 46

Kinsey's face-to-face interviewing techniques are:

A)criticized by researchers.
B)highly regarded in the field.
C)challenged by social scientists.
D)considered as unethical means of obtaining information.

Question 47

The NHSLS (National Health and Social Life Survey) was headed by:

A)Alfred Kinsey.
B)Masters and Johnson.
C)Edward Laumann.
D)Bronislaw Malinowski.

Question 48

The _____ was led by Anne Johnson and yielded data from men and women living in England, Wales, and Scotland.

A)National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB)
B)National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL)
C)National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS)
D)Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR)

Question 49

According to Ford and Norris, having respondents interviewed by an interviewer of the same gender and ethnic background as themselves:

A)violates the principles of ethical research.
B)diverts the focus of the research.
C)results in biased responses.
D)helps in building rapport and trust.

Question 50

Which of the following best characterizes the sampling done in magazine surveys?

A)Sampling is usually extremely biased.
B)Sampling techniques have highly refined over the last decade, resulting in a great deal of valuable data.
C)Sampling is based on probability statistics.
D)Sampling techniques are reported quite accurately along with the articles, so the reader knows what the researchers did.

Question 51

According to the text, compared to other methods of administering surveys, Web-based surveys offer the advantage of:

A)smaller, more manageable sample sizes.
B)being able to study taboo sexual behavior.
C)not being reliant on self-reports.
D)a sample free from bias.

Question 52

Which of the following methods of sampling was used in Project SIGMA to approach the hard-to-reach category of gay men?

A)Random sampling
B)Convenience sampling
C)Probability sampling
D)Snowball sampling

Question 53

The NHSLS excluded:

A)gays and lesbians.
B)fewer than 3 percent of Americans.
C)adults older than 21 years of age.
D)those who worked for the U.S.government.

Question 54

Which group was underrepresented in Kinsey's sample?

A)Protestants
B)Youngsters
C)Females
D)Racial minorities

Question 55

Sex research is considered justifiable if:

A)the costs to society outweigh the benefits to participants.
B)the costs associated with research outweigh the benefits.
C)there are considerable human costs associated with the research.
D)the benefits associated with the research outweigh the costs.

Question 56

Kinsey's interviewing techniques were most likely very successful in minimizing:

A)problems of memory.
B)purposeful distortion.
C)inability to estimate.
D)volunteer bias.

Question 57

Kinsey chose not to use probability sampling methods because of the problems associated with:

A)nonresponse.
B)informed consent.
C)purposeful distortion.
D)the ability to estimate.

Question 58

_____ was a study on the sexual behavior of gay men that was conducted by Tony Coxon.

A)National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles
B)National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior
C)Project SIGMA
D)Kinsey Report

Question 59

In Project SIGMA, Coxon defined the sampling population as:

A)lesbians.
B)men who have sex with men.
C)people with bisexual tendencies.
D)men who have a non-heterosexual orientation.

Question 60

Which among the following is a limitation of the NHSLS?

A)American Indians were underrepresented in the sample.
B)Responses had high levels of concealment and enlargement.
C)It did not include enough people from ethnic minority groups-particularly Asian Americans.
D)It provided no information on the sexuality of individuals who were more than 40 years old.

Question 61

Howard lives in Australia.He wants to study the sexual behavior of students in private colleges in the United States.Which of the following would be the best and most convenient method of data collection for Howard?

A)Direct observation
B)Magazine survey
C)Web-based survey
D)Face-to-face interview

Question 62

While doing a content analysis, you train four people to analyze the data for you.When they finish, you run a statistical program that measures how well they agreed with one another's analysis of the same data.You are measuring their:

A)sampling variance.
B)intercoder reliability.
C)mean response pattern.
D)observational skills.

Question 63

Which of the following statements is true of the differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods?

A)Quantitative research focuses on generating hypotheses, while qualitative research focuses on testing hypotheses.
B)Quantitative research typically does not use random samples, while qualitative research does.
C)Quantitative research typically has small sample sizes, while qualitative research has large sample sizes.
D)Quantitative research conveys results in numbers, while qualitative research conveys results in words.

Question 64

You want to understand the impact that prime time TV shows have on young girls' body image.Which of the following methods is most likely to suit the requirements of your study?

A)A Web-based survey
B)Content analysis
C)A magazine survey
D)Direct observation

Question 65

Which of the following statements about qualitative research is true?

A)Qualitative research requires a carefully obtained probability sample.
B)Qualitative and quantitative methods can be used together.
C)Qualitative research requires the use of very large samples.
D)Qualitative methods focus on testing hypotheses and are rarely involved in generating hypotheses.

Question 66

Masters and Johnson's report "Human Sexual Response" differs from surveys of sexual behavior because:

A)it directly observed sexual behavior.
B)it focused on sexual minorities.
C)it had high test-retest reliability.
D)it used implicit measures to study behavior.

Question 67

A study aims to research the sexuality of closeted homosexuals.Obtaining a sample is problematic because participants would require a high degree of anonymity.Identify the type of data collection that would be most suitable for this study.

A)Direct observation
B)Web-based survey
C)Implicit Association Test
D)Face-to-face interview

Question 68

With respect to their sampling procedures, Masters and Johnson:

A)studied the same males who participated in the Kinsey studies.
B)assumed that random sampling was necessary.
C)failed to use a random sample of the population of the United States.
D)recruited participants exclusively from the special populations of their interest.

Question 69

When Masters and Johnson made follow-up contacts with the participants, they found out that:

A)most participants had developed sexual disorders.
B)most participants were experiencing severe levels of stress and anxiety.
C)the participants had not developed any sexual disorders due to their participation.
D)the participants felt that taking part in the research had a detrimental effect on their marriages.

Question 70

Which of the following is a qualitative research method?

A)Ethnography
B)Eye-tracking
C)Direct observation
D)Experimentation

Question 71

You want to measure the impact of the media in some way.You sample several advice columns found in "Playboy" and "Playgirl" and compare the various types of questions asked and the types of advice given.You are carrying out a(n):

A)observational analysis.
B)random probabilistic survey.
C)cost-benefit analysis.
D)content analysis.

Question 72

_____ is a research method that aims to provide a complete, probing description of a human society.

A)Lithography
B)Content analysis
C)Ethnography
D)An experiment

Question 73

A research study focuses on the sexuality of gays and lesbians in a population.Problems in sampling arise as many gays and lesbians are closeted and some may even be in heterosexual marriages.Which of the following methods of data collection would be most suitable for this study?

A)Face-to-face interviews
B)Web-based surveys
C)Direct observations
D)Magazine surveys

Question 74

Which of the following is an advantage of web-based surveys?

A)Respondents can be interviewed in a carefully controlled environment.
B)Large samples can be recruited for surveys.
C)There is no risk of repeat responders.
D)There is little chance of responders deliberately sabotaging the results.

Question 75

Masters and Johnson's major breakthrough was that they:

A)managed to get participants from different races making it a fairly representative sample.
B)paid participants huge sums of money.
C)did not promise confidentiality to participants.
D)had participants engage in sexual activity in the laboratory.

Question 76

Which of the following is a disadvantage of web-based surveys?

A)Respondents lack a controlled environment in which they take surveys.
B)Lack of access to a large number of respondents leads to smaller samples.
C)Stigmatized sexual behavior cannot be studied.
D)Extraneous influences often lead to skewed results.

Question 77

Identify a major drawback of conducting web-based surveys.

A)The risk of repeat responders
B)Very small sample sizes
C)Lack of anonymity
D)Lack of access to sexual minorities

Question 78

Which of the following is a standard technique used to understand the impact of mass media on sexuality?

A)Content analysis
B)Web-based survey
C)Magazine survey
D)Direct observation

Question 79

In order to study the sexual behavior of the people of Mangaia, a researcher lived for many months within the community.He directly observed their behavior and also conducted several interviews.This method of research can be best described as _____.

A)correlational study
B)experimentation
C)regression analysis
D)participant-observer technique

Question 80

Identify the advantage of conducting web-based surveys.

A)Minimizing enlargement and concealment of information by the respondents
B)Observing behavioral cues of the participants
C)Studying special populations that are defined by their sexuality
D)Ensuring the collection of highly accurate and reliable data free from purposeful distortion