Deck 3: Studying the Social World

Question 1

Informed consent has two components.Research participants must understand that their participation is __________ and based on a full understanding of possible risks and benefits involved.

A)compensated
B)not compensated
C)voluntary
D)involuntary

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In hindsight,what was the primary flaw of the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted in the 1970s?

A)Confidentiality of the participants was violated.
B)The experiment inflicted harm on its participants.
C)The researchers lacked professional competence.
D)The study did not draw on a proper sample.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In a hypothesis about crime that makes a causal claim that an increase in the level of inequality in society will result in an increase in the crime rate in that society,__________ is the independent variable.

A)the crime rate
B)rate of inequality
C)the level of inequality
D)the ratio of crime to inequality

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In a hypothesis about crime that makes a causal claim that an increase in the level of inequality in society will result in an increase in the crime rate in that society,__________ is the dependent variable.

A)the crime rate
B)rate of inequality
C)the level of inequality
D)the ratio of crime to inequality

Question 5

What does it mean to operationalize a research question?

A)Operationalizing is finding out how research subjects will behave under test conditions.
B)Operationalizing is testing the research question to find out if it will work.
C)Operationalizing is determining the operations and techniques to be used to assess a research question's key concepts.
D)Operationalizing is making agreements with publishers to produce copies of research study results.

Question 6

Qualitative research relies on __________.

A)numerical data
B)words,observations,or pictures
C)statistical analysis of data
D)variable analysis

Question 7

What role do values play in sociological research?

A)Values have no part in shaping the research interests of sociologists.
B)Values influence sociologists' research questions,but they do not determine findings.
C)Values determine findings almost exclusively in sociological research.
D)Values have very little influence on sociologists' research questions,but they impact findings in significant,albeit hidden,ways.

Question 8

What type of research method is good at generating data about an entire population?

A)in-depth interviews
B)participant observation
C)surveys
D)experiments

Question 9

How do sociological researchers define the term dependent variable?

A)the variable expected to have a positive correlation to other variables under study
B)the variable expected to fluctuate in relation to other variables under study
C)the variable that is artificially created by researchers to simulate real-life situations
D)the variable causing or influencing a particular outcome

Question 10

_________ guide and shape a sociologist's research,including questions asked and methods used.

A)Religious ideologies
B)Professional organizations
C)Theoretical traditions
D)Government funds

Question 11

Which of the following statements about a code of ethics and sociological research is true?

A)Sociologists often disagree about the contents of their code of ethics.
B)The sociological code of ethics is not relevant for human subjects.
C)All social scientists commit to a shared code of ethics.
D)Informed consent satisfies the requirements of the code of ethics.

Question 12

What is an institutional review board?

A)a body that reviews colleges to assure that institutions sustain viable research
B)a body that reviews researchers' proposals before work begins in order to assess potential harm and benefits to participants
C)a body that certifies participants for research study inclusion
D)a body of sociologists that decides which research questions should be officially endorsed by the Canadian Sociological Association

Question 13

Researchers who use both qualitative and quantitative evidence are engaging in __________.

A)mixed-method research
B)experimental research
C)biological research
D)extended case research

Question 14

Good research questions are both feasible and __________.

A)broad
B)narrow
C)complex
D)relevant

Question 15

An independent variable is predicted to__________.

A)influence or cause a particular outcome
B)correlate positively with other variables
C)fluctuate in relation to other variables
D)invalidate the research question

Question 16

For which of the following reasons do sociologists and other social scientists abide by codes of ethics?

A)Government regulations require all sociologists to abide by these standards.
B)Given the nature of their research,social scientists must commit to do no harm to those they study.
C)Codes of ethics affect the validity of a project's findings.
D)Scientists have always readily endorsed the usefulness of such codes in keeping other scientists in check.

Question 17

When research questions are about the thought processes that lead people to have certain opinions,what research method is usually best?

A)a survey
B)in-depth interviews
C)ethnographic observation
D)a social experiment

Question 18

Along with informed consent,what other ethical obligation do sociologists have regarding their professional responsibilities and conduct?

A)They must disclose their epistemological orientations.
B)They must disclose their identity as researchers.
C)They must disclose their theoretical traditions.
D)They must disclose the true identities of their subjects.

Question 19

Sociologists decide what to research and what questions to ask once they are familiar with __________.

A)what other sociologists have already discovered
B)what sources of funding are available
C)what mainstream Canadians believe about sociologists
D)what expenses they are likely to incur

Question 20

How is comparative-historical research best conducted?

A)by surveying large numbers of people and comparing the responses
B)by talking directly to a subsample of people
C)by observing historical reenactments
D)by looking at records and documents from other times and places

Question 21

When is longitudinal data desirable?

A)when studying a group of people who are hard to contact
B)when researchers want to infer causation between variables
C)when studying a population that is spread out geographically
D)when studying a group that historically provides unreliable data

Question 22

Cross-sectional data is collected __________.

A)at one point in time
B)through in-depth interviews
C)through representative sampling
D)at two points in time several decades apart

Question 23

Which of the following is a benefit of representative sampling?

A)Representative sampling allows researchers to approximate results with only minor statistical weighting.
B)Representative sampling is faster and easier than other types of sampling.
C)Representative sampling allows researchers to use a subset to approximate results to the entire population.
D)Representative sampling is more reliable than in-depth interviews.

Question 24

The Canadian census is a good example of what kind of interview?

A)classic interview
B)survey interview
C)in-depth interview
D)oral history interview

Question 25

Researchers whose questions explore understanding social variation over time and place are likely to use which research method?

A)demographic analysis
B)comparative-historical perspective
C)extended cases
D)ethnography

Question 26

What is data coding?

A)analyzing the data for reports or publications
B)organizing data according to key categories and concepts
C)transferring data to pictorial displays
D)packaging the data in a statistical program for sharing

Question 27

In order to be deemed reliable,the results of a scientific study must be able to be __________.

A)replicated
B)rescinded
C)recycled
D)replaced

Question 28

When research questions have more to do with how people interact and less with how they say they interact,what research method is usually best?

A)a survey
B)in-depth interviews
C)ethnographic observation
D)a social experiment

Question 29

Why is studying motivation difficult?

A)Simply looking at behaviour doesn't allow researchers to say much about motivation.
B)People act in largely consistent ways,making distinguishing among possible motivators difficult to discern.
C)Reading motivations from actions takes years of practice.
D)Rapport building,necessary to motivational studies,is expensive and time consuming.

Question 30

Data displays are __________ patterns in data.

A)coded examples of
B)numerical references to
C)visual images of
D)pull-down menus that access

Question 31

What are cross-national comparisons?

A)a type of historical analysis that focuses on explaining differences between countries
B)a type of survey that compares people from one part of a country with people who lived there at earlier points in history
C)a type of demographic study that compares ethnic or racial groups in a single neighbourhood
D)a type of extended case study focusing on two or more countries

Question 32

How does the text answer this question: Why is generalization,in terms of sociological research,so tricky?

A)Sociologists do not want to limit their conclusions to what they study directly;thus,they want to ensure the conclusions drawn are reliable and valid.
B)Loose generalizations rarely capture the attention of scientists in other fields of study.
C)Conclusions that are too generalizable risk being sanctioned by the Canadian Sociological Association.
D)When conclusions are not sufficiently generalizable,other sociologists cannot validate them.

Question 33

What is a spurious relationship?

A)an apparent relationship among three or more variables having causal relationships with each other
B)an apparent relationship between two factors that has the appearance of linkage but,in reality,does not
C)an apparent relationship between two factors with an established causal relationship
D)an apparent relationship between two variables for which a causal link has yet to be established

Question 34

When research questions centre on patterns of behaviour among large groups,what research method is usually best?

A)a survey
B)in-depth interviews
C)ethnographic observation
D)a social experiment

Question 35

The textbook authors suggest that in the real world researchers __________ deviate from the traditional order of the scientific method.

A)always
B)never
C)often
D)predetermine whether they

Question 36

Data from which research method arguably takes the longest to acquire?

A)comparative-historical data
B)ethnographic data
C)survey data
D)experimental data

Question 37

In terms of survey research,what is a respondent?

A)an individual who fills out a survey
B)an individual who conducts a survey
C)an individual who creates the survey
D)an individual who is excluded from a survey

Question 38

Research memos are to __________ thinkers as data displays are to __________ thinkers.

A)quantitative;qualitative
B)verbal;visual
C)convergent;divergent
D)independent;dependent

Question 39

The National Election Study on Americans' political participation,policy,and political views is an example of a type of a(n)__________.

A)cross-case analysis
B)in-depth interview
C)social experimental study
D)national survey

Question 40

Primary-source data are data __________.

A)collected by researchers themselves
B)collected by others
C)expected to overturn previous findings
D)provided by the Canadian Sociological Association

Question 41

Typically,sociologists who work with quantitative data (such as surveys)wait until after they have concluded their research before they engage in data analysis.However,ethnographers usually engage in data analysis while they are conducting their investigations.Is this behaviour reasonable given the nature of these types of methods? Why?

Question 42

Which of the following potential projects studying convenience stores could be said to be utilizing a qualitative research method?

A)working at a convenience store and watching how people interact with the clerks
B)studying the inventory of a convenience store to determine which items are bought most often
C)using city population data to predict how many convenience stores should serve a given neighbourhood
D)studying convenience store payrolls to determine if men are paid more than women for the same work

Question 43

You are an ethnographer studying poverty in Chicago.Over the course of your research,you live in a low-rent apartment,join a number of social clubs,and take several jobs in the community.The total time you spend on this project takes several years.Given what you know about ethnography and proper data analysis,when should you analyze your data?

A)continually over the course of the project
B)only at the very conclusion of the project
C)at the midpoint and at the end of the project
D)at the beginning and at the end of the project

Question 44

Catherine is taking a research methods class in which the semester project involves conducting original research.Catherine is interested in finding out if viewing particular television programs has an impact on behaviour.She wants to see if children are more likely to engage in aggressive behaviour after they watch television shows that exhibit violent images.Catherine's tentative prediction is what scientists refer to as __________.

A)an operational definition
B)a hypothesis
C)reliability
D)validity

Question 45

Kordell is interested in distributing questionnaires to first-year students regarding their study habits.He has targeted several universities where he wants to carry out the research.What must Kordell do first?

A)Have students sign informed consent forms.
B)Submit his research proposal to each school's institutional review board (IRB).
C)Brief students on what he is interested in studying.
D)Identify which classes he wants to target.

Question 46

You are studying homicide rates in a major city,and your data seem to be indicating something quite peculiar.You notice that ice cream consumption seems to be correlated with an increase in murder rates.Upon more careful reflection,you recall that murder rates tend to rise in the summer,when people are outside more (and,consequently?AU: This should be reworded.I believe it is also spurious.Being outside does not make people eat more ice cream.maybe "when people are more likely to be found outside eating ice cream." ,eating more ice cream).Your first conclusion is an example of __________.
AU: This should be reworded.I believe it is also spurious.Being outside does not make people eat more ice cream.maybe "when people are more likely to be found outside eating ice cream."

A)a poor sample size
B)improper theoretical development
C)causality
D)a spurious relationship

Question 47

When determining correlations,sociologists sometimes fall victim to spurious relationships.What is a spurious relationship,and how did the Coleman Report demonstrate a spurious relationship between school resources and test scores?

Question 48

What are two types of generalizability relevant to sociological research?

A)qualitative and quantitative generalizability
B)political and analytical generalizability
C)experimental and historical generalizability
D)empirical and theoretical generalizability

Question 49

What is the scientific method? Explain each step of the scientific method.

Question 50

What are qualitative and quantitative research methods? If you,as a researcher,were interested in the way-of-life details of a group of people,which type of research would you be more likely to conduct?

Question 51

You want to conduct a research study on the sexual behaviours of married couples in rural Canada.You plan on interviewing individuals using an in-depth survey method.After approval from your institutional review board and finding individuals to interview,but before you conduct the interviews,what is needed to make sure that this project is ethical?

A)approval from the Canadian Sociological Association
B)approval from the chair of your sociology department
C)the informed consent of all participants
D)agreement from another researcher to conduct follow-up interviews with all respondents

Question 52

What is the difference between representative sampling and random sampling? When would you choose to use representative sampling over random sampling?

Question 53

You want to study a riot that occurred over 60 years ago.You have access to a handful of survivors,but they likely cannot provide all the information you need.Which two research methods should you use to complete the study?

A)ethnography and interviews
B)interviews and historical research
C)surveys and ethnography
D)interviews and experiments

Question 54

Which of the following responses best encapsulates why some sociologists strive for empirical generalizability?

A)Sociologists strive for empirical generalizability so that findings can be understood by those not well versed in sociological theory.
B)Sociologists strive for empirical generalizability so that findings can be applied to populations larger than their sample set.
C)Sociologists strive for empirical generalizability so that findings can be tested in physics laboratories.
D)Sociologists strive for empirical generalizability so that findings will more easily meet constitutional mandates for greater transparency in publicly funded enterprises.

Question 55

You want to understand how American views on violence in the media differ from the views of Germans.To complete your comparison of these two populations,what type of research should you conduct?

A)ethnography
B)demographic analysis
C)longitudinal-historical research
D)cross-national comparison