Deck 14: Reading and Writing in Social Research: It's All About Communication

Question 1

Which of the following sequences most accurately describes the process leading to the preparation of a research proposal?

A) Formulate research question $\rightarrow$ locate relevant research literature $\rightarrow$ read prior research
B) Locate relevant research literature $\rightarrow$ read prior research $\rightarrow$ formulate research question
C) Read prior research $\rightarrow$ locate relevant research literature $\rightarrow$ formulate research question
D) Locate relevant research literature $\rightarrow$ formulate research question $\rightarrow$ read prior research

Answer 1

Locate relevant research literature $\rightarrow$ read prior research $\rightarrow$ formulate research question

Question 2

Reading and evaluating research reported in books may involve all but which one of the following?

A) Keeping a record of publication details such as author, title, and publication date
B) Evaluating the soundness of the methodology
C) Taking notes and asking questions about the research
D) Determining whether the book is peer reviewed

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following sections of a research report correctly matches its purpose?

A) Introduction: provides a brief overview of the research, including the major findings
B) Literature review: states why the research question is of general interest and importance
C) Methods: describes the statistical analyses performed on the data
D) Discussion: briefly restates the basic problem, findings, and limitations of the research

Answer 3

D

Question 4

According to the ASA Style Guide for in-text citations and references,

A) it is only necessary to cite sources that are directly quoted.
B) in-text citations should include the author(s) and year of publication.
C) all in-text citations should include relevant page numbers.
D) all in-text citations should include the names of all the authors of cited works.

Question 5

Whether a scholarly article is peer reviewed is a good indicator of its credibility.

Question 6

For beginning researchers conducting small-scale projects, it may be worthwhile to replicate a previous study.

Question 7

A research proposal usually differs substantially from the final research report because researchers have no idea what they will find.

Question 8

The methods section of a qualitative study often provides a chronological account of the research.

Question 9

Refer to the figure.
Figure 14.2 provides a flowchart of the process of reading and writing social research. The model applies best to quantitative research. Based on your reading of Chapters 9 and 13, create a flowchart that describes the process of reading and writing as it occurs in qualitative research.