Deck 1: Introducing Social Research

Question 1

Which of the following describe(s) a scientific approach to learning?

A) avoiding overgeneralization
B) subjecting findings to public scrutiny
C) making public a written record of findings
D) all of these (a, b, c)

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Comparison is important in social research because

A) much research makes comparisons designed to test an "if ... then" statement.
B) values of the dependent variable that differ among categories of the independent variable imply some idea about causality, which requires comparison.
C) an "if ... then" comparison generally indicates the possibility of a cause-and-effect relationship.
D) all of these (a, b, c)

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Science learning extends everyday learning because science learning

A) pays much greater extensive attention to producing valid and reliable measurements.
B) pays close attention to control of competing explanations for what seem to be causal relationships.
C) subjects its findings to "peer review."
D) all of these (a, b, c)

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which example in chapter 1 does not contain an "if ... then" comparison?

A) proximity of schools and use of contraception
B) drugs on campus
C) sticky theory beliefs about the death penalty
D) all contain an "if ... then" comparison.

Question 5

Sticky theory suggests

A) that people tend to retain their existing beliefs despite compelling evidence to the contrary.
B) the value of skepticism as a strong norm in science.
C) that everyone holds tightly to ideas and refuses to acknowledge contrary evidence at least sometimes.
D) all of these (a, b, c)

Question 6

Scientific approaches bring skepticism to learning and decision-making.

Question 7

Science replaces everyday learning.

Question 8

By going into the campus lounge, the "Scrounge," researcher obtained valid information about heroin use.

Question 9

IRBs evaluate research proposals for possible problems in sample size and other design issues.

Question 10

The IV is the result of a research study.

Question 11

Theory seldom includes unmeasurable constructs.

Question 12

A control variable is used to test the association between two variables of interest.

Question 13

A positive relationship is where knowledge of one variable reduces to zero uncertainty about another variable.

Question 14

"Exhaustive variable categories" means that the categories of the variable do not overlap.

Question 15

Marital status is a variable usually measured at the interval level.

Question 16

A correlation of 0.60 is stronger than a correlation of −0.60.

Question 17

"How old were you on your last birthday?" has low face validity for measuring a respondent's age.

Question 18

The Belmont Report no longer requires disaster researchers to obtain written consent from research participants.

Question 19

A natural zero includes 0 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale and 0 on an IQ test.

Question 20

A natural zero is not needed for measures that are only added and subtracted.

Question 21

Parsimony is simplicity in science.

Question 22

Judging people or events by too few examples is called overgeneralization.

Question 23

An operational definition describes what you are going to collect and how you will collect it.

Question 24

One method of assessing accuracy of a measure is face validity.

Question 25

"Falsifiability" means that the result of observations could disconfirm the theory.

Question 26

Science is important because it can provide proof, such as when ideas are extensively tested.

Question 27

There is a negative cause-and-effect relationship between wearing a beard and wearing a dress.

Question 28

"Team chemistry" is too complex and difficult a concept to be a testable hypothesis.

Question 29

"Movie-going habits" could be measured as a nominal, ordinal or ratio variable.

Question 30

Knowing the types of measures in a research project is important to decide what test statistics can be used.