Deck 2: How Sociologists Do Research

Question 1

If you label all of the people seated in your classroom as "students," which process are you using?

A) observation
B) conceptualization
C) classification
D) organization

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following terms best describes the thought process of grouping all chairs-wooden, metal, upholstered, and hard-into a single category?

A) observation
B) conceptualization
C) concretization
D) operationalization

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Where is the abstract level of experience located?

A) in the mind
B) in percepts
C) in sensations
D) in perceptual patterns

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Consider this statement: "People with more intelligence have better sex lives." What does this statement exemplify?

A) a pattern
B) a concept
C) a percept
D) a proposition

Question 5

What must an individual do in order to form a proposition?

A) Find a relationship between percepts.
B) Find a relationship between concepts.
C) Perceive patterns.
D) Perceive isolated percepts.

Question 6

The textbook makes a point that concrete level of experience is, by itself, which of the following?

A) meaningless
B) meaningful
C) reliable
D) unreliable

Question 7

John tells Renée, "If you work hard you can get ahead, because my parents told me that this has happened to several people they know." What type of unscientific thinking is John guilty of?

A) traditional thinking
B) casual observation
C) authoritative observation
D) overgeneralization

Question 8

Which of the following terms refers to knowledge based on customary assumptions that may or may not be accurate?

A) grounded thinking
B) scientific thinking
C) unscientific thinking
D) groundless thinking

Question 9

Research has found that many television viewers watch only news broadcasts on channels that support their political views and never tune in to those that advocate opposing political views. This increases the likelihood of which type of unscientific thinking?

A) selective observation
B) casual observation
C) illogical reasoning
D) mystification

Question 10

Two observers standing on a street corner saw an automobile accident. While both observers witnessed the same event, they disagreed over which driver was responsible for the accident. What does this situation illustrate?

A) systematic observation
B) casual observation
C) direct observation
D) indirect observation

Question 11

Every year, before farmers plant their crops, a community holds a parade. While the parade does not influence the harvest in any demonstrable way, some community members believe that a good parade increases the crop yield. What does this example illustrate?

A) sociological thinking
B) scientific thinking
C) formal thinking
D) traditional thinking

Question 12

"Canada should have less inequality." What kind of statement is this?

A) a concrete pattern
B) an abstract pattern
C) a concrete proposition
D) an abstract proposition

Question 13

Which of the following represents a pattern?

A) a collection of notes in a song
B) a letter in a word in a book
C) a dot on a page in a graph
D) a brick in a wall in a garden

Question 14

What are the basic units of the abstract level of experience?

A) percepts
B) patterns
C) concepts
D) propositions

Question 15

At which level of experience do seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, and hearing occur?

A) the abstract level
B) the symbolic level
C) the concrete level
D) the sensate level

Question 16

Life is meaningful for humans because of which level of experience?

A) the abstract level
B) the traditional level
C) the concrete level
D) the sensate level

Question 17

According to the textbook, what is the aim of sociological research?

A) to generate meaningful abstract propositions
B) to identify reliable and valid concrete patterns
C) to link abstract patterns to concrete propositions
D) to connect abstract and concrete levels of experience

Question 18

Which of the following is a feature of concrete experience as discussed in the textbook?

A) It is meaningful in and of itself.
B) It defines humans as separate from all living beings.
C) It is accessible only to the most sensitive humans.
D) It occurs among all living beings.

Question 19

What does the textbook example of OTTFFSSENT demonstrate?

A) Our understanding of reality is shaped by our experience.
B) Our experience is shaped by objective reality.
C) Children perceive reality more objectively than adults.
D) Adults perceive reality more objectively than children.

Question 20

At what level of experience do patterns occur?

A) the abstract level
B) the symbolic level
C) the concrete level
D) the sensate level

Question 21

Professor Luton's research in rural South Africa relies on a complete list of households in the study area from which she selects a few households to study more in-depth. What do the selected households represent?

A) research reliability
B) population
C) sample
D) control variable

Question 22

When conducting research with human beings, what must sociologists respect?

A) the reputation of their university
B) the need for public information
C) the research participants' rights
D) the need for scientific knowledge

Question 23

The textbook discusses 10 types of unscientific thinking. Which of the following is one of them?

A) consistent observation
B) subjective observation
C) premature closure of inquiry
D) irrational investigation

Question 24

In research on mass media, several researchers watch the same content independently and then compare their interpretations of it. What aspect of research does this procedure improve?

A) objectivity
B) sampling
C) subjectivity
D) observation

Question 25

A sports commentator insists that football teams from Florida cannot win in cold weather, because these teams have lost 55 percent of their past games when played in cold weather. Which form of knowledge does this statement represent?

A) overgeneralization
B) generalization
C) the exception to the rule
D) illogical reasoning

Question 26

Which of the following best distinguishes quantitative research from qualitative?

A) deduction
B) insider's viewpoint
C) confidentiality
D) case studies

Question 27

Some students think that Introduction to Sociology is a difficult course. What would a scientist use to confirm whether or not this statement is accurate?

A) reviewing the literature
B) logical thinking
C) empirical evidence
D) personal experience

Question 28

Tamar has read that women often take over the role of family communicator. She formulates the following hypothesis: "Women who have recently immigrated to Canada will learn English or French sooner than men from the same families." Her hypothesis is a product of which process?

A) induction
B) deduction
C) generalization
D) specification

Question 29

Tanya, a chemistry major, and Elise, a sociology major, are roommates. One evening when studying for their midterms, Tanya asserted that sociologists don't "do" science. Elise disagreed, saying that sociologists do science, but with one major difference. What is the primary difference that Elise would cite?

A) Sociologists do not follow a prescribed method for researching.
B) Sociologists have to consider the meaningful action that underlies data collection.
C) Chemistry is based on subjectivity and sociology is based on objectivity.
D) Chemistry is based on absolute truth and sociology is based on contextual truth.

Question 30

What does a quantitative research process begin with?

A) a theoretical idea
B) selecting a research method
C) a case study
D) collecting the data

Question 31

Schütz wrote that a researcher should adopt the attitude of a stranger toward the setting she studies. Which of the following viewpoints does Schütz favour?

A) an outsider's
B) an insider's
C) an expert's
D) an activist's

Question 32

A sociologist organizes a focus group about plagiarism at university. He knows that this topic may be stressful and embarrassing to student participants, so he tells them that study strategies will be discussed. Which requirement of research ethics is the sociologist violating?

A) anonymity
B) confidentiality
C) authenticity
D) informed consent

Question 33

What is the main advantage of an insider's viewpoint for acquiring knowledge of an organization?

A) a global perspective
B) extensive detail
C) a critical attitude
D) conformity to organizational rules

Question 34

What is the relationship between quantitative and qualitative research?

A) They are incompatible.
B) They are complementary.
C) They are mutually dependent.
D) Quantitative research is a type of qualitative research.

Question 35

Rather than asking a few questions about family life from a large number of respondents, qualitative researchers observe and describe a few families in detail. What process do they use to formulate general, abstract insights from their observations?

A) specification
B) deduction
C) generalization
D) induction

Question 36

What is the main advantage of an outsider's viewpoint for acquiring knowledge of an organization?

A) a critical attitude
B) extensive detail
C) a global perspective
D) disruption of organizational rules

Question 37

Jamie believes that if she steps on a crack in the sidewalk on her way to an exam, she will fail the exam. What form of unscientific thinking is Jamie demonstrating?

A) overgeneralization
B) premature closure of inquiry
C) the exception to the rule
D) mystification

Question 38

What underlying methodological principle is reflected in Comte's preferred name for sociology, "social physics"?

A) interpretivism
B) Verstehen
C) subjectivity
D) positivism

Question 39

Which principle of research ethics makes debriefing of research participants mandatory in some studies?

A) anonymity
B) authenticity
C) confidentiality
D) voluntary participation

Question 40

Which of the following best distinguishes qualitative research from quantitative?

A) hypotheses
B) statistical analysis
C) confidentiality
D) induction

Question 41

In the 1970s, a sociologist observed sexual encounters in public washrooms without revealing his identity to participants. He did not debrief the participants. Which characteristic of ethical research would debriefing have improved?

A) voluntary participation
B) harm minimization
C) authenticity
D) privacy

Question 42

What does the operationalization process do?

A) It translates concepts into variables.
B) It translates variables into hypotheses.
C) It translates patterns into propositions.
D) It translates patterns into hypotheses.

Question 43

Which of the following terms refers to a sociological construct that can have more than one value?

A) a variable
B) a hypothesis
C) a grounded theory
D) a construct

Question 44

According to the textbook's discussion of concepts and variables, which of the following best describes the term "alienation"?

A) It is an abstract concept lacking concrete properties.
B) It is an abstract concept possessing concrete properties.
C) It is a concrete variable without meaning.
D) It is a concrete variable with meaning.

Question 45

According to the textbook, what are sociological researchers interested in doing with abstract propositions?

A) generating them
B) confirming them
C) testing them
D) supporting them

Question 46

Which of the following terms refers to unverified but testable statements about the phenomena that researchers are interested in?

A) concepts
B) hypotheses
C) variables
D) theories

Question 47

A researcher decides to measure happiness by the number of times a person smiles each hour. Which statement best describes the relationship between happiness and smiling?

A) Both happiness and smiling are variables.
B) Both happiness and smiling are concepts.
C) Happiness is a concept and smiling a variable.
D) Happiness is a variable and smiling is a concept.

Question 48

What is used to select the members of an experimental group and a control group in an experiment?

A) a sampling frame
B) a representative sample
C) a probability sample
D) a randomization technique

Question 49

Which of the following terms refers to a carefully controlled artificial situation that allows researchers to isolate hypothesized causes and measure their effects precisely?

A) a survey
B) an observation
C) an experiment
D) a case study

Question 50

Robert recently purchased a Volkswagen Beetle, and was told by his insurance company he would have to pay higher premiums because it was red in colour. When asked to explain, the insurance agent said the company had accident history data that demonstrated red cars were involved in three times as many accidents. Robert analyzed the data and found that the red cars were predominantly high-speed sports cars. When he pointed this out, the insurance company readdressed its pricing policy. What did Robert discover?

A) a causal relationship
B) a spurious relationship
C) an a priori relationship
D) a curvilinear relationship

Question 51

A researcher decides to measure happiness by the number of times a person smiles each hour. What process has she accomplished?

A) measurement
B) operationalization
C) validation
D) specification

Question 52

Which principle of ethical research was violated in the Canadian government's research into health benefits of nutrition conducted in Aboriginal communities in the 1940s?

A) authenticity
B) privacy
C) harm minimization
D) voluntary participation

Question 53

During a research study on people's views toward crime, a sociologist was careful to make up false names for the research subjects rather than use their real names in the research. Why is this important?

A) Participants' rights to confidentiality must be ensured.
B) Participants must be protected from physical harm.
C) Participants' rights to anonymity must be ensured.
D) Authenticity of study must be ensured.

Question 54

A researcher decides to use income as a measure of social class position. Which of the following processes is this researcher engaging in?

A) operationalization
B) reactivity
C) grounded theory
D) instrumentation

Question 55

A professor was curious whether a 5 percent bonus mark would influence students to submit their term essays on time. Half the students were offered the bonus mark for on-time submission, and the other half were not offered any bonus marks. What kind of variable is the bonus mark incentive?

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

Question 56

A researcher who was interested in the influence of music on job motivation assigned one group to hear music while working and another group to not hear music while working. To determine which test subject would go into which group, the researcher flipped a coin. Which process of assignment was the researcher using?

A) establishing a control group
B) randomization
C) random sampling
D) establishing controls

Question 57

When Professor Lee states that a hypothesis is an "educated guess," what does she mean by "educated"?

A) It is based on empirical evidence.
B) It is based on speculation.
C) It is based on a theory.
D) It is based on an insider's viewpoint.

Question 58

In an experiment, how do the experimental and control groups differ?

A) Only the experimental group is measured on the dependent variable.
B) Only the control group is measured on the dependent variable.
C) Only the experimental group experiences the independent variable.
D) Only the control group experiences the dependent variable.

Question 59

Which outcome results from the process of randomization?

A) The experimental group experiences the independent variable.
B) The control group experiences the independent variable.
C) The experimental and control groups are equivalent on all variables.
D) The experimental and control groups are equivalent except for the experience of independent variable.

Question 60

What process translates an abstract concept into a testable variable?

A) measurement
B) validation
C) operationalization
D) abstraction

Question 61

If one variable changes systematically as the other changes, the variables are said to be which of the following?

A) identical
B) related
C) dependent
D) spurious

Question 62

Sooraj is planning a study of political opinions of francophone Canadians. He wishes to obtain statistically significant results, but fears that his research budget is too small. What is most likely to make statistically significant results doubtful in this situation?

A) too few closed-ended questions
B) too few open-ended questions
C) a large sample
D) a small sample

Question 63

A sociologist believes that high levels of education create the opportunity for higher-paying work after graduation. What type of variable is "level of education"?

A) an independent variable
B) a dependent variable
C) a spurious variable
D) a control variable

Question 64

Which of the following terms refers to the process whereby individuals are assigned to research groups by chance?

A) randomization
B) systematic sampling
C) experimentation
D) probability sampling

Question 65

A researcher is interested in the effect of violent media content on aggression. She exposes an all-female experimental group to a violent action drama and an all-male control group to a non-violent nature documentary. Which experimental requirement has the researcher violated?

A) precision of measurement
B) randomization
C) experimental control
D) authenticity

Question 66

Which of the following is the most common objection of sociologists to removing participants from their natural social settings to a laboratory in experimental research?

A) It is unethical.
B) It is stressful and traumatic.
C) It is detrimental to the validity of research findings.
D) It is unfair to minority participants.

Question 67

Suppose people are asked questions about their knowledge, attitudes, or behaviour in a face-to-face or telephone interview or using a "paper-and-pencil" format. What are they doing?

A) completing a survey
B) completing an answer-and-question session
C) carrying out an ethnographic interview
D) participating in an experiment

Question 68

Which concept is referred to in the following question: "Would another researcher interpret or measure the phenomenon in the same way"?

A) validity
B) generalizability
C) causality
D) reliability

Question 69

Zachary is taking a survey about television sets. The question about preferred screen size allows four options: 12" screen, 19" screen, 21" screen, and 25" screen. What kind of question is this an example of?

A) open-ended question
B) closed-ended question
C) essay question
D) non-response

Question 70

Fatima meets with Margarita, an immigrant woman without legal status, to discuss a potential research project. Margarita talks about her daily life and how she works without being identified by the authorities. Fatima becomes increasingly angry and frustrated to hear how Margarita was able to come to, and work in, this country without having to go through the costly legal procedures that Fatima's parents experienced. According to the textbook, why should Fatima NOT study Margarita?

A) Margarita may be identified and deported as a consequence of the research.
B) Margarita may disclose information harmful to other immigrants who do not have legal status.
C) Fatima's bias may result in drawing incorrect conclusions in her research.
D) Fatima may be required to reveal the sources of her research to the authorities.

Question 71

A researcher measures individual intelligence by the circumference of a person's head in centimetres. Which of the following statements best characterizes this measurement?

A) It has high reliability and high validity.
B) It has high reliability and low validity.
C) It has low reliability and high validity.
D) It has low reliability and low validity.

Question 72

Two sociologists studying a new religious movement are concerned that their interpretations are consistent. What issue are the two sociologists concerned about?

A) spuriousness
B) correlation
C) validity
D) reliability

Question 73

A researcher believes that colder temperatures lead to more snowfall. Which of the following terms refers to the amount of snowfall?

A) the independent variable
B) the dependent variable
C) the spurious variable
D) the sociological variable

Question 74

For what reason do people who are interviewed on a particular street corner not constitute an acceptable sample of Canadian adults?

A) The sample is unlikely to be representative.
B) The sample is too concentrated.
C) The sample will overlook children.
D) The reactivity will ruin the sample.

Question 75

A researcher studying a new religious movement is concerned whether he really understands why new members join the movement. What issue is the researcher concerned about?

A) validity
B) testing
C) authenticity
D) operationalization

Question 76

In explaining his research to a potential participant, Aashiq tells her that he wants to study the influence of a specific government policy on household finances in order to understand purchasing decisions in the family. Aashiq is required to give this much detail in order to obtain which of the following?

A) informed consent
B) financial records
C) government approval
D) authentic data

Question 77

A survey question asks "What do you think about current Canadian foreign policy?" and provides several lines for respondents to write their answers. Which of the following terms refers to this type of question?

A) a closed-ended question
B) an open-ended question
C) a fact-based question
D) a value-based question

Question 78

What do you call the person who answers a researcher's survey questions?

A) a gatekeeper
B) a respondent
C) a test subject
D) a sponsor

Question 79

Which of the following is the most widely used sociological research method?

A) experiments
B) surveys
C) participant observation
D) existing statistics

Question 80

Which of the following research characteristics leads to statistically significant research results?

A) experimental method
B) sophisticated statistics
C) representative sample
D) outsider's viewpoint