Deck 10: Qualitative Field Research

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following statements is FALSE about participatory action research (PAR)?

A)The researcher's function is to serve as a resource to those being studied.
B)Researchers should define their subject's problems, define the desired remedies, and take the lead in helping subjects realize their aims.
C)Advocates of PAR often believe that the distinction between the researcher and the researched should disappear.
D)Advocates of PAR often believe that traditional research is elitist.
E)Researchers should provide access to information to empower subjects.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

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 United States. After interviewing the minority students, Fielding interviews nonminority 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

Answer 3

E

Question 4

_____ 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 5

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 6

An advantage of field research is that:

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)research biases can be eliminated.

Question 7

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

A)Focus group moderators require special skills.
B)Focus group data are difficult 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.

Question 8

To examine the social interactions of online role-playing gamers, a relatively 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. Which approach did Kyoko use?

A)Ethnomethodology
B)Grounded theory
C)Case study
D)The extended case method
E)Participatory action approach

Question 9

Jessica is concerned with the problem of reactivity in her study of a local diet group. Which of the following is NOT one of her reactivity concerns?

A)The members of the diet group might alter their behaviors because they know they are being studied.
B)The members of the diet group might alter their lifestyles and behavior because they joined the group to lose weight.
C)The members of the group might expel her from doing the research.
D)The members of the group might alter their discussion of diet strategies because they know that she is studying the group.
E)The members of the diet group might leave the group because they know she is studying the group.

Question 10

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

Question 11

Jenny is planning a study about flat earthers or people who believe that the earth is flat. Rather than evaluating the validity of the abnormal views, Jenny plans on interviewing and spending time with this community in order to let them tell their story. She is primarily interested in the research participants' perception of the world. Jenny's proposed study falls within the qualitative research paradigm of _____.

A)naturalism
B)ethnomethodology
C)grounded theory
D)case studies
E)reactivity

Question 12

An example of the complete participant role is:

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 jaywalk.
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)teaching a class and observing how students interact during group work.

Question 13

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 14

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 15

___________ is an old tradition in qualitative research based on the assumption that an objective social reality exists and can be observed and reported accurately.

A)Naturalism
B)Ethnomethodology
C)Grounded theory
D)Case studies and the extended case method
E)Institutional ethnography

Question 16

Which of the following is FALSE regarding qualitative field research?

A)Field research is well suited to studying social processes over time.
B)Field research is well suited to studying behaviors within their natural setting.
C)Field research is well suited to studying attitudes within their natural setting.
D)Field research is well suited for quantitative analysis.
E)Field research is well suited for qualitative analysis.

Question 17

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

Question 18

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

Question 19

_____ combines a naturalist approach with a positivist concern for a "systematic set of procedures" in doing qualitative research.

A)The extended case method
B)Ethnomethodology
C)Grounded theory
D)Ethnographies
E)Case studies

Question 20

Professor Jefferson is interested in studying the dynamics and processes of three local hospitals. Which element of social life is he studying?

A)Organizations
B)Groups and Cliques
C)Settlements and Habitats
D)Practices
E)Subcultures and Lifestyles

Question 21

Field research typically alternates between deduction and induction.

Question 22

How do the data gathered in field research differ from the data gathered using surveys? How does this affect the kinds of research questions you can explore using each?

Question 23

What differentiates the case study from the extended case study model?

Question 24

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

Question 25

One of the advantages of field research is that it raises very few ethical concerns.

Question 26

An "audit trail" has been recommended for qualitative researchers to document each point of decision or interpretation during the research project.

Question 27

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

Question 28

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)the same reliability and validity.

Question 29

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

A)Don't trust your memory any more than you have to.
B)You must always take notes during the observation.
C)You must take notes in stages.
D)Advance preparation better enables you to record unanticipated observations.
E)You must record everything you see or hear.

Question 30

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

Question 31

In comparison to other types of research, what are the major strengths and weaknesses of field research?

Question 32

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 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

An advantage of field research is 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 36

Select a topic. Describe how a complete participant and a complete observer might study that subject.

Question 37

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)Adopt the role of the "socially acceptable incompetent."

Question 38

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)to begin with a search of the literature.

Question 39

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 40

List and describe the stages researchers must go through in order to conduct a truly qualitative field interview.