Deck 2: Social Science

Question 1

Which paradigm borrows heavily from the scientific method?

A) Interpretive paradigm
B) Critical/Cultural paradigm
C) Social scientific paradigm

Answer 1

Social scientific paradigm

Question 2

Which of the following attributes best describe methods used by social scientists?

A) Subjective
B) Intuitive
C) Empirical
D) Objective
E) c and d

Answer 2

c and d

Question 3

What is the overall purpose of social scientific research?

A) Understand individuals' perceptions of a phenomenon
B) Make empirical generalizations
C) Highlight the way certain meanings are socially constructed
D) Elaborate on theories to explain and predict human behavior
E) b and d

Answer 3

b and d

Question 4

Social scientists are deterministic in their thinking, what does determinism actually mean?

A) Human behavior is caused by certain identifiable factors
B) Internal as well as external attributes influence human behavior
C) Human behavior is predictable, at least to some extent
D) All of the above

Question 5

Social scientists are realistic in their ontology. What does it mean regarding their conception of "knowledge"?

A) There is no a priori knowledge since meanings are socially constructed
B) Knowledge is formed through one's own experiences and perceptions of the world
C) Knowledge exists "out there" as an independent and objective variable

Question 6

For positivists, the aim of research is:

A) To study causal laws of human nature
B) To focus on creating social change
C) To question existing relations of power

Question 7

Which type of method(s) is most commonly used for social scientific research?

A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Mixed-methods

Question 8

What type of data do social scientists typically work with?

A) Participant observation
B) Symbolic messages
C) Surveys
D) None of the above

Question 9

Which of the following type of research does NOT belong to the social scientific paradigm?

A) Survey research
B) Experimental research
C) Narrative research

Question 10

Through which procedure do social scientists try to make their research as value-free as possible?

A) Choosing a theory
B) Generating a hypothesis/hypotheses
C) Analyzing the results
D) Running controls

Question 11

What do social scientists aim at when doing research?

A) Looking for causal laws
B) Predicting human behavior
C) Being as value-free as possible
D) All of the above

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT part of the systematic four-step process in conducting social scientific research?

A) Proposing a theory
B) Developing a hypothesis/hypotheses
C) Running controls
D) Providing thick description

Question 13

Which of the following is the definition of a hypothesis?

A) The prediction about relationships between variables
B) The conceptual representation of a phenomenon
C) The detailed study of a subject
D) The procedure used to conduct research

Question 14

Which of the following statement refers to a causal hypothesis?

A) It cannot be shown false
B) It can be phrased as a prediction
C) If proven true, it can never be contested
D) It must apply to humans in all cultures and societies

Question 15

What are the main characteristics of theories used by social scientists?

A) Being applicable in various cultures
B) Being descriptive
C) Having axioms, postulates, and theorems
D) a and c
E) All of the above

Question 16

How are hypotheses useful to social scientific research?

A) They help researchers make predictions based on theories
B) They make research value-free
C) They increase the reliability of research
D) All of the above

Question 17

Which of the following is a causal hypothesis?

A) The more education one has the more money one will earn
B) Parents under the age of 35 spend less time with their children than parents over the age of 35 do
C) Boys and girls have different attention spans in school
D) There is no relationship between children's height and their interest in sports

Question 18

What type of theory are you using if it is based on the model: "X is related to Y because of the following reasons"?

A) Descriptive theory
B) Causal theory
C) Predictive theory
D) a and c

Question 19

On which criteria are results from social scientific research evaluated?

A) Results have to be coherent when the study is replicated
B) Results that contradict the hypothesis are bad
C) Results should be logical
D) a and c

Question 20

What is not of the main qualities of social scientific research?

A) Reliability
B) Sincerity
C) Validity
D) Precision

Question 21

How is replication important for social scientific research?

Question 22

How are theories used in social scientific work?

Question 23

Explain the importance of empirical generalization for social scientific research.

Question 24

In which ways is the social scientific paradigm influenced by scientific methods?

Question 25

Briefly explain how knowledge is understood in social science and the implications it has for research.

Question 26

Discuss whether science can be value free and whether it should be.

Question 27

Explain the main differences between the social scientific and the interpretive paradigms. What aspects of research do these differences affect?