Deck 14: Applied Social Research

Question 1

Applied research

A) is research with a practical purpose.
B) tests hypotheses just as basic research does.
C) is generally a lonely research enterprise.
D) can help to create, modify, and implement programs and activities that make a difference in people's lives.
E) is research with a practical purpose and helps to create, modify, and implement programs and activities that make a difference in people's lives.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Outcome evaluations usually begin with a question like

A) What is the reason the program is doing what it is doing?
B) Does the program accomplish its goals ?
C) Are there better ways to implement this program?
D) Who is this program designed to serve?
E) How much money will the program spend?

Answer 2

A

Question 3

is research that determines whether a program is being implemented as designed.

A) Cost-benefit analysis
B) Basic research
C) Needs assessment
D) Process evaluation
E) Formative analysis

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Ethical concerns in applied research

A) are probably less important than in basic research.
B) are equally important as in basic research.
C) are only significant to the community members.
D) are only significant to the researchers.
E) none of these.

Question 5

Stakeholders are

A) persons who control the finances of projects.
B) found in Institutional Review Board panels.
C) people or groups affected by a program.
D) applied researchers.
E) none of these are true.

Question 6

In the focal research by Harrison and Norton-Hawk,what kind of evaluation research was completed?

A) process evaluation
B) applied
C) needs assessment
D) cost effectiveness
E) participatory action research

Question 7

Which of the following is not a question typically asked in a cost effectiveness study?

A) How expensive is the program?
B) How effective is the program?
C) Is the program worth doing?
D) Is the program saving money?
E) How does this program compare with alternative programs?

Question 8

In process evaluation the goal is

A) to see whether there is an effect on a program.
B) to see how big the effect of a program is.
C) to try to pinpoint how something works.
D) to find out what aspects of the program contribute to the effect.
E) to try to pinpoint how something works and to find out what aspects of the program contribute to the effect.

Question 9

What type of research is used to solve immediate social problems?

A) applied research
B) basic research
C) participatory action research
D) both applied and participatory action research
E) experimental research.

Question 10

What was the program used for evaluation in the focal research by Harrison and Norton-Hawk?

A) a women's shelter in Ecuador
B) a children's shelter in Ecuador
C) a men's prison in Ecuador
D) a women's prison in Ecuador
E) none of these.

Question 11

When selecting an evaluation strategy,which of the following is not usually an important factor?

A) the educational level of program staff
B) the study's intended audience
C) the resources available for the evaluation
D) the kinds of information needed
E) all of these are important factors for evaluation strategies

Question 12

If the independent variable affects the dependent variable,this is called ahypothesis.

A) false
B) causal
C) controlled
D) spurious
E) none of these

Question 13

Typically,evaluation research is intended to

A) provide information about the history of the program or policy.
B) inform program participants about the goals of the program or policy.
C) create knowledge that is of general interest to scientists studying social policy.
D) assess the impact of a specific program or policy.
E) evaluate the expenses a program has incurred.

Question 14

Formative analysis usually occurs

A) when the program is completed.
B) whenever the evaluation team is called in to perform an evaluation.
C) in the early stages of program development and design.
D) after the program has been denied funding.
E) before the program has been implemented.

Question 15

Most social research

A) is exclusively applied research.
B) is exclusively basic research.
C) balances applied and basic research.
D) focuses on evaluation or process research.
E) includes both participatory action research and needs assessment.

Question 16

By the end of an outcome evaluation,researchers should be able to

A) answer questions about the program's success and ways that the program or policy can better serve its target population.
B) identify groups not served by the program or policy.
C) identify reasons why the program was designed the way it was.
D) suggest ways that programs like the one being evaluated can better work together.
E) determine the specific costs the program has spent.

Question 17

Participatory action research

A) involves reporting to funders on the behavior of participants in the research setting.
B) involves researchers as subjects of investigation.
C) involves researchers working with community members to empower a community.
D) should not be done because it may not be value free.
E) is also considered basic research.

Question 18

Evaluation research is distinguished from basic research by

A) its immediate usefulness.
B) its contribution to the development of scientific theory.
C) its specific practical implications.
D) its immediate usefulness and its specific practical implications.
E) none of these.

Question 19

Process evaluations or implementation studies provide information about

A) the initial costs versus the initial benefits of the program or policy.
B) the faithfulness of the program to its original design.
C) the way that the target population uses program services.
D) the size or scale of the program's intended effects.
E) Input-output analysis.

Question 20

Which type of evaluation research is best used in the early implantation stages of the program or policy?

A) needs assessment
B) formative
C) cost benefit
D) process
E) none of these

Question 21

Unlike other kinds of applied research,participatory action research engages the subjects in all aspects of the research process.

Question 22

Basic research is intended to be immediately useful to program managers and policy makers.

Question 23

In participatory action research,research groups are usually composed of

A) academics only.
B) professionals and ordinary people.
C) community members who depend on the expertise of academics.
D) community members who depend on the technical skills of academics.
E) community members who depend on both the expertise and technical skills of academics.

Question 24

In participatory action research,the researcher must be intimately involved in the community.

Question 25

The tasks involved in an evaluation are mainly determined by the needs and interests of stakeholders and the stage of development of a program.

Question 26

Evaluation research is a scientific method that does not need to consider who the intended audience is for its findings.

Question 27

Which of the following statements is accurate?

A) Evaluation research does not have issues with validity or reliability.
B) Evaluation research is likely valid but not reliable.
C) Evaluation research is likely reliable but not valid.
D) Evaluation research is neither valid nor reliable.
E) Evaluation researchers must balance issues of reliability and validity with practicality.

Question 28

There are basically two kinds of evaluation: outcome evaluations and cost-benefit evaluations.

Question 29

Most social research is exclusively applied or basic research.

Question 30

Stakeholders are people who are affected by a program.

Question 31

Participatory research involves

A) getting permission from authorities first.
B) projects that are done with the community, not to the community.
C) projects that are more academia based and less community based.
D) both projects that are done with the community, not to the community as well as getting permission from the authorities first.
E) none of these

Question 32

The findings from the focal research by Harrison and Norton-Hawk revealed that women in prisons in Ecuador experienced hardships that were no different than the hardships experienced by women in the U.S.

Question 33

Cost-benefit analysis is used to determine if the program saves money for program participants.

Question 34

Impact analysis seeks to determine the utility of programs or treatments.

Question 35

Participatory action research

A) is generally not successful.
B) differs from conventional research in that researchers are able to see the impact of their work.
C) is less time consuming than conventional research.
D) is not ideologically bound.
E) none of these.

Question 36

A researcher is interested in improving the effectiveness of a local food shelf.She is using basic research.

Question 37

Cost-benefit analysis weighs both the direct and indirect expenditures of a program against the direct and indirect benefits of a program.

Question 38

Evaluation research design includes choices about study design,measurement techniques,sample selection,and methods for analyzing data.

Question 39

Participatory action research

A) asks research questions that have implications for social change.
B) increases the involvement of researchers in the research process.
C) is more objective than traditional social science research methods.
D) is useful to social scientists because its findings address the needs of many constituencies.
E) none of these.

Question 40

Evaluation research is a kind of applied research.

Question 41

Imagine that you would like to do a piece of applied research that focuses on a group in your community,such as a shelter for homeless people,a literacy program,a neighborhood preservation association,a local girls or boys club,volunteer services for an animal organization or any group of interest.How would you go about designing a possible participatory action research project,based on the guidelines described in your text? Be sure to discuss issues concerning practicality,feasibility,stakeholders,ethics,and proposed benefits.

Question 42

Stakeholders are individuals or groups who participate in or have an interest in a program or a policy.Stakeholders can include program staff,funders,program participants,legislators,community groups,parents,and others.In the hypothetical case of a one-year intensive special reading program that is designed to increase the reading skills of third grade students at the Grant Urban Elementary School,discuss how and why these various stakeholders might react to an evaluation study that found that the program was not producing any significant improvement in students' reading skills.Be sure to consider the point of view of as many stakeholders as possible (e.g.,teachers,parents,school board officials,students,business community members,etc.)What might different stakeholders say about the evaluation study itself?

Question 43

What are the basic differences between basic and applied research? What is the purpose of basic and applied research?

Question 44

Say you have developed a new program to combat students dropping out of college after their first year of attendance.What kind of program evaluation would be necessary to evaluate this program within the first few years to see if it is effective? Why is this type of program evaluation best?

Question 45

Consider an existing program at your college/university.How would you go about evaluating that program?