Deck 3: Exploring Critical Thinking and Sociological Research: A Comprehensive Guide

Question 1

An important part of the process of critical thinking is to think about our thinking, to be aware of what we are thinking, reflect on it and modify it to make improvements. This is termed:

A) intellectual disposition
B) reflexive disposition
C) intellectual deliberation
D) intellectual habit

Answer 1

intellectual deliberation

Question 2

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) Mills argued that drawing on ideas from the physical and natural sciences and humanities would help to strengthen our ability for critical thinking and utilizing our sociological imagination.
B) Mills argued that drawing on ideas from the physical and natural sciences and humanities was not a good idea as the sociological imagination is unique only to the social sciences and sociology in particular.
C) Mills argued that drawing on ideas from the physical and natural sciences and humanities was a good idea because the social sciences alone are not capable of helping us to understand the social world.
D) Mills argued that drawing on ideas from the physical and natural sciences and humanities was not a good idea because their understanding of critical thinking is a negative one while in sociology critical thinking is a process for understanding.

Answer 2

Mills argued that drawing on ideas from the physical and natural sciences and humanities would help to strengthen our ability for critical thinking and utilizing our sociological imagination.

Question 3

A student in your first year class was asked by your instructor to define "critical thinking". The following is the answer she gave.Critical thinking is a process that is used for coming up with answers and solutions to problems. We need to think critically about issues so we can decide whether an answer or solution to a problem is wrong or right. This is often based on our own individual subjective beliefs. How would you judge this answer?

A) Excellent (the statement is correct, with a clear and correct assumption about the concept)
B) Good (the statement is correct, but the assumption about the concept is incorrect)
C) Mediocre (the statement is correct, and the assumption about the concept is irrelevant)
D) Unacceptable (the statement is incorrect and the explanation is unclear and irrelevant)

Answer 3

Mediocre (the statement is correct, and the assumption about the concept is irrelevant)

Question 4

Which of the following traits are necessary in order to be a good critical thinker?

A) Fairly weighing all of the relevant information, identifying the rational argument and relying on that argument to find the truth.
B) Curiosity to search for answers, and the courage to stay committed to your ideas even when they are not supported by reason.
C) Tolerant to different ideas as you begin the search for the truth, while having a strong work ethic in order to ignore irrational arguments.
D) Collaborative thinking, open-mindedness to others' views and a tolerance for the belief that there is not one right answer.

Question 5

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: "The process of critical thinking in all disciplines in higher education is different from every day thinking in that critical thinkinginvolves the process of challenging our ways of thinking that are based on common sense beliefs with the goal of coming to a reasoned, intellectual understanding of an issue."

A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid
B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid
C) The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect
D) The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.

Question 6

What is the purpose for using the sociological imagination to think critically about an issue or problem in society?

A) To understand how people act in order to suggest what they ought to do differently.
B) To collect background information in order to do research on individuals in society.
C) To create concepts that can be used to evaluate the human experience.
D) To understand the human experience and consider how to change it for the better.

Question 7

You have been asked to do a research project in your sociology class. You have chosen to study the experiences and attitudes of first year students. Which research method is most suited to gathering the relevant information for your study?

A) Observation method
B) Interview method
C) Experiment method
D) Documentary method

Question 8

Which of the following is not considered to be a concept according to sociology?

A) Family
B) Social structure
C) Society
D) People

Question 9

Both __________ and __________ thinkers are interested in understanding the way objective social structures like the economy and family limits certain people's choices in society. As such they focus on collecting both qualitative and quantitative data.

A) structural functionalist; symbolic interactionist
B) feminist; conflict
C) symbolic interactionist; feminist
D) conflict; structural functionalist

Question 10

The symbolic interactionist paradigm focuses on __________ meaning which is best understood by gathering __________ data.

A) objective; quantitative
B) quantitative; qualitative
C) subjective; qualitative
D) objective; subjective

Question 11

The structural functionalist paradigm focuses on __________ meaning which is best understood by gathering __________ data.

A) objective; quantitative
B) quantitative; qualitative
C) subjective; qualitative
D) objective; subjective

Question 12

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) Concept is to theory as theory is to paradigm
B) Paradigm is to concept as paradigm is to theory
C) Concept is to paradigm as theory is concept
D) Theory is to paradigm as concept is to theory

Question 13

Although sociologists Garfinkle and Goffman are both considered part of the symbolic interactionist paradigm how do their theories differ?

A) Garfinkle uses ethnomethodology to focus on understanding how people go about creating meaningful reality in society while Goffman uses the dramaturgical approach to understand how people present themselves to others in society.
B) Garfinkle used ethnomethodology to focus on understanding how people present themselves to others in society while Goffman uses the dramaturgical approach to understand how people go about creating meaningful reality in society.
C) Garfinkle uses the dramaturgical approach to focus on understanding how people go about creating meaningful reality in society while Goffman uses ethnomethodology to understand how people present themselves to others in society.
D) Garfinkle uses the dramaturgical approach to understand how people present themselves to others in society while Goffman uses ethnomethodology to understand how people go about creating meaningful reality in society.

Question 14

Using your sociological imagination, how would you explain the feminist research which states that men and women's occupational experiences are different?

A) Afew individual women in society experience the reality that they are paid less than men for the work they do as a private trouble. This is related to the public issue that women as a group are still concentrated in occupations that pay less than men.
B) Many individual women experience the reality that they are paid less than men for the work they do as a private trouble. This is related to the public issue that women as a group are still concentrated in occupations that pay less than men.
C) Afew individual women in society experience the reality that they are paid less than men for the work they do as a private trouble. This is related to the public issue that women and men as a group are paid equally for doing the same work.
D) Many individual women experience the reality that they are paid less than men for the work they do as a private trouble. This is related to the public issue that men as a group are concentrated in occupations that pay less than women.

Question 15

The following statements are all answers to the question: Why do sociologists use theories?Which is the correct answer?

A) They use theories in order to understand the social context which separates sociology from other disciplines such as psychology.
B) They use theories as a general way to describe the social context and explain how people's . experiences are related to the broader social world.
C) They use theories along with critical thinking skills to identify, analyze and solve social problems.
D) They use theories and their connection to concepts in order to explain what people do and how people systematically think.

Question 16

Which statement best describes the symbolic interactionist paradigm?

A) The symbolic interactionist paradigm is based on a theoretical framework that focuses on inequality. between different groups of people in a society.
B) The symbolic interactionist paradigm is a framework that views society as a complex system with. parts that work together to promote stability.
C) The symbolic interactionist paradigm is a framework that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals.
D) The symbolic interactionist paradigm is based on a theoretical framework which focuses on the different ways that groups in society are treated and valued.

Question 17

In your sociology class you are asked to do a research project to answer the following research question: "Why do men and women marry in Canadian society?"Which theoretical framework,research method and type of data collection would best help you to answer this question?

A) Feminist theory, interviews and qualitative data collection
B) Conflict theory, documentary method and quantitative data collection
C) Structural functionalist theory, participant observation and quantitative data collection
D) Symbolic interactionist theory, surveys and qualitative data collection

Question 18

The study discussed in your text by Wharton, Rotolo and Bird, (2000), found that people working in organizations that were varied in terms of the gender and race of employees experienced lower jobsatisfaction. Which theoretical framework, research method, and type of data collection was most likely used to come to this conclusion?

A) Structural functionalist theory, documentary method and qualitative analysis
B) Conflict theory, surveys and quantitative analysis
C) Feminist theory, participant observation and qualitative analysis
D) Symbolic interactionist theory, interviews and quantitative analysis

Question 19

The study discussed in your text by Ellison et al. (2006) concluded that in the United States 40% of single people use an online dating service. Which theoretical framework, research method and type of data collection were most likely used to come to this conclusion?

A) Feminist theory, participant observation and qualitative analysis
B) Symbolic interactionist theory, interviews and quantitative analysis
C) Conflict theory, documentary method and qualitative analysis
D) Structural functionalist theory, surveys and quantitative analysis

Question 20

Which statement best describes the purpose of research methodology?

A) Research methodology offers sociologists ways to gather relevant background information in order to come to an informed conclusion about an issue.
B) Research methodology offers sociologists ways to generate causal explanations of why people do what they do in order to change the society.
C) Research methodology offers sociologists ways to make intellectual deliberations through critical thinking.
D) Research methodology offers sociologists ways to exercise a reflective disposition in order to collect information.