Deck 1: Through the Lens of Science

Question 1

The scientific method may be considered apart from science

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Selecting an area to be researched and defining the problem to be investigated are steps that are taken for granted and, therefore, are unimportant.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Researchers use their senses and precision instruments such as computers to observe and record the subject under investigation.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Only selected social sciences study human societies and human behavior.

Question 5

Sociology deals with the study and comparison of preliterate societies.

Question 6

Economics is concerned with the universal problem of scarce resources and how

Question 7

Specialization results from the attempt to learn as much as possible about a small portion of knowledge.

Question 8

It is as easy to study people as it is to study inanimate objects or other animals.

Question 9

In participant observation, the researcher studies the subject in a laboratory setting.

Question 10

Participant observation is the social scientist's most trusted method of research.

Question 11

Verification is an important step in the scientific method.

Question 12

Research is used mainly to refute theories.

Question 13

Concepts, theories, and research constitute the scientific spirit.

Question 14

Psychology and sociology both study individuals in interaction.

Question 15

In a cross-sectional study, a broad spectrum of the population is surveyed at a specific point in time.

Question 16

Descriptive statistics convey the central tendency of a group of numbers.

Question 17

The mean, the median, and the mode are concepts used in participant observation.

Question 18

Controlling variables and observing the results is part of the case study.

Question 19

A longitudinal study is a survey taken on the same day throughout the country.

Question 20

Systematically and methodically are key words in scientific investigation.

Question 21

In defining the social sciences, which of the following phrases is the most appropriate:

A) rules for behavior
B) social philosophy
C) systematic and methodical study
D) study of individual behavior

Question 22

The research method in which the researcher controls one variable and observes and records the results is called:

A) case study
B) observation
C) experiment
D) social research

Question 23

A detailed investigation of a single social unit in order to study it in depth is:

A) a case study
B) participant observation
C) sample survey
D) laboratory experiment

Question 24

Human beings are born into a social world that is:

A) not of their own making
B) newly created in each generation
C) the result of cultural development over previous generations
D) totally beyond their control

Question 25

People manipulate the social world, which helps them to:

A) change the nature of the physical environment
B) adapt to the environment
C) take over the environment
D) regulate the environment

Question 26

Scientific conclusions are:

A) relative to time and place of study and subject to revision
B) absolute truths for all times
C) universally accepted
D) personal opinions of important scholars

Question 27

Scientific observations are based on:

A) controlled conditions
B) precision
C) organization of the data
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 28

The social sciences have:

A) more control over data than physics
B) complete objectivity
C) problems with studying people in laboratories
D) been accepted as equally valid as the physical sciences

Question 29

Scientists start an investigation with by:

A) selecting and defining a topic
B) verifying an hypothesis
C) analyzing data
D) replicating an experiment

Question 30

During the Enlightenment of the 18th century:

A) scholars emphasized the supernatural
B) scholars denied the possibility of a scientific study of humans
C) a number of scholars believed human social life could be studied scientifically
D) none of the above

Question 31

The Industrial Revolution:

A) eliminated social classes
B) made all social classes equal
C) created a class of industrial workers
D) none of the above

Question 32

Anthropology is restricted to the study of:

A) primitive peoples only
B) prehistoric peoples only
C) modern peoples only
D) none of the above

Question 33

Economics deals with:

A) production of goods and services
B) consumption of goods and services
C) distribution of goods and services
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 34

The social science that deals with human use of the natural environment is:

A) genetics
B) geography
C) chemistry
D) physiology

Question 35

History is often not considered a social science because:

A) its primary concern is to record events of the past
B) historians do not use computers
C) it does not study people
D) it is not based on evidence

Question 36

Political science stresses the study of:

A) government
B) state
C) power
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 37

Psychology deals with:

A) only violent behavior
B) only normal behavior
C) mental states of individual humans
D) groups of people in interaction

Question 38

The study of human group behavior is the definition of:

A) psychology
B) geology
C) sociology
D) none of the above

Question 39

Durkheim was one of the first scientific sociologists who studied:

A) suicide
B) mental illness
C) sex
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 40

A theory is a:

A) scientific law
B) set of concepts and generalizations
C) speculation about truth and beauty
D) hunch regarding reality

Question 41

The social sciences lack:

A) theories
B) concepts
C) scientific laws
D) generalizations

Question 42

Scientific research relates to:

A) controlled inquiry
B) relationships among variables
C) consideration of independent and dependent variables
D) none of the above
E) all of the above

Question 43

A sample survey deals with:

A) an entire population
B) a statistically valid section of a population
C) eating samples at various supermarkets
D) asking people who walk by to fill out questionnaires

Question 44

An intensive study of an individual or a small group is made by using the following research method:

A) case study
B) cross sectional sample
C) longitudinal sample
D) experiment

Question 45

An anthropologist living with a group of people and engaging in some of their rituals is using the following research method:

A) sample survey
B) participant observation
C) statistical survey
D) experiment

Question 46

Experiments are:

A) the most common method of social investigation
B) based on controlling a variable and observing the results
C) not used in the study of humans
D) valid only if performed on white mice

Question 47

Objectivity means:

A) precision
B) taking nothing for granted
C) eliminating bias
D) repeating observations

Question 48

Skepticism refers to:

A) impartiality
B) doubting
C) repetition
D) precision

Question 49

Once a social scientist has formulated the hypothesis, what is the next step of the scientific method?

A) Generalization
B) Developing a research design
C) Data analysis
D) Replication

Question 50

The scientific method contains all but one of the following techniques:

A) scientific observation
B) systematic collection of data
C) making data public
D) selecting data to prove a point

Question 51

The current trend in the social sciences is toward:

A) statistical and quantitative ways of investigating human behavior
B) a totally value free approach
C) using the findings of the social sciences to reform society
D) using whatever technique seems best to fit

Question 52

The study and comparative analysis of preliterate societies is one of the chief concerns of:

A) sociology
B) psychology
C) anthropology
D) history

Question 53

For the better part of recorded history, knowledge about social relationships was principally based on:

A) scientific investigation
B) speculation
C) inspiration
D) measurement

Question 54

Scientific observation in the social sciences differs from that in the natural sciences because:

A) the social sciences deal with the behavior of people
B) the social sciences deal with the extraterrestrial
C) the social sciences have developed concrete laws of behavior, while the natural sciences have only theories
D) people's behavior is predictable, while the behavior of inanimate objects is not

Question 55

Which of the following is FALSE? Scientific observation:

A) must proceed systematically
B) must occur under controlled conditions
C) yields valid data with classification, organization, or recording
D) is open to anyone who wants to pursue it

Question 56

All but WHICH of the following characteristics of humans led to the development of science?

A) Blushing
B) Curiosity
C) Fascination with the self
D) The use of reason

Question 57

It is true of science that:

A) it is a body of knowledge organized in a logical manner
B) it is not concerned with the method of acquiring knowledge
C) it does not include the method of investigation
D) its content is more important than its method

Question 58

The first step in the scientific method is:

A) obtaining a government grant
B) classification and organization of data
C) selection of area to be researched
D) observation and recording of data

Question 59

It is true that the differences among the social sciences:

A) are differences of vantage point
B) are a matter of stress
C) consist of the examination of various facets of a social universe
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 60

The scientific method in the social sciences:

A) is as effective as in the natural sciences
B) is hampered by difficulties in attaining objectivity
C) has led to great discoveries in the human knowledge of the physical universe
D) has been found to be totally useless

Question 61

Which of the following is NOT an example of a subject investigated by social scientists?

A) The functioning of supply and demand
B) Case study of an urban gay community
C) The interaction of various drugs in humans.
D) The course of population growth and decline

Question 62

Intuition, authority, tradition, and common sense:

A) have been totally replaced by the scientific method
B) are all equally valid tools of inquiry
C) are still used as tools of inquiry
D) are just as exact as the scientific method

Question 63

When gathering data, the scientist is required to exhibit all BUT which one of the following traits?

A) Courage
B) Patience
C) Ethical neutrality
D) Social involvement

Question 64

The hypothesis is a statement of:

A) a universal truth
B) the scientist's conclusions
C) a tentative statement of a topic that is subject to testing
D) disagreement with a generally accepted theory

Question 65

The social sciences first emerged:

A) as a method of social control
B) as a search for universal social laws
C) to systematically apply common sense to issues
D) to defend the established order

Question 66

The social sciences were initially concerned with the consequences of:

A) the American Revolution
B) the French Revolution
C) the Russian Revolution
D) the Industrial Revolution

Question 67

Concepts in the social sciences:

A) resemble common-sense notions
B) reflect the biases of their authors
C) differ considerably from the generally understood versions
D) are vaguely defined

Question 68

Social science theories:

A) have the force of laws
B) are open to challenge
C) are little more than educated guesses
D) always express ideological preferences

Question 69

The social sciences have no laws because:

A) social scientists are a lawless group
B) social science research techniques are flawed
C) the various disciplines squabble among themselves
D) none of the above

Question 70

The opposite of a variable is a:

A) law
B) concept
C) value
D) constant

Question 71

Variables that exercise influence on other variables are called:

A) independent variables
B) constants
C) dependent variables
D) none of the above

Question 72

The scientist's skepticism extends to:

A) the value of scientific objectivity
B) his or her own credentials
C) his or her own findings
D) the usefulness of scientific inquiry

Question 73

Ethical neutrality is the opposite of:

A) objectivity
B) judgmental social science
C) generalization
D) participant observation

Question 74

A trained observer:

A) knows what to expect
B) knows which data are relevant to the research problem
C) records everything that he or she sees
D) is most at home in experimental settings

Question 75

A case study is most useful when:

A) limited research funds are available
B) no hypothesis can be formulated
C) events under consideration are rare
D) facts must be established

Question 76

Experiments:

A) are conducted in both field and laboratory settings
B) involve the risk that people may modify their behavior
C) must involve control groups of some kind
D) all of the above

Question 77

Correlation differs from causation in that correlation:

A) precedes causation
B) only indicates a probable relation
C) occurs purely by chance
D) occurs among more than two variables

Question 78

A researcher will settle for pinpointing a correlation when:

A) a causal relationship is of no consequence
B) a causal relationship is difficult to prove
C) variables are vaguely defined
D) research monies are not forthcoming

Question 79

Every hypothesis must:

A) predict a relationship between two factors
B) be general
C) be based on scientific theory
D) predict a causal relationship

Question 80

Repeating a research project is called:

A) verification
B) generalization
C) replication
D) validation