Deck 2: Research Methods

Question 1

________ ________ describe the actual procedures or operations used to measure theoretical concepts.

A) Variable languages
B) Inference testing
C) Spurious samples
D) Manipulated definitions
E) Operational definitions

Answer 1

E

Question 2

________ logic involves making connecting links between related theoretical statements.

Answer 2

Axiomatic

Question 3

________ refers to how well experimenters can generalize from the lab to the real world, from hypothetical questions to actual behaviour.

Answer 3

external validity

Question 4

________ is the application of several research methods to the same topic, in the hope that the weaknesses of one method will be balanced by the strength of the others.

Question 5

Durkheim adopted a position called ________, meaning that he wanted to use the research methods of the natural sciences, appropriately adapted, for the social sciences.

A) Positivism
B) Constructivism
C) Observational
D) Socialist
E) Scientology

Question 6

________ means that repeated measurements of the same variable with the same or equivalent instruments should be equal.

Question 7

________ research involves collecting data on independent and dependent variables at the same time.

Question 8

Theory rooted in and arising from data collected by the researcher is known as ________ theory.

Question 9

________ logic involves deriving a specific statement from a more general statement.

A) Axiomatic
B) Operational
C) Deductive
D) Inductive
E) Rational

Question 10

When conducting research, a sociologist's own personal experience is not ________ enough to produce accurate statements about the larger society.

Question 11

Sociologists often formulate hypotheses that Variable A is related to Variable B with "other things being equal", where the "other things" are termed ________ variables.

Question 12

A ________ sample is derived from a population by pure chance, and is designed to provide a miniature picture of that population.

Question 13

________ analysis involves the examination of themes from communications such as conversations, letters, newspapers, books or movies.

Question 14

A/an ________ is a set of interrelated statements that organizes and summarizes knowledge about some part of the social world.

Question 15

Most quantitative sociologists never actually:

A) publish their results
B) observe the behaviour of the people they study
C) worry about reliability and validity
D) develop comprehensive hypotheses and theories
E) use survey data

Question 16

A ________ for sociologists is something (like income or religion) that takes on different values in different groups.

Question 17

Counting and precise measurement of observable behaviour, concentration on a limited number of variables, and prediction are all hallmarks of a ________ approach to sociology.

Question 18

Using the method of ________, a researcher asks permission to join and observe a group and to question its members about the meanings of their behaviour.

Question 19

Weber argued that the social sciences should not borrow research methods from the natural sciences because humans engage in meaningful, goal-directed behaviour, called ________.

A) experimentation
B) democracy
C) social action
D) cooperation
E) distortion

Question 20

________ definitions describe the actual procedures or operations used to measure theoretical concepts.

Question 21

The application of several research methods to the same topic is known as:

A) multi-research
B) content analysis
C) triangulation
D) cross-variation
E) variation

Question 22

A/n ________ approach, which sees history as a series of conflicts over existing material arrangements, is also attractive to Marxists.

A) secondary
B) historical
C) comparative
D) dialectical
E) ethnomethodological

Question 23

In participant observation, ________ is difficult.

A) replication
B) leaving the research field
C) working overtly
D) direct observation
E) sampling

Question 24

________ analysis involves the examination of themes from communication such as conversations, letters, newspapers, books or movies.

A) Time based
B) Reliable
C) External
D) Content
E) Marginal

Question 25

Using a strategy called "praxis," Marxists often:

A) tend to avoid content analysis
B) act upon their research
C) use ethnomethodology as the key method.
D) avoid getting involved in political issues
E) use covert research methods

Question 26

________ analysis examines those cases that fail to support the generalizations drawn from the compiled data.

A) Control variable
B) Small studies
C) Conflict
D) Negative case
E) Longitudinal

Question 27

Which of the following is not an example of a random sampling method?

A) selecting people at random off a street corner
B) randomly selecting respondents from a list of tax-paying Canadians
C) clustering a city, randomly selecting from these clusters, then randomly selecting people in these clusters from a complete list of addresses
D) a quota sample collected randomly from a list of the research population
E) using random digit dialing for a telephone administered survey

Question 28

Participant observers are more likely than others to use ________ logic in developing their hypotheses and theories.

A) inverted
B) inductive
C) deductive
D) rational
E) pre-experimental

Question 29

Supposed that variables A and B are correlated, but A does not cause B. If a researcher inferred that A causes B, this would be an example of:

A) causality
B) a spurious relationship
C) correlation
D) a primary source
E) a secondary source

Question 30

A sample in which the various elements of a population are chosen in the same proportion as they appear in the population is called a ________.

A) convenience sample
B) mirror sample
C) quota sample
D) random sample
E) cluster sample

Question 31

Rarely do researchers have the time or resources to study everyone they want to therefore they usually draw a ________ selecting a subset of individuals from the population they wish to study.

A) variable
B) replicate
C) experiment
D) operation
E) sample

Question 32

Data produced by eyewitnesses at the time an event occurs are described as ________ by historical analysts.

A) subjective
B) objective
C) a secondary source
D) a primary source
E) skewed

Question 33

Although experiments are very useful for determining cause and effect, they are often difficult to conduct when studying human subjects. Human research subjects may behave differently under experimental conditions than they would usually behave because they want to please the experimenters. This phenomenon has been called ________.

A) social imitation
B) inductive reasoning
C) deductive reasoning
D) the placebo effect
E) the Hawthorne effect

Question 34

What is a hypothesis? A theory? Give an example of each.

Question 35

The type of analysis which requires researchers to study several societies is known as

A) historical analysis
B) comparative analysis
C) inter-societal analysis
D) cross-cultural methods
E) content analysis

Question 36

One of the problems with using someone else's data, a procedure called ________ ________, is that they may be incomplete, since the original collectors were not aware of the information later researchers would need.

A) secondary analysis
B) survey research
C) primary source
D) latent data
E) spurious relationship

Question 37

Participant observers tend to collect their data first and conclude with what they call ________ theory.

A) polls
B) outright
C) respondent
D) under-representation
E) grounded

Question 38

Survey research is forced to deal in ________, demonstrations that changes in one variable go with changes in another.

A) qualitative data
B) grounded theory
C) effective hypotheses
D) correlations
E) qualitative data

Question 39

Many qualitative sociologists feel that because most theories about social life are incomplete, ________ is a better word than theory. The use of that term allows a greater flexibility.

A) manipulation
B) sampling
C) deductive
D) fluctuating
E) perspective

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT required to demonstrate that A causes B?

A) a logical connection between A and B
B) A occurs before B
C) A and B are connected through C, a variable causing both A and B
D) Removing A will result in the removal of B
E) Removing B will not necessarily result in the removal of A

Question 41

In general, Marxists agree with Durkheim, that positivism is an important methodology that should be used to study social reality.

Question 42

Dependent variables are considered the 'causal variable' in research that explains why something happens.

Question 43

Cluster sampling involves randomly sampling smaller and smaller units within larger units.

Question 44

Validity is a statement of presumed relationship between two or more variables.

Question 45

Cross-sectional research involves collecting data on independent and dependent variables at the same time.

Question 46

A random sample is derived from a population by pure chance, and is designed to provide a miniature picture of that population.

Question 47

Direct observation of real-life behaviour is rare in quantitative research.

Question 48

Operational analysis involves the examination of themes from communications such as conversations, letters, newspapers, books or movies.

Question 49

Briefly explain how participant observers develop grounded theory using inductive logic.

Question 50

Since historical records are usually official documents, validity is hardly ever an issue in historical analyses.

Question 51

What is cluster sampling? What is quota sampling? Give an example of each.

Question 52

Theory rooted in and arising from data collected by the researcher is known as deductive theory.

Question 53

Validity means that repeated measurements of the same variable with the same or equivalent instruments should be equal.

Question 54

Counting and precise measurement of observable behaviour, concentration on a limited number of variables, and prediction are all hallmarks of a quantitative approach to doing sociology.

Question 55

Axiomatic logic involves making connecting links between related statements.

Question 56

A theory is a set of interrelated statements that organizes and summarizes knowledge about some part of the social world.

Question 57

Compare and contrast participant observation versus survey research methodologies. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? Include comments on validity, generalizability and reliability.

Question 58

A variable for sociologists is something (like income or religion) that takes on different values in different groups.

Question 59

Recall that operational definitions describe the actual procedures used to measure theoretical concepts. How would you operationalize sexism in the work place?