Deck 14: Historical-Comparative Research

Question 1

An example of primary historical evidence on the 1930s Depression decade is

A) an article in last month's Time magazine on the Depression diet
B) a book written in 1953 titled The Depression Years in America
C) a film starring Katherine Hepburn made in 1936
D) a letter written by my mother and sent to me two years ago telling me what she experienced growing up in the Depression period

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Where would a researcher look to find information that represents a compilation of ethnographic studies conducted by anthropologists on many different cultures?

A) Human Relations Area Files
B) The National Geographic Atlas
C) Demographic Yearbook
D) Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Professor Trainor examined the way in which divorce takes place in Uganda and Pakistan. This is an example of

A) cross-national research.
B) cultural-context research.
C) case-study comparative research.
D) transnational research.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which the following is a weakness of historical-comparative research?

A) It exposes weaknesses in research design.
B) It helps researchers examine aspects of social life that are general across units.
C) It raises new questions and stimulates theory.
D) It is often based on a small number of cases.

Question 5

Professor Roberts began his study comparing 18th century New York with 18th century York England) by ignoring all theory, concepts, and assumptions. He wanted a "blank slate" when looking at data and to do research without analytic categories. He committed which problem or fallacy?

A) Baconian fallacy
B) post facto explanation
C) anachronism
D) pseudo proof

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of internal criticism of a letter by General Rao written in 1904?

A) asking why the letter survived to the present
B) checking that the general witnessed events referred to in the letter and that the meanings within the letter are consistent
C) checking to be sure that general's wife was not the letter's author
D) checking that the letter was not actually written in 1864

Question 7

An example of primary historical evidence on the 1920s U.S. Prohibition era is

A) a documentary on the social construction of the bicycle.
B) a local police department report found in the back of an old filing cabinet detailing police raids on "speakeasies" conducted in 1922.
C) a magazine article in last month's Newsweek magazine comparing recent attempts to change drinking laws with Prohibition.
D) an article written in 1962 titled "The Prohibition Years."

Question 8

The pure historian and the historical-comparative sociologist differ. The sociologist is more likely to

A) use primary data to study details of a very specific place and time.
B) use secondary evidence much more than primary or other evidence.
C) make some empirical generalizations and use limited theory.
D) use a pure ideographic approach.

Question 9

Historical-comparative research is grounded in the Annales School. Which of the following best describes the Annales School?

A) It avoids all attempts at theorizing or making generalizations. It is entirely ideographic.
B) It was formed by German sociologists and historians living in the U.S after WW II.
C) It focuses almost exclusively on political factors and ignores all other types of factors.
D) It is interested in long-term changes in social structure and the consciousness of ordinary people by mixing historical analysis with abstract theory.

Question 10

Which of the following is a characteristic of a distinct historical-comparative research method?

A) It uses a deductive approach.
B) It sees causality as contingent and uses combinational explanation.
C) It focuses on the macro-level only and excludes the micro-level.
D) It tests hypotheses about precisely operationalized variables.

Question 11

Dr. Rowe wants to study the distinctive worldview perspective and assumptions about daily life that prevailed in the consciousness of ordinary people in Denmark in the 1790s. She wants to study

A) Galton's problem.
B) longue duree.
C) mentalities.
D) recollections.

Question 12

Suzie studied the language of the Nuzski. In the language, there is no word equal to the English word "compassion." This illustrates a problem with

A) measurement equivalence.
B) anachronism.
C) contextual equivalence.
D) lexicon equivalence.

Question 13

In 1957, President Gorz posed for an official photograph in front of the presidential palace, which was the only photograph ever taken of him. Before the picture was taken, he had the barbed wire on the roof of the palace removed. He also took off the gun he always wore. He wanted to hide the militaristic and brutal nature of his rule. This illustrates

A) Galton's problem.
B) Western cultural bias.
C) courtesy bias.
D) bowdlerization.

Question 14

Todd conducted a study of American Indian tribes in the state of New Mexico between 1850 and 1870. Although it was not directly in the evidence he examined, Todd knew that the expansion of the railroad and the U.S. Civil War were major events of the period and had an indirect impact on his research topic. This is called

A) supporting evidence.
B) oral history.
C) running records.
D) non-source based knowledge.

Question 15

Galton's Problem is

A) when people try to make things appear better than they really are and give a false impression of events.
B) not being able to translate between two different languages.
C) a school of historiography.
D) a problem with units of analysis that may appear to be separate and distinct, but are actually closely related or the same.

Question 16

Dr. Josh Lang attempted to interview people in Indonesia about mental illness in their family history. He had difficulty learning anything because mental illness is taboo in Indonesian culture. This illustrates

A) Galton's problem.
B) courtesy bias.
C) non-source based knowledge.
D) Western cultural bias.

Question 17

You pick up a book called Australia in the Penal Colony Years. When reading it, you notice that the author really only discusses the lives and ideas of five individuals based upon their diaries. The book is very micro- level. It only tells about the particular people with no generalization or integrating themes. This book illustrates which problem with secondary sources?

A) Historians often use vague concepts with inconsistent definitions to organize the primary sources they read.
B) Historians often have an individualistic bias and tend to focus on actions of the specific individuals revealed in primary sources.
C) Historians select a tiny fraction of the mass of information they read, but the selection process is largely unseen and unknown.
D) Historians, especially those who write in a narrative form, separate out significant from trivial information, but rarely make their social theories explicit.

Question 18

Professor Jones gathers existing statistical information from various United Nations Publications and other sources on 120 nations. She then analyzes the information to see whether nations with certain forms of government e.g., democratic versus dictatorship) and economies e.g., industrial versus agricultural) have particular social programs e.g., public health programs). This is which type of comparative research?

A) cross-national research
B) cultural context research
C) transnational research
D) case study

Question 19

Professor Janzen was studying the settlement and statehood of Nebraska. He mistakenly dated admission to statehood in 1876, when it was actually admitted to the Union in 1867. He was also mistaken that Nebraska was the 33rd state admitted into the Union, when in actuality it was the 37th state admitted into the Union. This illustrates

A) post facto explanation.
B) pseudo proof.
C) Baconian fallacy.
D) anachronism.

Question 20

Professor Wallen went to the state historical library and state revenue department. He looked up the records of taxes paid each year by the twenty largest companies in the state between 1950 and the present. This type of data is best classified as

A) recollections.
B) primary sources.
C) secondary sources.
D) running records.

Question 21

Discuss the similarities and differences between case-study comparative, cultural-context, cross-national research and transnational research.

Question 22

Describe the Annales School, its general orientation, and two of its methodological concepts: mentalities and longue durée.

Question 23

One criticism of historical-comparative research is that most H-C research is conducted by people in a handful of advanced industrialized nations that have similar knowledge and cultural systems. This is called

A) back translation.
B) bracketing.
C) anachronism.
D) Western cultural bias.

Question 24

The idea that the same sociological variable or concept occurs across divergent cultural and historical settings is called

A) etic.
B) contextual equivalence.
C) conceptual equivalence.
D) lexicon equivalence.

Question 25

A comparative-historical researcher can encounter each of the following ethical issues, EXCEPT which one?

A) There is an increased burden of proof on the researcher because replication is difficult when using primary sources.
B) The different cultural values may include different standards of privacy or acceptable behavior.
C) A researcher conducting research in a different country has to be careful to leave some benefit or provide information to the people in the country being studied.
D) All of the above are ethical issues in historical-comparative research.

Question 26

Some researchers will use surveys as a method of choice when comparing different modern cultures. Are surveys a legitimate research method when comparing different cultures? Discuss some of the concerns a researcher must be aware of when using surveys to compare cultures.

Question 27

Many researchers outside the United Sates criticize American social researchers for being "inverted." What does this criticism mean? What are some of the problems that come with being "inverted?" How do emic and etic concepts enter this discussion?

Question 28

Which of the following BEST defines Baconian fallacy?

A) the fallacy of assuming that a researcher can investigate a culture with a blank slate, with no preconceived opinions
B) concepts one develops and uses within a specific cultural setting that are not generalizable to other cultural analysis
C) the fallacy of assuming that a researcher can trim the excess bacon) social interaction of a cultural setting to get to the real social structures that influence a society
D) the problem of mistaking attributes of a variable for variables themselves

Question 29

In historical-comparative research, evidence is collected from a variety of sources that lead to different types of evidence. Distinguish a critical indicator from supporting evidence and non-source based knowledge.

Question 30

How is historical-comparative research similar and/or different than field research? Identify the unique features of historical-comparative research.

Question 31

Ethics is an important issue in any type of social research. Discuss four ethical issues that surface when conducting historical-comparative research.

Question 32

Which of the following best describes Safari research?

A) when researchers attempt to take on the perspective of the culture they are investigating
B) when researchers study their own culture from the perspective of undomesticated animals of their community birds, squirrels, deer, etc.)
C) when researchers from one culture impose their perspective on the culture being studied. The culture under observation is viewed as an alien object to gaze at.
D) a clear unambiguous measure or indicator of a concept in a specific culture

Question 33

Just as there are problems when using primary sources, secondary sources are not immune from criticism. What are the limitations of using secondary historical sources?

Question 34

Equivalence is a critical issue in all social research. What is equivalence and why is it an important issue in social research? List and describe the four types of equivalence discussed in the text.

Question 35

When using primary sources in historical-comparative research, the quality of the source is always in question. What is the difference between internal and external criticism? What is the purpose of each?