Deck 2: Sociological Investigation

Question 1

A theory states that increasing a person's formal education results in increased earnings over a lifetime. In this theory, "higher education" is the:

A) independent variable.
B) dependent variable.
C) correlation.
D) effect.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

If you were trying to measure the "social class" of various people, you would have to keep in mind that:

A) it is necessary to specify exactly what you are measuring.
B) you must measure this in every way possible.
C) there is no way to measure "social class."
D) everyone agrees on what "social class" means.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Sociologists use the term "empirical evidence" to refer to:

A) information that is based on a society's traditions.
B) information that squares with common sense.
C) information we can verify with our senses.
D) information that most people agree is True.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What process involves deciding exactly what is to be measured when assigning value to a variable?

A) operationalization
B) reliability
C) conceptualization
D) validity

Question 5

With regard to the process of measurement, which of the following statements is True?

A) For measurement to be reliable, it must be valid.
B) For measurement to be valid, it must be reliable.
C) All measurement is both reliable and valid.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 6

The ability to neutralize the effect of one variable in order to assess the relationship between two other variables is called:

A) making the correlation spurious.
B) making the correlation reliable.
C) scientific control.
D) causing the correlation.

Question 7

An apparent, although False, association between two variables that is caused by some third variable is called:

A) a spurious correlation.
B) an unproven correlation.
C) an unreliable correlation.
D) an invalid correlation.

Question 8

Which of the following is True about cause-and-effect relationships in the social world?

A) Most patterns of behavior have a single cause.
B) Most patterns of behavior have no cause at all.
C) Most patterns of behavior are caused by many factors.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 9

What is the term for the value that occurs most often in a series of numbers?

A) the mean
B) the mode
C) the median
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 10

What term refers to the value that occurs midway in a series of numbers (that is, the middle case)?

A) the mean
B) the mode
C) the median
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 11

Imagine that you were going to measure the age of a number of respondents taking part in a survey. As you record the data, you are using the concept "age" as:

A) a theory.
B) a hypothesis.
C) a variable.
D) an axiom.

Question 12

Which of the following terms is defined in the text as "a mental construct that represents some part of the world in a somewhat simplified form"?

A) variable
B) operationalization
C) measurement
D) concept

Question 13

Examine the following series of numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10. What is the median value?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 14

Lois Benjamin's research on the life experiences of high-achiever African Americans suggests that:

A) race has little to do with the life experiences of successful people.
B) racism remains a burden even among privileged African Americans.
C) race is now more of a barrier to African Americans than ever before in U.S. history.
D) racism affects mainly lower-class African Americans.

Question 15

In the process of measurement, reliability refers to:

A) whether you are really measuring what you want to measure.
B) how dependable the researcher is.
C) whether or not everyone agrees with the study's results.
D) whether repeating the measurement yields consistent results.

Question 16

The sociological perspective reveals that:

A) "common sense" is usually pretty close to the truth.
B) much of what passes for "common sense" in the United States turns out to be at least partly wrong.
C) most people in the United States readily see how society shapes our lives.
D) "common sense" is not very popular in the United States.

Question 17

What term refers to the arithmetic average of a series of numbers?

A) the mean
B) the mode
C) the median
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 18

Science can be defined as:

A) a logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation.
B) belief based on faith in ultimate truth.
C) belief based on a society's traditions.
D) a logical system that bases truth on political goals.

Question 19

What concept below refers to measuring exactly what one intends to measure?

A) congruence
B) validity
C) repeatability
D) reliability

Question 20

Two variables are said to display correlation if:

A) they are caused by the same factor.
B) one occurs before the other.
C) both measure the same thing.
D) they vary together.

Question 21

Three of the following statements below are part of the definition of a cause-and-effect relationship. One is not. Which one is not?

A) Both variables must be shown to be independent.
B) The independent variable must come before the dependent variable in time.
C) The two variables must display correlation.
D) There must be no evidence that the correlation is spurious.

Question 22

Which of the following statements describing the link between sociology's methodological approaches and its theoretical approaches is correct?

A) Scientific methodology is most closely linked to structural-functional theory.
B) Interpretive methodology is linked to social-conflict theory.
C) Critical methodology corresponds to the symbolic-interaction theory.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 23

Drawing conclusions about all of humanity based on research using only males as subjects is the problem called:

A) androcentricity.
B) overgeneralization.
C) gender blindness.
D) using double standards.

Question 24

The ideal of objectivity means that a researcher:

A) must not care personally about the topic being studied.
B) must try to adopt a stance of personal neutrality toward the outcome of the research.
C) must study issues that have no value to society as a whole.
D) must carry out research that will encourage desirable social change.

Question 25

All of the following-except for one-are statements about ethical research made by the American Sociological Association. Which one is NOT one of the ASA's guidelines for ethical research?

A) Researchers must always perform their research several times in order to ensure its accuracy.
B) Researchers must disclose their sources of funding for the research.
C) Researchers must protect the privacy of subjects taking part in a research project.
D) Researchers must ensure the safety of subjects taking part in a research project.

Question 26

Which German word meaning "understanding" was used by Max Weber in describing his approach to sociological research?

A) Gemeinschaft.
B) Gesellschaft.
C) Verstehen.
D) Verboten.

Question 27

Which of the following is True about scientific sociology?

A) It focuses on the meaning people attach to behavior.
B) It seeks to bring about desirable social change.
C) It favors qualitative data.
D) It favors quantitative data.

Question 28

Critical sociology can best be described as a(n) ________ approach.

A) activist
B) scientific
C) qualitative
D) value-free

Question 29

Which of the following statements about critical sociology is True?

A) Critical sociology focuses on the meaning people attach to behavior.
B) Critical sociology seeks to bring about desirable social change.
C) Critical sociology endorses the principle of being value-free.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 30

You are doing research and you never stop to think about the possible importance of gender at all. Your work could be criticized for the problem called:

A) androcentricity.
B) overgeneralization.
C) gender blindness.
D) employing double standards.

Question 31

The sociologist who called on his colleagues to be "value-free" was:

A) Karl Marx.
B) Emile Durkheim.
C) Herbert Spencer.
D) Max Weber.

Question 32

Sociologists cannot precisely predict any person's behavior because:

A) human behavior is highly complex and has many causes.
B) social patterns that are found in one time and place may not be found in others.
C) humans may respond to the presence of an observer in unexpected ways.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 33

Imagine that you are repeating research done by someone else in order to assess its accuracy. You are doing which of the following?

A) replication
B) objectification
C) reliability
D) scientific control

Question 34

If you have been criticized for "androcentricity" in your research, you are being criticized for:

A) overgeneralizing your results.
B) ignoring gender entirely.
C) doing the research from a male perspective.
D) using double standards in your research.

Question 35

"A statement of a possible relationship between two or more variables" is the definition of which concept?

A) theory
B) correlation
C) spurious correlation
D) hypothesis

Question 36

In making judgments about how society should be improved, the ________ approach in sociology rejects Max Weber's goal that researchers be value-free.

A) interpretive
B) critical
C) scientific
D) positivist

Question 37

Three researchers wish to test the effects of playing soft music during an exam on the test performance of their sociology students. They conduct an experiment in which one test-taking class hears music and another does not. In experimental terms, the class hearing the music is called:

A) the placebo.
B) the control group.
C) the experimental group.
D) the dependent variable.

Question 38

Qualitative research has special appeal to investigators who favor which theoretical approach?

A) the structural-functional approach
B) the symbolic-interaction approach
C) the social-conflict approach
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 39

Interpretive sociology is sociology that:

A) focuses on action.
B) sees an objective reality "out there."
C) focuses on the meaning people attach to behavior.
D) seeks to bring about change.

Question 40

If you are conducting sociological research that very closely follows the logic of science, which research method are you most likely to be using?

A) interviews
B) the experiment
C) questionnaires
D) participant observation

Question 41

One disadvantage of conducting interviews is that this research method:

A) does not permit follow-up questions.
B) does not allow subjects' answers to be detailed.
C) results in a very low response rate.
D) may easily allow the researcher to influence subjects' responses.

Question 42

William Foote Whyte's study of Cornerville (Street Corner Society) showed that:

A) Cornerville was a liberal community with many Harvard students.
B) Cornerville was a chaotic and very dangerous slum.
C) Cornerville was a complex community that did not fit simple stereotypes.
D) a Harvard sociologist was unable to work in a low-income community.

Question 43

E. Digby Baltzell's study, Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia, showed that a very high number of "top achievers" listed in the Dictionary of American Biography came from:

A) the South.
B) Pennsylvania.
C) Massachusetts.
D) Philadelphia.

Question 44

A researcher doing participant observation may "break in" to a setting more easily with the help of a:

A) key informant.
B) research assistant.
C) bigger budget.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 45

You wish to conduct an exploratory and descriptive study of people in a particular neighborhood. You have plenty of time, but little money or other resources. What research method should you use?

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

Question 46

In a questionnaire, the question, "Please state your opinions about the likelihood of another major terrorist attacks at home," is an example of which of the following?

A) closed-ended format
B) open-ended format
C) experimental design
D) dependent variable

Question 47

Which research method asks subjects to respond to a series of items in a questionnaire or an interview?

A) secondary research
B) participant observation
C) the experiment
D) the survey

Question 48

From a research point of view, what is the problem with the question, "Do you think that the government should spend less for defense and more for health care?"

A) Most people will have no opinion on these issues.
B) The question may spark an emotional response.
C) Two different questions are being asked, so that a simple "yes" or "no" will distort the subject's actual opinion.
D) The question asks for a personal opinion, which involves a value judgment.

Question 49

Inductive logical thought involves:

A) turning theories into hypotheses suitable for testing.
B) selecting a research method based on available resources.
C) doing research about the past.
D) transforming specific observations into general theory.

Question 50

William Foote Whyte's study of Cornerville (Street Corner Society) used which sociological research method?

A) experiment
B) survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 51

A smaller number of people used to represent an entire population is called a:

A) target group.
B) sample.
C) closed-format group.
D) sampling frame.

Question 52

Which sociological research method is best used to study what cannot be directly observed, such as attitudes and values, among large numbers of people?

A) the experiment
B) the survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 53

E. Digby Baltzell's historical study, Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia, illustrates which research method?

A) the experiment
B) the survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 54

What research method was used in Philip Zimbardo's study, the "Stanford County Prison"?

A) the experiment
B) the survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 55

Deductive logical thought involves:

A) turning theories into hypotheses suitable for testing.
B) selecting a research method based on available resources.
C) doing research about the past.
D) transforming specific observations into general theory.

Question 56

Which sociological research method is most likely to produce quantitative data that will identify cause-and-effect relationships?

A) the experiment
B) the survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 57

What term refers to any change in a subject's behavior caused by the awareness of being studied?

A) invalid response
B) unreliable response
C) the Stanford effect
D) the Hawthorne effect

Question 58

Lois Benjamin's investigation of racism may be criticized because:

A) her sample included as many whites as blacks.
B) she conducted her interviews by telephone.
C) her sample may not be representative of all African Americans.
D) people cannot respond to questions they find painful.

Question 59

In a questionnaire, asking respondents to identify their income level from a number of possible categories represents which of the following?

A) a closed-ended format
B) an open-ended format
C) a self-administered format
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 60

Lois Benjamin's research shows that interviews:

A) take a lot of time to complete.
B) may have to be conducted wherever the situation requires.
C) allow the researcher to ask follow-up questions.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 61

A variable that is changed by another variable is called the "independent variable."

Question 62

Reliability refers to the quality of consistency in measurement.

Question 63

Sociologists always achieve complete personal objectivity in their work.

Question 64

A positivist approach assumes that reality exists "out there."

Question 65

The mean is always a better statistical measure than the mode or median.

Question 66

Which of the following is a way in which people can mislead others with statistics?

A) People select the data they present.
B) People interpret the data to lead their readers to a desired conclusion.
C) People use graphs to "spin" the truth.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 67

Validity is the quality of measurement gained by actually measuring what you want to measure.

Question 68

Any time two variables are statistically related, a cause-and-effect relationship exists.

Question 69

Two simple requirements that underlie the process of sociological investigation are (1) looking at the world using the sociological perspective, and (2) becoming curious and asking questions.

Question 70

Max Weber urged sociologists to strive toward the goal of being value-free.

Question 71

Natural scientists often have an easier time than social scientists in identifying cause-and-effect relationships.

Question 72

Science is a logical system based on intuition and insight.

Question 73

Which sociological research method is likely to be most difficult to replicate (repeat)?

A) the experiment
B) the survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 74

Which sociological research method provides the best chance to understand social behavior in a natural setting?

A) the experiment
B) the survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 75

A False correlation between two variables, caused by some third variable, is described as a "spurious" correlation.

Question 76

Which sociological research method saves the time and expense of data gathering, but the researcher has no control over possible data bias?

A) the experiment
B) the survey
C) participant observation
D) secondary analysis

Question 77

The sociologist recognizes that there are various kinds of "truth."

Question 78

The variable that causes change in another variable is called the "dependent variable."

Question 79

Empirical evidence is what people in a society agree is True.

Question 80

Empirical evidence refers to what we can verify with our senses.