Deck 4: Research Design

Question 1

What stage of the research design is the researcher dealing with when he or she is facing the question "from whom or what information would be gathered"?

A)Purposes of research
B)Units of analysis
C)Topics for research
D)Time dimension
E)Motivations for research

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Professor Dooley examined the literature on AIDS and could find nothing that examined children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS. To examine this topic, Dooley should undertake a(n):

A)examination of reductionism.
B)descriptive study.
C)exploratory study.
D)explanatory study.
E)panel study.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A research proposal describes what you intend to accomplish and how.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Professor Sheckler is looking to study the career trajectories of a specific group of college students, following the same individuals through their senior year and then five years afterward. What form of research methodology would he be using?

A)Panel study
B)Cross-sectional study
C)Cohort study
D)Trend study
E)Experimental study

Question 5

The topic of surrogate mothers interested Professor Snyder. Snyder read the available materials on the topic and wanted to develop an age, education, and income profile of women who serve as surrogate mothers in the United States. To develop this profile, Snyder should undertake a(n):

A)trend study.
B)descriptive study.
C)explanatory study.
D)panel study.
E)cohort study.

Question 6

The final stage of the research process is:

A)operationalization.
B)application.
C)analysis.
D)data processing.
E)conceptualization.

Question 7

Tyler finds that in burglary cases male and female jurors are equally likely to vote to acquit. Tyler should conclude that:

A)there is no relationship between burglary and gender.
B)there is no relationship between burglary and verdicts.
C)there is a relationship between gender and verdict in burglary cases.
D)there is no relationship between gender and verdict in burglary cases.
E)there is a relationship between gender and type of offense.

Question 8

In Sweden, there is a very strong correlation between the number of storks and the number of babies born. However, both of these variables are associated with region (rural vs. urban). This illustrates:

A)that there is a causal relationship between the number of storks and the number of babies born.
B)that the number of babies born is a sufficient condition of the number of storks.
C)that there is no causal relationship between the number of storks and the number of babies born.
D)that the number of storks is a necessary condition of the number of babies born.
E)that people in Sweden believe that storks bring babies.

Question 9

Professor Root was studying the arrest rates for driving under the influence in urban and rural areas of Ohio. It was found that the arrest rate was higher in the rural areas. Professor Root concluded that people who live in rural areas are more likely to drive while intoxicated than are people who live in urban areas. Root's conclusion illustrates the:

A)ecological fallacy.
B)individualistic fallacy.
C)usefulness of good deductive reasoning.
D)importance of trend studies.
E)reductionist fallacy.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)Being arrested is a necessary cause for having a criminal trial.
B)A child's birth is a sufficient cause for having a cigar.
C)A child's birth is a necessary cause for having a cigar.
D)Being arrested is a sufficient cause for having a criminal trial.
E)Taking classes is a sufficient cause for getting a degree.

Question 11

Research designs are descriptive, explanatory, or exploratory-never more than one.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a cross-sectional study?

A)It is conducted at only one point in time.
B)It can be exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory.
C)It concentrates on changes that take place in a specific sample over a period of time.
D)It provides a means for studying a large population at the same point in time.
E)It provides a "snapshot."

Question 13

The use of a selection of newspaper articles on racial discrimination as a unit of analysis would be an example of:

A)social artifact.
B)individuals.
C)groups.
D)organizations.
E)populations.

Question 14

Explanatory studies are designed to find answers to which of the following questions?

A)What is the educational profile of people who change careers in midlife?
B)Why are people changing careers in midlife?
C)How many people change careers in midlife?
D)Does the occupational prestige of a career tend to increase for midlife career changers?
E)Who changes careers in midlife?

Question 15

Rose is conducting a study where she intends to follow a random selection of teenagers over a five-year period. Each year she will randomly sample 500 individuals from a total of 50 high schools. What form of research is she performing?

A)Cohort study
B)Panel study
C)Trend study
D)Quasi-experimental study
E)Cross-sectional study

Question 16

A single U.S. census is a:

A)cross-sectional study.
B)panel study.
C)time series study.
D)trend study.
E)longitudinal study.

Question 17

Professor Stone designs a study to examine the effect of a teenage pregnancy on the career choices of the teens. Stone interviews a sample of teenage women during their pregnancy, after the birth, and one year later. Stone is using a:

A)cross-sectional design.
B)trend study.
C)cohort study.
D)panel study.
E)cannot tell from the given information.

Question 18

Researchers ignore previous work on a topic so that their research can be original.

Question 19

If a researcher were conducting a study of women's attitudes toward abortion, the unit of analysis would be:

A)the individual.
B)attitudes.
C)each abortion.
D)the community.
E)the society.

Question 20

Which of the following studies uncovers only net changes?

A)Cohort and trend studies
B)Trend and panel studies
C)Cohort and panel studies
D)Cohort and cross-sectional studies
E)Trend and cross-sectional studies

Question 21

There is no statistical test to prove the achievement of success in ideographic explanation.

Question 22

List and discuss the various forms of longitudinal research that we have discussed in class. In addition, give a potential scenario where each one may or may not be used. What are the benefits and shortcomings?

Question 23

Identify and give an example of four units of analysis. Illustrate the ecological fallacy using your examples.

Question 24

The units of analysis and the aggregates that we generalize about are the same.

Question 25

Two variables that are highly correlated by definition have a causal relationship.

Question 26

List and explain the three specific criteria of causality suggested by Babbie. Give an example of a causal statement.

Question 27

Operationalization is the process of clarifying what is meant by the concepts being used in a study.

Question 28

The ecological fallacy refers to drawing conclusions about individuals based solely on the observation of groups.

Question 29

Ruth puzzles over a report that claims that women are more likely to vote for Democrats than men. She puzzles because her best friend, Joan, always votes Republican. Ruth is guilty of using which of the following false criteria for nomothetic causality?

A)Units of analysis
B)Majority of cases
C)Exceptional cases
D)Complete causation
E)She is not using any false criteria

Question 30

Which of the following hypotheses best fits the criteria of causality?

A)Males have higher suicide rates than females.
B)As income increases, age tends to increase.
C)As education increases, murder rates decrease.
D)As education increases, income tends to increase.
E)Gender tends to influence jury verdict.

Question 31

A(n)_____ is probabilistic and usually incomplete.

A)nomothetic explanation
B)idiographic explanation
C)spurious relationship
D)theory
E)correlation

Question 32

Professor King examined all the reasons given by 100 couples for their marriages. In the final research report, King listed all the reasons given by the 200 people for their marriages. Professor King is:

A)seeking a probabilistic explanation for marriage.
B)using a nomothetic explanation for marriage.
C)using an idiographic explanation for marriage.
D)committing the error of suppressed evidence.
E)committing the error of generalization.

Question 33

In cases where one variable seems to cause another, yet the relation between the two makes no sense, there is a:

A)spurious relationship.
B)synthetic relationship.
C)nomothetic relationship.
D)causal relationship.
E)correlational relationship.

Question 34

Discuss the three purposes for doing research. Describe a study that illustrates each purpose.

Question 35

There is a strong correlation between the number of firefighters that show up at a fire and the amount of damage produced by the fire. The size of the fire influences both the number of firefighters and the amount of damage. This illustrates that the relationship between the number of firefighters and the amount of damage is:

A)caused by a third factor.
B)causal.
C)not correlational.
D)a real relationship.
E)unpredictable from the information given.

Question 36

A researcher examined newspaper editorials from papers published in major U.S. cities to determine what issues concerned readers. The unit of analysis in these cases is:

A)issues that concern readers.
B)the major cities.
C)the newspapers.
D)the newspaper editorials.
E)newspaper readers.

Question 37

If a researcher wanted to know why there was a noticeable increase in the number of burglaries in the town of Southpaw during 2005, the researcher would design a(n):

A)descriptive study.
B)explanatory study.
C)panel study.
D)study of characteristics.
E)exploratory study.

Question 38

A necessary condition represents a condition that, if it is present, will pretty much guarantee the effect in question.

Question 39

Cross-sectional studies can be used to approximate a longitudinal study.

Question 40

This short answer/essay can be assigned in multiple ways. One is to simply ask students what the structure of a research proposal is. A second way of asking the question is to distribute a proposal and ask students to describe the structure of a research proposal and whether the proposal under examination meets those criteria.