Deck 2: Applying Sociological Research Methods

Question 1

A program was developed to increase prescription compliance in recently diagnosed hypertension patients.Medical readings and interviews were conducted with participants over one year,at three-month intervals.At the end of the program,medical health practitioners revisited the program to check its effectiveness and to make adjustments as indicated by the data.Which form of research would reveal the outcome of the program?

A) evaluation
B) exploratory
C) explanatory
D) empowerment

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Mike and Johanna wanted to study the notion that Internet dating site users developed more self-confidence about their personal appeal as a potential partner over a six-month time frame.Which form of research would reveal this particular social phenomenon?

A) descriptive
B) exploratory
C) explanatory
D) deductive

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Dressler and Farmer hypothesized that novice marathon runners would run farther and longer if they were exposed to veteran runners who could mentor them through the early days of marathon training.The researchers began with existing theories,developed a new hypothesis,and then organized a research program to test the premise.Which form of reasoning did they use?

A) reductionist
B) deductive
C) inductive
D) empirical

Answer 3

B

Question 4

I am doing a study of students majoring in sociology.What would not be considered a variable in my study?

A) age
B) area of minor concentration
C) area of major concentration
D) family income

Question 5

What kind of research answers the question "What is X like"?

A) descriptive
B) explanatory
C) exploratory
D) critical

Question 6

Which of the following begins with empirical research?

A) deductive logic
B) inductive logic
C) sociological theories
D) conceptual research

Question 7

In what kind of study do researchers attempt to assess the necessity for or efficacy of a social program or social condition?

A) exploratory
B) experimental
C) empowerment
D) evaluation

Question 8

Which of the following ends with empirical research?

A) deductive logic
B) inductive logic
C) sociological theories
D) conceptual research

Question 9

What is undertaken in order to improve conditions within a particular social setting or for a particular group in society?

A) empowerment research
B) action research
C) participatory action research
D) evaluation research

Question 10

Which statement best describes concepts?

A) They are best defined as explanations.
B) They are always non-categorical.
C) They take the form of variables in research.
D) They are generally explained using reasoning.

Question 11

What kind of research is designed to facilitate improving the conditions within a particular social setting or for a particular social group?

A) exploratory
B) experimental
C) empowerment
D) evaluation

Question 12

Which statement best describes social programs?

A) They may have their effectiveness assessed through the use of evaluation research.
B) They rarely involve a needs assessment.
C) They are useful in assessing programs evaluations.
D) They have generally proven impossible to evaluate.

Question 13

According to the text,what is a researcher doing when he is pursuing change while studying a social system?

A) community research
B) social research
C) responsible research
D) action research

Question 14

Why is sociology considered a science?

A) It has an exclusive reliance on positivist approaches.
B) Sociologists usually have degrees in the natural sciences.
C) It has philosophical origins.
D) It seeks to use empirical methods.

Question 15

Which statement best describes inductive reasoning?

A) It starts with research and ends with theory construction.
B) It starts with theory and ends with theory construction.
C) It reflects the bidirectional relationship between theory and research.
D) It is not a practical took for sociologists to use.

Question 16

The text used text messaging to illustrate which of research approach?

A) surveys
B) experiments
C) discourse analysis
D) exploratory research

Question 17

Rosa finished her fieldwork before developing her theory about what social phenomenon was occurring.According to the text,research approach did Rosa use?

A) deductive reasoning
B) inductive reasoning
C) common reasoning
D) reliable reasoning

Question 18

In evaluation research a separate prior study is often undertaken which asks "what is the nature of the social problem?" Which term refers to this prior study?

A) de facto assessment
B) exploratory investigation
C) needs assessment
D) inductive study

Question 19

According to the text,what is the principal component of any theory?

A) research
B) reliability
C) variables
D) concepts

Question 20

Which statement best summarizes the research relating to "selfies" online?

A) It demonstrates the deductive approach.
B) It found the selfies on Instagram are nowhere near as gendered as those in magazine ads.
C) White male selfies contained less muscle presentation than magazine ads.
D) Female selfies were more likely to contain a kissing pout face.

Question 21

Which of the following is part of the "Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans" standards for conducting research?

A) Participation in research must be voluntary,and confidentiality and anonymity must be observed.
B) Researchers may harm research participants only when the potential gains in knowledge outweigh the participants' rights.
C) Researchers must take care of the funders' interests in their research,ensuring outcomes do not contravene their expectations.
D) Researchers must avoid politically incorrect areas of inquiry and take care not to delve into sensitive issues.

Question 22

With respect to height,which of the following describes the purpose of a bathroom scale?

A) a valid but not reliable measure
B) a reliable but not a valid measure
C) a dependent variable
D) a control variable

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a major component of a research design?

A) data collection
B) data analysis
C) drawing conclusions
D) making policy recommendations

Question 24

In the process of drawing conclusions,what should a researcher always do?

A) Revisit the original research question.
B) Consider the consequences of their conclusions.
C) Propose policy changes.
D) Compile their results.

Question 25

Which term refers to obtaining consistent results with the same measure?

A) multiple causation
B) reliability
C) experimenter presence
D) validity

Question 26

Which statement best defines "maintaining confidentiality"?

A) The researcher is able to identify a given person's responses,but promises not to do so.
B) The research cannot identify a given response with a given respondent.
C) The researcher refrains from collecting personal information about participants.
D) The researcher obtains written consent before collecting personal information.

Question 27

A sociologist publishes an article on a study in which she estimated the level of religious commitment in the population.Another interested researcher uses the same methodology and replicates the experiment and produces the same estimate.What can be said about the original study result?

A) It shows causation.
B) It has confidence.
C) It has verifiability.
D) It has reliability.

Question 28

What is the main reason that sociologists review previous research?

A) to determine if they will be able to get their own research published in a scholarly journal
B) to determine what is already known and where gaps or limitations exist
C) to criticize the work of other sociologists
D) to decide on one or more of the research methods available for the research design

Question 29

Which term refers to a testable research statement that includes at least two variables?

A) a theory
B) a hypothesis
C) an empirical prediction
D) an exploratory statement

Question 30

Which of the following best defines "operationalization"?

A) the translation of concepts into measureable variables
B) the transformation of a literature review into a research question
C) the analysis of the relationship between variables
D) the use of theory to organize data collection

Question 31

What does the term "validity" mean in relation to survey research?

A) The results can be verified by outside parties.
B) There is consistency of measurement.
C) At least one of the variables is a good indicator of the intended concept.
D) The sample is representative.

Question 32

Qualitative methodologies are usually associated with which of the following?

A) inductive approach
B) deductive approach
C) reductive approach
D) quantitative approach

Question 33

When are measurements in research considered reliable?

A) when they are correlated
B) when they are consistent or repeatable
C) when they measure what they were supposed to measure
D) when they are accurate and relevant

Question 34

Research in online chat rooms is challenging.Even if researchers announce that they have logged in,someone logging in later might not be aware of their presence.What does this important research issue pertain to?

A) technology
B) ethics
C) research intent
D) research outcomes

Question 35

Suppose that a person receives the same score when he or she takes an IQ test more than once.Which statement best describes this test?

A) It is valid.
B) It is a good predictor.
C) It is reliable.
D) It is dependable.

Question 36

The text used Stanley Milgram's study on obedience to authority as an example of the importance of which sociological issue?

A) obedience
B) reliability
C) ethics
D) experimentation

Question 37

In social science research,which statement best summarizes the matter of ethics?

A) Ethics are left to individual researchers.
B) Ethics are overseen by the disciplinary organization (e.g. ,the sociology association).
C) Ethics are specified by the Tri-Council policy.
D) Ethics are only a matter of interest to universities in rare cases.

Question 38

Which term refers to the process of defining variables in a precise manner that is measureable?

A) conceptualization
B) operationalization
C) theorization
D) variablization

Question 39

Which term refers to obtaining consistent results with the same measure?

A) multiple causation
B) reliability
C) experimenter presence
D) validity

Question 40

What is generally the last step in the research process?

A) termination of analysis
B) data distribution
C) dissemination of findings
D) securing ethical approval

Question 41

Students who work at part-time jobs get lower grades than those who do not work.In methodological terms,what kind of variable are students' grades?

A) mediating
B) independent
C) dependent
D) confounding

Question 42

A researcher might administer a questionnaire to a small group that closely resembles the population of interest.What label would a sociologist give this group?

A) multivariate sample
B) representative sample
C) restricted sample
D) sample of convenience

Question 43

What kind of research should a social scientist use to clearly establish the causal relationship between two variables?

A) experimental
B) direct observation
C) correlational
D) ethnographic

Question 44

What is the best research design for testing causality?

A) ethnography
B) experiment
C) survey
D) content analysis

Question 45

What is the biggest problem with surveys?

A) cost
B) the inability to triangulate
C) the honesty and memory of respondents
D) ensuring random assignment

Question 46

Sanjay is interested in finding out people's attitudes about crime in his neighbourhood.Using a brief face-to-face interview,he goes door-to-door and asks his neighbours identical questions using the questionnaire he designed.Which research method is he using?

A) participant observation
B) survey
C) experiment
D) ethnography

Question 47

What do sociologists call the participants in an experiment who are NOT exposed to the independent variable?

A) dependent group
B) control group
C) observed group
D) responsive group

Question 48

In a study of the health of runaways of different ages in Toronto,the researcher examined housing,employment,and education.In this research,what is the independent variable?

A) age
B) housing
C) employment
D) health

Question 49

According to the text,what is the primary means of collecting social science evidence?

A) survey
B) field study
C) ethnographic study
D) experiment

Question 50

What is random assignment associated with?

A) experiments
B) ethnography
C) surveys
D) systematic observation

Question 51

For a research project about vacation practices,Sam will look at the influence of a person's income on her or his vacation destination.He proposes that the higher the income,the more luxurious the accommodation choice will be.Which term refers to the accommodation choice?

A) an independent variable
B) a dependent variable
C) a spurious variable
D) an intervening variable

Question 52

According to the text,which term describes a set of verbal questions and answers that are always asked exactly the same way?

A) structured interview
B) standardized interview
C) unstructured interview
D) unstandardized interview

Question 53

What is the best scientific methodology to isolate a cause?

A) experiment
B) survey
C) field research
D) observation studies

Question 54

Which statement best describes sociology experiments?

A) They are inductive.
B) They are useful for generating research hypotheses.
C) They ideally involve the random assignment of subjects.
D) They are among the most common techniques used by sociologists.

Question 55

You conduct a survey with a large introductory class of sociology students,but you want to sample only 30 percent of them.When passing out the survey,you need to make sure that each person in the class has an equal chance of being selected to complete it.What kind of sample have you selected?

A) multivariate
B) cross-sectional
C) representative
D) multi-stage

Question 56

In a study of the effects of exposure to pornographic films on men's attitudes toward women,what is the name of the group of research participants who are NOT exposed to the films?

A) the control group
B) the research group
C) the master group
D) the experimental group

Question 57

What do sociologists call the presumed cause that is manipulated in an experiment?

A) independent variable
B) dependent variable
C) controlled variable
D) central variable

Question 58

We are doing an experiment to determine if exposure to violent newscasts in a laboratory setting increases subjects' fear of the world.Which statement is most important to this experiment design?

A) Exposure to violent news would be the independent variables.
B) Fear would be the independent variable.
C) Members of a control group would be exposed to the violent newscasts.
D) Random assignment would be unnecessary in such a study.

Question 59

Which term refers to a printed research instrument containing a series of items to which research participants (or "subjects")respond by choosing from a list?

A) pretest
B) posttest
C) observational device
D) questionnaire

Question 60

What is the biggest advantage of experiments?

A) They allow us to address questions of reliability.
B) They allow us to address questions of validity.
C) They allow us to address questions of triangulation.
D) They allow us to address questions of causality.

Question 61

When a researcher meets with the research participants in her study and asks each of them a series of questions,altering the questions as necessary,which data collection method is she using?

A) researcher-administered questionnaire
B) unstandardized interview
C) structured survey
D) structured experiment

Question 62

According to the text,what is the biggest advantage of interviews when compared to questionnaires?

A) The answers are easier to analyze.
B) The answers reflect the rapport built with the respondent.
C) The answers better reflect the respondents' actual views.
D) The answers are less likely to raise ethical issues.

Question 63

Facebook strengthens feelings of inclusion and connection with others.

Question 64

Which type of research design employs at least one qualitative and one quantitative method at the same time in order to compare different perspectives as part of the overall data integration?

A) integrated case study
B) multi-level method
C) qualquan approach
D) convergent analysis

Question 65

Keira has decided to buy a data set from Statistics Canada to use as the basis for her research for her master's thesis.Which method of data collection is she using?

A) primary analysis
B) secondary analysis
C) technical analysis
D) quantitative analysis

Question 66

Which research approach is defined as "the use of multiple methods to critically examine the ways in which language is used to convey social constructions and social relations"?

A) critical analysis
B) post-structural analysis
C) postmodern analysis
D) discourse analysis

Question 67

A sociologist starts hanging out with Italian immigrants.In addition to hanging out,he informally conducts interviews with the immigrants,and supplements his research with official statistics and government reports.Then he publishes a book on his work that gives an in-depth insider's look at Italian immigrant life in Canada,contrasted with the official information.His work both confirms some aspects of official data,and confronts some government claims about immigration.What kind of research is this?

A) experimental research project
B) survey research project
C) ethnographic research project
D) academic writing project

Question 68

A graduate sociology student proposes a thesis on pool hustlers.A major part of his methodology is to hang out in pool halls.As a reasonably good pool player,he will play games and allow himself to be hustled,and he will use his skill to set up hustles himself.What kind of research is he conducting?

A) participant observation
B) social observation
C) unethical observation
D) primary observation

Question 69

Which term refers to studying people where they live,work,and play?

A) participant observation
B) ethnography
C) case investigation
D) field experimentation

Question 70

Which terms refer to research on copies of suicide notes done to establish the types of themes that occur most often in them?

A) field research
B) content analysis
C) participant observation
D) ethnography

Question 71

Which type of analysis can be carried out on existing data sources,such as public records,official reports,and surveys completed by other researchers?

A) secondary analysis
B) inconspicuous analysis
C) researcher-coordinated analysis
D) unobtrusive analysis

Question 72

Which theoretical tradition is most consistent with ethnographic research methods?

A) positivism
B) interpretive
C) functionalist
D) conflict

Question 73

Inductive reasoning is a theory-driven approach that typically concludes with generalizations based on research.

Question 74

Which statement best describes a researcher doing secondary analysis?

A) He or she replicates an earlier research study.
B) He or she completes a project by answering questions not addressed in the original study.
C) He or she focuses on the study of secondary organizations.
D) He or she uses data previously collected for some other purpose.

Question 75

If a researcher collects observations about a group while taking part in the activities of the group,what kind of research is being performed?

A) participant observation
B) survey
C) environmental behaviour
D) experiment

Question 76

If a researcher directly observes a social group or process in the field,but does not interact with the participants,what kind of research is being performed?

A) experimental observation
B) restricted observation
C) systematic observation
D) participant observation

Question 77

People who are both frequent text message and Facebook users are known to develop a reduced ability to spell combined with an overall reduction in written language skills.

Question 78

When a researcher conducts a detailed study of the life and activities of a group of people by living with that group over a period of years,what is this type of study called?

A) ethnography
B) survey research
C) complete observation
D) field experimentation

Question 79

What is NOT included in secondary analyses?

A) studies using statistical information collected by Statistics Canada
B) content analyses
C) historical analyses
D) ethnography

Question 80

Which research method places the most emphasis on understanding the members of a group from their own point of view?

A) unobtrusive measurement
B) participant observation
C) survey research
D) the experiment