Deck 3: Strategies for Designing Research

Question 1

C. Wright Mills argued that a "sociological imagination" can help recognize the connection between ________.

A) implicit and explicit societal processes
B) collective "group think" and mob mentalities
C) private problems and public issues
D) intended and unintended social outcomes

Answer 1

private problems and public issues

Question 2

The notion of a "hierarchy of credibility" refers to ________.

A) a tendency to consider sources closest to the research topic as least trustworthy
B) a method whereby a researcher sifts through potential sources and ranks them according to their perceived usefulness
C) a tendency for those with the most social status to be treated as most knowledgeable, accurate, or unbiased
D) a "top down" method whereby researchers first interview experts and eventually make their way down to "lay persons"

Answer 2

a tendency for those with the most social status to be treated as most knowledgeable, accurate, or unbiased

Question 3

The damaging legacy of research involving Indigenous peoples ________.

A) nullifies the hierarchy of credibility
B) exposes the shortcomings of the hierarchy of credibility
C) exposes the strengths of the hierarchy of credibility
D) revises the origins of the hierarchy of credibility

Answer 3

exposes the shortcomings of the hierarchy of credibility

Question 4

One of the main goals of participatory action research is to ________.

A) challenge critically the usefulness of research and the hierarchy of credibility that is embedded within it
B) influence social policy to develop interventions that improve the circumstances of the group
C) allow the researcher an opportunity to see at ground level how participants think and operate
D) facilitate research that includes payments from researchers to respondents

Question 5

Norman Denzin's main explanation for his interest in studying alcoholism was ________.

A) the clear gap in the literature with respect to recreational drugs in society
B) witnessing a devastating impaired driver accident when he was a child
C) receiving a large grant providing opportunities for publication
D) he had family members who were alcoholics

Question 6

Clinton Sanders' research on body modification is an example of serendipity because he discovered the topic ________.

A) after spending a night in the "drunk tank" where he befriended a heavily tattooed man
B) while dating a woman who got a tattoo as a memorial after her father's unexpected death
C) after a happenstance trip to a tattooing museum, which led him to get a tattoo later at a nearby shop
D) after receiving a complimentary copy of Michael Atkinson's book on tattooing in the mail

Question 7

"Hanging around" or "mucking around" is ________.

A) a way of identifying a topic whereby a researcher spends time in a setting that looks like it might be a fruitful site of research
B) what happens when you fail to develop a concrete plan prior to engaging in ethnographic work
C) a method of discovering a topic whereby a researcher "mucks around" with old journal articles looking for weaknesses in the research to improve upon
D) what happens when a researcher loses focus and gets "writer's block"

Question 8

Peter and Patricia Adler studied their own children because ________.

A) both children suffered from degenerative diseases and were unable to leave the home
B) they could write off family vacations as a business expense on their taxes
C) it was convenient
D) their children had already participated in another research project and were used to being observed

Question 9

The textbook states that a good example of how a researcher can begin with a theoretical challenge and then locate her or his particular study in personal experience is ________.

A) Michael Atkinson's work on tattooing
B) Leslie Bella's critique of the androcentric bias in leisure theory
C) Howard Becker's study of medical school identity
D) Erving Goffman's examination of social stigma

Question 10

Lofland and Lofland suggest that research topic selection should be predicated on something with which the researcher is familiar, or in which she or he is already interested. They call this process ________.

A) facilitating familiarity
B) convenient conception
C) scientific opportunism
D) starting where you are

Question 11

To cushion the potential fall-out of not being able to tackle a particular subject, Joseph Alex Maxwell suggests that researchers compose a "research identity memo" that includes their ________.

A) professional obligations and job contract information
B) expectations, prejudices, and potential biases
C) goals, experiences, assumptions, feelings, and values
D) views on the ethical parameters of the research

Question 12

According to the textbook, if you have chosen a topic responsibly and taken all precautionary steps, at the end you should ________.

A) be at a place that is beyond the point of view with which you started
B) have answered all the questions you set out to answer in your pre-research outline
C) have enough understanding of the topic you studied to move on to a different topic
D) have an answer that fits neatly into the theoretical framework you developed at the outset

Question 13

In developing questions for a qualitative study, the general aim is to produce results that are descriptive and analytical rather than ________.

A) logical
B) methodical
C) scientific
D) prescriptive

Question 14

________ is used in the textbook as an example of how researchers combine elements from multiple perspectives in order to establish their theoretical approach.

A) Meg Luxton's work on women's unpaid labour in the home
B) Émile Durkheim's work on suicide
C) Max Weber's work on the protestant work ethic
D) Michael Atkinson's work on body modification

Question 15

According to the textbook, ________ would be most appropriate for a researcher wanting to study a specific geographic location.

A) content analysis
B) qualitative interviews
C) observational techniques
D) secondary data analysis

Question 16

All of the following are examples of unobtrusive methods of research except ________.

A) analyzing the content of newspapers
B) going into a local pub to watch and talk to local patrons
C) watching YouTube
D) listening to the radio

Question 17

Dina is in the early stages of designing an observational study of Catholic nuns. As an atheist, Dina is unsure of how to recruit and approach her intended population of research participants without having any contacts within the church community or the charity groups the nuns organize. The type of research design issue that Dina is concerned about is ________.

A) settings that might make participants vulnerable
B) confidentiality
C) gaining access to participants
D) informed consent

Question 18

Aside from making sure that the study is conducted ethically, researchers should take all of the following into consideration except ________.

A) potential popularity of the findings
B) time constraints
C) money limitations
D) gaining access to participants

Question 19

According to the textbook, participatory action research ________.

A) intends to point to inequities without attempting to change anything
B) is a form of community-based research
C) pretends to involve research participants in all stages
D) means that the researcher gives all control over the research process to the participants

Question 20

Hans wants to study a local environmental activist group that holds e-waste recycling events at city hall every month. Hans believes that the participants have a unique perspective to contribute and designs a project that takes a collaborative approach. The activists explain to Hans the complexity of scheduling the e-waste clinics and the political relationships involved. They suggest that Hans not just observe the interactions at the clinics but also participate in the planning process to observe these dynamics. He takes account of these suggestions and adjusts his research design to include observation of the additional planning activities. By designing his project in this manner, Hans is sharing control of the study with the environmental activists he is studying. The term used to describe Hans' approach is ________.

A) community-based research
B) ethnography
C) hierarchy of credibility
D) interviewer bias

Question 21

In a study that combined personal and theoretical interests, the researcher Andrea Doucet ________.

A) examined leisure, family, and women's work
B) studied her own children's daily experiences
C) asked "Do men mother?"
D) studied body modifications

Question 22

If a researcher is interested in facets of everyday life that are unique to certain individuals, it would be a good idea if she or he ________.

A) examined all available news coverage
B) conducted a survey to collect data
C) gathered data through unobtrusive methods
D) conducted interviews to collect data

Question 23

C. Wright Mills called the sociological imagination "the promise of sociology" because it allows us to identify social issues and determine the questions that need to be asked in order to understand those issues.

Question 24

Researchers support the hierarchy of credibility by giving individuals in less influential positions the opportunity to explain how they understand their own everyday lives.

Question 25

To avoid being accused of bias, sociologists who studied the Occupy Wall Street movement purposefully did not interview any activists and instead focused on politicians and corporate leaders.

Question 26

In participatory action research, the researcher ensures the validity of the results by limiting the amount of influence the participants have on the data collection process.

Question 27

Because serendipitous discoveries are accidental, meaningful data rarely emerge from them.

Question 28

Jaber F. Gubrium's work on Murray Manor is an excellent example of selecting a topic because it is convenient.

Question 29

Deborah van den Hoonaard chose to write extensively on widowhood after she borrowed a book from one of her students.

Question 30

A research topic should be chosen based on something that "grabs you" and you should have a powerful compelling curiosity about it.

Question 31

There is overwhelming evidence to suggest it is a very bad idea to pick a research topic that one has a personal connection to.

Question 32

Daniel Wolf's study of an outlaw motorcycle gang shows that certain characteristics associated with the researcher may make it possible and easier to study a certain topic than it would be for someone without these characteristics.

Question 33

When thinking about carrying out a qualitative study, you will need to take into account ethical issues, such as your participants' voluntary participation in your research, confidentiality, and how research settings might make your participants vulnerable.

Question 34

When determining a theoretical stance for your research study, it is a bad idea to combine two theoretical perspectives like feminism and Marxism.

Question 35

Briefly sketch the hierarchy of credibility that Deborah van den Hoonaard outlines in her work on older women.

Question 36

Explain Geraldine Dickson's project involving Indigenous "grandmothers" and what main strategy for designing research her study demonstrates.

Question 37

Briefly outline how Daniel Wolf's personal characteristics either contributed to or limited his ability to approach the motorcycle gang he wished to study.

Question 38

Describe which situations would be best-suited for using qualitative interviews, and what considerations need to be taken when using this approach.

Question 39

Familiarize yourself with Wolf's study in The Rebels, then identify and discuss several ethical issues he encountered, or might have encountered.

Question 40

Define focus group. Outline the circumstances under which it would be appropriate to use a focus group as a research method.

Question 41

The author suggests that ideas for research topics can come from personal experience. Provide some examples from the chapter that best support this argument.

Question 42

The author highlights five key ways in which ideas for research topics can be identified. Excluding personal experience, list and explain these ways and provide examples.

Question 43

Using the generic social processes outlined in Chapter 2, explain how one might "brainstorm" a research question.

Question 44

Explain why it is important to be aware of cultural differences between you and your research participants when conducting research with Indigenous communities.