Deck 3: Social Research

Question 1

_______________ is a fact-gathering and fact-explaining enterprise governed by strict rules.

A)Research
B)Theory
C)Sociological theory
D)A perspective

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Sociological research is guided by

A)methods unique to the discipline.
B)a passion to change society.
C)emotion and personal interest.
D)the scientific method.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

'Duplication is the heart of good research.' This means that

A)no findings can be taken seriously unless others can repeat the process and obtain the same results.
B)the researcher does the study twice under different conditions.
C)the research is published at least twice.
D)two sets of reviewers reach the same evaluation of the research.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A research study focusing on the activity around a border station, such as the amount of time it takes a car to pass through is examining

A)traces.
B)documents.
C)territories.
D)small groups.

Question 5

The most common 'thing' sociologists study is

A)documents.
B)individuals.
C)small group.
D)households.

Question 6

The plan for gathering data on the topic a researcher has chosen is known as the

A)scientific method.
B)hypothesis.
C)research design.
D)hidden curriculum.

Question 7

A research study of litter that undocumented immigrants leave behind on the paths used to enter South Africa is examining

A)traces.
B)documents.
C)territories.
D)small groups.

Question 8

Perhaps one of the most significant and most often understated reasons a researcher chooses to study a specific topic is

A)that funding is available.
B)sociological appeal.
C)personal interest.
D)to understand how society works.

Question 9

When there is a likely chance that any member of the population will be selected for a sample, the sample is said to be

A)controlled.
B)biased.
C)random.
D)non-random.

Question 10

A research study observing a group of 12 security guards as they patrol a suburb is examining

A)traces.
B)documents.
C)territories.
D)small groups.

Question 11

Which of the following is a false statement about the characteristics of high-quality sociological research?

A)Once a sociological study is completed, findings and conclusions are considered final.
B)Sociologists collect data that is observable to others.
C)Sociological findings endure as long as they can be duplicated and as long as they can withstand re-examination.
D)Sociologists do not let personal and subjective views about the topic influence the outcome of the research.

Question 12

Which one of the following examples shows what sociologists study when they focus on traces?

A)Household income
B)Interaction between border officials and taxi passengers
C)Doctor-patient relationships
D)The number of lights turned on in homes at a particular time of day

Question 13

Researchers distribute surveys to 100 residences in order to collect data on the combined income of all people living there and to determine the number of computers per residence.They have chosen to study

A)traces.
B)households.
C)territories.
D)documents.

Question 14

A research study analysing letters undocumented workers have sent home to family members is examining

A)traces.
B)documents.
C)territories.
D)small groups.

Question 15

Which one of the following assumptions applies to the scientific method?

A)Knowledge is always subjective.
B)Research findings can be manipulated to advance a good cause.
C)Truth is confirmed through faith.
D)Knowledge is acquired through observation.

Question 16

Researchers should maintain objectivity.This means they should

A)stay away from topics in which they have a personal interest.
B)not accept funding.
C)clearly define the objects of their investigation.
D)not let personal and subjective views about the topic influence the observations or outcome.

Question 17

Sociologists adhere to the scientific method, which means that they acquire data through

A)testing.
B)surveys.
C)observation.
D)personal interviews.

Question 18

A sampling frame is

A)a complete list of every case in a population.
B)a portion of cases from a particular population.
C)the plan for gathering data to test hypotheses.
D)a sample with the same distribution of characteristics as the population from which it is drawn.

Question 19

___________ are materials or other evidence that yields information about human activity, including items that people throw away or the number of lights left on in homes at a particular time.

A)Traces
B)Documents
C)Territories
D)Households

Question 20

______ are powerful thinking tools and communication tools that enable researchers to efficiently give and receive complex information.

A)Concepts
B)Theories
C)Methods
D)Facts

Question 21

This data-gathering method does not include the possibility that the researcher's facial expression or body language will influence respondents to answer in a particular way.This method is

A)structured interviews.
B)unstructured interviews.
C)participant observation.
D)self-administered questionnaires.

Question 22

For the Gender Concepts of Swedish and American Youth study, researchers distributed surveys to Swedish and American teens.The instructions asked them to list attributes they thought 'characterized most women, most men, most boys, most girls, and themselves; to write "change-sex stories" about what their lives would be like if they found they had become the other sex'.The researchers used which one of the following methods?

A)Self-administered questionnaire
B)Non-participant observation
C)Participant observation
D)Secondary sources

Question 23

The research for the book Unbound Feet drew upon '45 years of a Chinese language newspaper and numerous organizational archives, such as the Presbyterian Mission Homes, the Chinese YWCA, the Square and Circles Club, and the Chinese Ladies Garment Workers Union'.The researchers used which one of the following methods?

A)Self-administered questionnaire
B)Non-participant observation
C)Participant observation
D)Secondary sources

Question 24

A group of Grade 4 learners are observed to determine whether a new teaching method increases learner participation in class.The learners are aware that they are part of a study and as a result they actively participate in class.This is the result of

A)lack of government school funding.
B)negotiated order.
C)the Hawthorne Effect.
D)reliability.

Question 25

Researchers choose to study non-representative samples for all but which one of the following reasons.

A)They are easy to study.
B)When little is known about the members who make up the sample.
C)When those in the sample have special or unique characteristics.
D)When the experiences of those in the sample help to clarify important social issues.

Question 26

The US census form, which is mailed out to every household every 10 years, is an example of

A)an experiment.
B)an observation.
C)a self-administered questionnaire.
D)secondary research.

Question 27

Which of the following would be the best option to obtain a representative sample of students at your university?

A)Ask students eating in the cafeteria at lunchtime to participate in an important study.
B)At random, draw a list of students from the most recent applications list.
C)Stop people as they are walking to cars in the parking lot and ask them to participate.
D)Go to all the sociology classes and recruit students to participate in a project.

Question 28

The dependent variable in the hypothesis 'Retired populations have a higher suicide rate than employed populations' is

A)employment status.
B)suicide rate.
C)retired populations.
D)employed populations.

Question 29

In a structured interview, the question-answer sequence

A)is largely spontaneous.
B)resembles a conversation.
C)is set in advance.
D)can be altered.

Question 30

Observational techniques are especially useful for all but one of the following purposes.

A)Learning about large numbers of people at one time.
B)Studying behaviour as it occurs.
C)Learning information that cannot be surveyed easily.
D)Acquiring the viewpoint of people under observation.

Question 31

An unintended effect resulting from the attention one receives from being the subject of the research is the

A)Hawthorne Effect.
B)latent effect.
C)special subject effect.
D)experimental effect.

Question 32

In an unstructured interview, the question-answer sequence is

A)forced-choice.
B)set in advance.
C)rigid and cannot be altered.
D)flexible and open-ended.

Question 33

The variable that helps to explain and predict the behaviour of interest is known as the ______ variable.

A)independent
B)dependent
C)control
D)spurious

Question 34

Researcher Kandi Stinson spent two years as a weight loss group member, 'studying how women spoke about and understood losing weight'.Stinson used which one of the following methods?

A)Self-administered questionnaire
B)Non-participant observation
C)Participant observation
D)Secondary sources

Question 35

When engaged in __________, researchers must be especially careful not to misinterpret or misrepresent what is happening.

A)structured interviews
B)unstructured interviews
C)observation research
D)survey research

Question 36

The dependent variable in the hypothesis 'the longer a U.S.line worker has been employed at a U.S.-based assembly plant, the more time it takes for that worker to find new employment when the assembly plant moves to Mexico' is

A)employment at US based assembly plant.
B)assembly plants in Mexico.
C)the length of time employed at line work in US assembly plant.
D)the length of time to find new employment.

Question 37

In research, the variable to be explained or predicted is known as

A)the dependent variable.
B)the independent variable.
C)the hypothesis.
D)the control variable

Question 38

The independent variable in the hypothesis 'the longer a U.S.line worker has been employed at a U.S.-based assembly plant, the more difficult it is for that worker to find new employment when the assembly plant moves to Mexico' is

A)employment at US based assembly plant.
B)assembly plants in Mexico.
C)the length of time employed at line work in US assembly plant.
D)the length of time to find new employment.

Question 39

The independent variable in the hypothesis 'Retired populations have a higher suicide rate than employed populations' is

A)employment status.
B)suicide rate.
C)retired populations.
D)employed populations.

Question 40

If a researcher decides to live with his or her subjects for a month, the researcher is using ____________.

A)structured interviews.
B)self-administered questionnaires.
C)observation research.
D)survey research.

Question 41

A trial explanation predicting a relationship between independent and dependent variables is a(n)

A)hypothesis.
B)theory.
C)fact.
D)observation.

Question 42

Researchers do not always follow in order the steps of scientific method.

Question 43

The dependent variable in the hypothesis 'the more proficient in English undocumented immigrants are, the less likely they are to be apprehended by Border Patrol' is likelihood of apprehension.

Question 44

The question 'Is this operational definition really measuring what it claims to measure?' addresses concerns surrounding

A)sampling.
B)validity.
C)reliability.
D)correlations.

Question 45

It is impossible to compile a list of topics that sociologists study.

Question 46

Personal interest should not be a factor in choosing a topic for research.

Question 47

University staff announce that 90 per cent of the student body support starting a football team.The sample consisted of 200 students who returned a survey that appeared in the campus newspaper.On the basis of this information, one could question the study with regard to

A)reliability.
B)generalisability.
C)validity.
D)the unit of analysis.

Question 48

Researchers should never hide their identity and purpose from those they are observing.

Question 49

A researcher finds a strong correlation between shoe size and reading ability in primary school children - the larger the shoe size the better a child is at reading.However, this does not mean having a large shoe size causes a child to read well.Instead, an intervening variable - age - causes both shoe size and reading ability to increase.This accidental relationship between shoe size and reading ability is known as

A)a dependent variable.
B)a spurious correlation.
C)the 'no child left behind' phenomenon.
D)the standard deviation.

Question 50

Structured interviews are flexible and open-ended in style.

Question 51

A spurious correlation is one that is

A)planned.
B)coincidental or accidental.
C)causal.
D)spontaneous.

Question 52

Under which one of the following conditions are findings from a sample not generalisable to a larger population?

A)The sample is a series of interesting case studies.
B)The response rate is high.
C)Almost all the subjects agree to participate.
D)The sample is random.

Question 53

Sociology is distinguished from other disciplines not by the topics it studies but by the perspective it uses to study any topic.

Question 54

If research is good, it does not require theory.

Question 55

Researchers can manipulate data if the deception supports well-intentioned personal, economic, and political agendas.

Question 56

A researcher studying hand washing uses guidelines set by the Department of Health to determine if hand washing has taken place: use warm or hot running water and soap while washing for 10 to 15 seconds all surfaces, including wrists, palms, backs of hands, and under fingernails.This guideline is considered

A)an operational definition.
B)the Hawthorne Effect.
C)a correlation.
D)a test.

Question 57

A professor tells a class that exams will cover information from class lectures, class discussion, and reading assignments.However, the exam includes questions related to only reading assignments.Students complain because the exam is

A)not reliable.
B)not valid.
C)not reliable or valid.
D)objective.

Question 58

If one respondent gives different answers to the same question at two different points in time, the researcher should be concerned about

A)reliability.
B)validity.
C)representativeness.
D)the Hawthorne Effect.

Question 59

__________ are concrete and specific criteria for observing and measuring independent and dependent variables.

A)Operational definitions
B)Hypotheses
C)Units of analysis
D)Traces

Question 60

Information gathered through sociological research is pretty much just common sense.

Question 61

Validity is the extent to which an operational definition gives consistent results.