Deck 2: Sociological Research

Question 1

Erving Goffman's pioneering exploration of how advertisements portray women as dependent upon men is an example of

A) census analysis.
B) content analysis.
C) survey research.
D) participation observation.

Answer 1

content analysis.

Question 2

Which of the following statements is True about feminist sociologists' contributions?

A) They tend to involve and consult their subjects less often than other researchers.
B) They are typically more reluctant to seek change than other researchers.
C) They have contributed to a greater global awareness within sociology.
D) They have difficulty maintaining value neutrality due to the subject of their research.

Answer 2

They have contributed to a greater global awareness within sociology.

Question 3

One way to ensure that a sample is representative of the broader population from which it is taken is to ensure that every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected in the sample.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Which of the following would be considered a valid measure of an individual's intelligence?

A) the individual's employment
B) None of the answer choices are correct.
C) the researcher's opinion
D) the individual's level of education

Question 5

Which of the following would be considered the independent variable in the statement "People who live in poverty have shorter life expectancies than wealthier citizens"?

A) level of income
B) quality of life
C) life expectancy
D) source of income

Question 6

The purpose of transforming a concept into its operational definition is to make the concept easier to observe and measure.

Question 7

Which of the following is True about Shulamit Reinharz?

A) She refused to classify herself as a feminist scholar.
B) She argued that sociologists cannot hope to achieve value neutrality as long as racism exists.
C) She described the American Sociological Association's Code of Ethics as sexist.
D) She argued that sociological research should be open to drawing on relevant research by non-sociologists.

Question 8

What is the scientific method? Briefly describe the five basic steps that comprise the scientific method. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using the scientific method to study sociological phenomena?

Question 9

The causal variable that brings about change is known as a(n)

A) operational variable.
B) dependent variable.
C) spurious variable.
D) independent variable.

Question 10

Which of the following is included in the code of ethics for sociology?

A) using appropriate research techniques
B) All of the answer choices are correct.
C) maintaining integrity in research
D) remaining unbiased and non-discriminatory

Question 11

The results of an interview may be influenced by

A) Both answers are correct.
B) the race of the interviewer.
C) the gender of the interviewer.
D) Neither answer is correct.

Question 12

If a sociologist uses information gathered by the United States Census Bureau in a study, that sociologist is performing

A) an experiment.
B) participant observation.
C) a secondary analysis.
D) a questionnaire.

Question 13

Developing an effective research design is important because it directly influences both the amount of time needed to collect the data and the

A) cost of the project.
B) purpose of the project.
C) general interest in the study.
D) ethics of the study.

Question 14

In order to provide information that is useful, open-ended survey questions

A) must be worded accurately and without bias.
B) must require a yes or no answer.
C) should be varied for each respondent.
D) should contain the answer that will confirm the study.

Question 15

Which of the following is True about a research design?

A) It is a detailed plan or method for scientifically obtaining data.
B) It is a speculative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.
C) It is an indicator of attitudes, behavior, or characteristics of people or organizations.
D) It is a specific explanation of an abstract concept that allows researchers to measure the concept.

Question 16

To what extent is the type of research design adopted likely to be influenced by the sociological perspective of the researcher, and to what extent by the nature of the research question being asked?

Question 17

While sociologists use a variety of different approaches to the study of social phenomena, they all accept that value-neutrality is essential in the interpretation of data.

Question 18

After the 1989 Valdez disaster, the Exxon Corporation sought out many experts, including sociologists, to study jury deliberations. Which of the following was a major ethical concern for these sociologists?

A) Jury members might have their privacy violated.
B) Results of the studies might not be kept confidential.
C) Researchers might not be able to secure the required number of research sources.
D) Funding from Exxon might influence the results of the studies.

Question 19

Which number would be considered the mode of the following: 10-10-9-9-8-8-7-7-7-6-5?

A) 7
B) 5
C) 8
D) 10

Question 20

Defining a sociological problem involves

A) decades of experience in the field and research into other theories.
B) the creation of new social theory.
C) extensive field study and use of the scientific process.
D) clarifying the concepts you want to learn more about.

Question 21

Of the two main types of survey instrument-the face-to-face interview and the questionnaire-the use of a questionnaire is likely to generate the higher response rate because it allows more time for the respondent to respond.

Question 22

Feminist sociologists

A) have little impact outside of feminist academic circles.
B) view work and family as unimportant topics.
C) are generally considered to be biased.
D) view work and family as interrelated topics.

Question 23

One important goal of applying the scientific method to the study of society is to ensure that the researchers' own values and opinions are allowed to influence the results.

Question 24

If x causes y, then by definition, x must be correlated with y.

Question 25

Sociologists performing research

A) tend to combine laboratory experiments and field work.
B) tend to use both laboratory experiments and field work, but not in conjunction with each other.
C) tend to use laboratory experiments as their primary method of gathering data about a study.
D) tend not to use laboratory experiments because the information fails to capture the subtleties of field work.

Question 26

Joyce Ladner's The Death of White Sociology called attention to

A) the rising number of African American sociologists.
B) the tendency of mainstream sociology to investigate the lives of African Americans only in the context of social problems.
C) the tendency of White sociologists to view African Americans as inferior.
D) the tendency of mainstream sociologists to avoid investigating the lives of White Americans in reference to social problems.

Question 27

Valid research measures

A) are always independent, rather than dependent, variables.
B) always provide consistent results.
C) are typically ambiguous when put into words.
D) accurately reflect the phenomenon under study.

Question 28

Rik Scarce's jail experience in 1993 revealed the potential consequences of

A) raiding a university laboratory.
B) forging transcripts.
C) maintaining the confidentiality of sources.
D) "snitching" on university administrators.

Question 29

The scientific method

A) hinders the objectivity of scientists.
B) enables researchers to prove their ideas are correct.
C) maximizes consistency in research.
D) ensures value neutrality.

Question 30

An operational definition is

A) a relationship between two variables whereby a change in one coincides with a change in the other.
B) a speculative statement about the relationship between two variables.
C) the extent to which a measure provides consistent results.
D) the transformation of an abstract concept into indicators that are observable and measurable.

Question 31

Explain the difference between correlation and causation. Give an example of two variables that are correlated but not causally connected. Which is more important to establish, correlation or causation? Explain your answer.

Question 32

When researching a concept, why do sociologists conduct a review of the available literature?

A) to refine the problem under study
B) to clarify possible techniques to be used in collecting data
C) to eliminate or reduce avoidable mistakes
D) All of the answer choices are correct.

Question 33

Which of the following would be LEAST likely to be used in formulating an operational definition for a study on racial bias in the workplace?

A) racial discrimination lawsuits filed in court
B) the narrative of a single person describing an incident of employment discrimination
C) racial discrimination complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission
D) racial discrimination complaints to human resources directors at Fortune 500 companies

Question 34

In the hypothesis "the more socially integrated a person, the less likely that person is to commit suicide," level of social integration is the independent variable.

Question 35

Which of the following BEST describes theories?

A) They are our most informed explanations of what happens and why.
B) They are objective statements that are known to be factually true.
C) They are testable statements about the relationship between two or more variables.
D) They are measurable traits that are subject to change under different conditions.

Question 36

Researchers who use sociological observation to collect data do so by either watching a group or by

A) directly participating in a group.
B) reading literature about a group.
C) giving questionnaires to a group.
D) interviewing members of a group.

Question 37

There are various types of research design that researchers can use, including surveys, observation, experiments, and existing sources/secondary analysis. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each of these designs using real world examples to illustrate. Which, in your view, provides the most powerful framework to conduct research?

Question 38

Which of the following can serve as a variable in a study?

A) ethnic background
B) age
C) All of the answer choices are correct.
D) marital status

Question 39

Surveys most often represent ______ research, which collects and reports data primarily in numerical form.

A) qualitative
B) quantitative
C) descriptive
D) ethnographic

Question 40

If x is correlated with y, then by definition, x must be the cause of y.

Question 41

Once a researcher has been accepted into a group, a major challenge of participant observation is

A) collecting enough useful information.
B) finding a group to study.
C) maintaining objectivity.
D) obtaining funding.

Question 42

The initial obstacle participant observers encounter is

A) gaining acceptance into an unfamiliar group.
B) determining which group will be the experimental group.
C) maintaining their objectivity when studying people face-to-face.
D) formulating the sequence of questions in an interview.

Question 43

Research that relies on what sociologists observe in the field and naturalistic settings, and that often focuses on small groups and communities, is referred to as

A) quantitative research.
B) qualitative research.
C) ethnographic research.
D) experimental research.

Question 44

Which of the following is True about Devah Pager's research?

A) It found that the race of applicants had a more significant effect than did their purported criminal records.
B) It was hampered by the Hawthorne effect.
C) It found that most convicts released from prison each year are White.
D) It found that White ex-convicts have a harder time becoming employed than blacks with no criminal records.

Question 45

If the same questionnaire about income and education is given to the same person at two different times, and nothing significant has changed between the two times, the responses should be the same, and if they are not, the questionnaire can best be described as invalid.

Question 46

Which of the following is True of sociology?

A) It focuses on identifying biological differences that affect relationships.
B) It represents a conversation between theory and research.
C) Its theories rely primarily on common sense assumptions.
D) It is conducted primarily in a lab setting.

Question 47

According to value neutrality, investigators have an ethical obligation to accept research findings even when the data run counter to which of the following?

A) their own personal views
B) All of the answer choices are correct.
C) widely accepted beliefs
D) theoretically based explanations

Question 48

An inherent problem in using secondary sources of data is that

A) the data are plagued with statistical errors.
B) all of the analysis has been completed by an initial research team.
C) researchers may be more careless when using someone else's data.
D) researchers may not find the exact data needed for their research.

Question 49

The statement "People who live in poverty have shorter life expectancies than wealthier citizens" is an example of

A) the Hawthorne effect.
B) a dependent variable.
C) a hypothesis.
D) an independent variable.

Question 50

In exploring the relationship between education level and income, which of the following factors is LEAST likely to influence the correlation between the two?

A) ethnicity
B) social network connections
C) political party
D) parents' income level

Question 51

Why is it important for researchers to use random samples of a given population? Define the term random, and suggest ways in which randomness can be achieved.

Question 52

For the purposes of data analysis, the most important quality of a sample is that it is representative of the population from which it is drawn.