Deck 10: Bias

Question 1

The selection of a research problem may present problems in that:

A) researchers select only interesting problems
B) researchers unconsciously indicate their own values in the process
C) researchers are incapable of bias
D) researchers are inclined to select problems for which easy answers can be found

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Proper scientific research should involve:

A) an orientation towards disconfirmation
B) the acceptance of one's preconceptions
C) acceptance of published research
D) social advocacy/social application of findings

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Random error refers to those inconsistencies which:

A) enter into the coding process but have no pattern in the errors
B) enter into the collection process but have no pattern in the errors
C) enter into the coding process and have a pattern in the errors
D) enter into the collection process and have a pattern in the errors

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A common social science myth holds that:

A) most studies use non-representative samples
B) there is little standardization on measures
C) evidence is selectively reported
D) most people are willing to participate in research

Question 5

The use of scientific findings can be problematic because:

A) scientists are, inherently, politically motivated
B) research literature is easily misrepresented
C) scientific evidence is often not taken seriously
D) they are inherently distorted

Question 6

When exploring data, it is important to report if the relationships explored have been:

A) hypothesized
B) reported in the literature
C) grounded in established theory
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 7

To suggest the presence of distortion also suggests that:

A) truth can be approximated
B) truth can be discovered
C) truth is impossible to achieve
D) not all researchers are honest

Question 8

Hunting in both the physical and social sciences.may result in:

A) searching the data for strange results
B) searching the data for disconfirming results
C) searching the extant literature for ideas
D) the discarding of unanticipated results

Question 9

Systematic errors, especially problematic in relation to random error, are troublesome because:

A) they distort data in both directions
B) they distort data, but in only one direction
C) they render all studies invalid and unscientific
D) they always serve as, in effect, confounding variables

Question 10

Selected evidence is:

A) using indicators that support the researcher's point of view
B) using a random number process to select cases for study
C) choosing to report evidence that goes against one's biases
D) using measures that are especially sensitive

Question 11

Which of the following is a scientific consideration concerning the publication of research:

A) the cultural acceptance of the findings
B) the scientific community's reaction
C) the length of the report
D) the bearing of the results on the general subject matter

Question 12

Sterling's interesting paper of 1959 argued for the possibility that:

A) most published articles report valid results
B) most published articles are plagued by the researcher effect
C) most published articles are plagued by the experimenter effect
D) most published articles present fluke results

Question 13

Research bias may be thought of as:

A) deliberate attempts to distort results
B) systematic distortion in research conclusions
C) unfounded generalizations
D) dishonesty in social research

Question 14

Researcher affect refers to the process whereby a researcher:

A) consciously manipulates the results of a study
B) consciously lies in order to "polish" his/her results
C) inadvertently searches for conclusions supporting the desired results
D) inadvertently searches for data in order to falsify the desired results

Question 15

Demand characteristics are:

A) a source of distortion
B) pressures exerted on researchers by the scientific community to publish results
C) pressures exerted on researchers by society to publish culturally acceptable results
D) a source of random error

Question 16

Experimenter effect refers to:

A) the unconscious effort of experimenters to collect valid data
B) the conscious effort of experimenters to collect valid data
C) the unconscious effort of experimenters to collect desirable data
D) the conscious effort of experimenters to collect desirable data

Question 17

When the author of the course text states: "Marxists come to Marxist conclusions", he is stressing that:

A) researchers are biased
B) researchers are plagued by their cultural predispositions
C) researchers are plagued by their scientific predispositions
D) researchers seek, consciously and unconsciously, to confirm their pet theories
E) all of the above

Question 18

Scientism ailment refers to:

A) the belief that social behaviour is unknowable
B) the belief that if the methods of the physical sciences are followed, social behaviour will be knowable
C) the belief that if the methods of social science are advanced, social behaviour will be knowable
D) none of the above

Question 19

Data massaging refers to:

A) exploring non-hypothesized relationships
B) purposely distorting one's results
C) not informing respondents of the research hypothesis
D) publishing invalid results

Question 20

Besides bias in terms of theoretical predispositions,.bias can also come from:

A) unwarranted conclusions
B) improper argument
C) social insensitivity
D) inappropriate extrapolation
E) all of the above

Question 21

SSHRC stands for:

A) social sciences human rights council
B) social sciences and humanities research council
C) social sciences for human rights conditions (the betterment of)
D) none of the above

Question 22

Which of the following is a step in minimizing bias:

A) accepting all responses
B) accepting all results
C) accepting all predispositions
D) accepting all errors