Question 1

In an examination of violent crime among the most populous nations in the world, the United States ranks very high along with England, France, and Australia. The chance of being raped is higher in France than in the United States. What units of analysis are being used?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In an examination of violent crime among...

Question 2

A researcher studying rates of psychiatric disorders among inmates as a function of institutional security level finds that the highest-security prisons have the highest rates of psychiatric disorders. The unit of analysis is ____.

Accepted Answer

The unit of analysis refers to the main entity being analyzed in a study. In this case, the focus is on comparing rates of psychiatric disorders across different prisons (which are organizations), rather than on the individual inmates themselves, social artifacts, or groups within the prisons.

Question 3

What type of research is characterized by the direct observation of events as they actually occur?

Accepted Answer

Field research involves direct observation of events as they occur in their natural setting. This can involve observation of behavior, gathering ethnographic data, or conducting interviews.

Question 4

Which type of study would serve as a "snapshot" of a phenomenon at a single point in time?

Accepted Answer

A cross-sectional study is designed to provide a snapshot of a phenomenon at a single point in time. It involves observing and measuring a sample of individuals at a specific point in time, without following them over time. This type of study is useful for examining the prevalence of a particular condition or behavior in a population, and for identifying potential risk factors or correlates of the condition or behavior.

Question 5

A study of violence in children's programming requires counting the number of violent acts in Saturday morning cartoons for an entire year. The unit of analysis being used for this project is the ____.

Accepted Answer

The unit of analysis being used for this project is the social artifact, which is the Saturday morning cartoons being studied. The researchers are counting the number of violent acts in these cartoons, which are social artifacts produced by media organizations. They are not studying individuals or groups, and while the organizations that produce the cartoons are relevant, they are not the primary focus of analysis.

Question 6

Which pair refers to whether an explanation seeks to explain a particular event or a class of events?

Accepted Answer

Idiographic explanations focus on explaining a particular event or individual case, while nomothetic explanations aim to explain a general class of events.

Question 7

Units of analysis are typically also the units of ____.

Accepted Answer

Units of analysis are the entities being studied and observed in the research. Therefore, they are also the units of observation.

Question 8

What unit of analysis is being used in the following statement? "An enormous variation of deviant activities was represented in a sample of 1,485 news items. We categorized these deviant activities into five general types of analysis: violence, economic, political, ideological/cultural and diversionary."

Accepted Answer

The unit of analysis in this statement is social artifacts, specifically news items that were categorized into different types of deviant activities. It is not focusing on individuals, organizations, or groups as the primary unit of analysis.

Question 9

Which unit of analysis is a social artifact?

Accepted Answer

Social artifacts refer to tangible and visible elements of a society, such as books, newspapers, buildings, and art. Editorials in the New York Times are a type of social artifact as they are a tangible representation of the opinions and perspectives of a particular society or group within that society. The other options do not qualify as social artifacts as they are not tangible or visible elements. Citizen attitudes and cities are abstract concepts, while months are a temporal unit of measurement.

Question 10

Which type of study attempts to account for errors in drawing a sample by measuring the same people on two or more occasions?

Accepted Answer

A panel study, also known as a longitudinal study, follows the same group of individuals over a period of time and collects data from them at multiple points. This type of study helps to account for errors in drawing a sample because the same individuals are being measured, rather than a new sample being drawn each time. This allows for more accurate measurement of changes over time and reduces the potential for sampling bias.

Question 11

If a cross-sectional study can be likened to a "snapshot," and a trend study to a "slide show," then which study is most like a "motion picture?"

Accepted Answer

A panel study involves collecting data on the same group of individuals over a period of time. This is similar to a motion picture, as it captures the changes and development within a group of individuals over time, much like how a movie captures a story's progression and character development.

Question 12

Marvin Wolfgang's study of males born in Philadelphia in 1945 was an attempt to measure delinquency by following those males from their 10^th birthday until they were 18. This is an example of what type of study?

Accepted Answer

This study follows a specific group (cohort) of males from a specific time period (born in Philadelphia in 1945) and tracks them over time, making it a cohort study.

Question 13

A major Midwestern university does annual surveys of its alumni. These surveys are designed to gauge the attitudes that alumni hold about the university, its academic programs, and the major team sports. These surveys have been an annual event for the last two decades and represent which type of study?

Accepted Answer

The surveys being conducted annually for two decades implies that this study is a trend study, which tracks changes in attitudes over time. Cohort studies follow a particular group of individuals over time, panel studies track the same individuals over time, and cross-sectional studies gather data from different individuals at one point in time.

Question 14

Which study design would allow a researcher to measure change in a general population over time?

Accepted Answer

A trend study involves examining changes in a general population over time by taking different samples from the same population at different points in time.

Question 15

The relationship between attributes and variables lies at the heart of ____.

Accepted Answer

The relationship between attributes and variables is fundamental to both description and explanation in science, as it helps in understanding and explaining the phenomena being studied.

Question 16

A researcher studies community-level arson rates in relation to economic indicators such as household income, poverty, and unemployment. The researcher finds that communities with higher arson rates have higher poverty and unemployment rates and lower household income. The researcher concluded that unemployed people are more likely to commit arson than are those who are employed. What error was just committed?

Accepted Answer

The researcher committed the ecological fallacy by drawing conclusions about individuals based solely on community-level data. It is possible that within a community, employed individuals are actually more likely to commit arson than unemployed individuals. The association between arson rates and economic indicators may not hold true at the individual level.

Question 17

Data analysis looks for patterns in what is ____.

Accepted Answer

Data analysis is about examining what has been observed in order to identify patterns, make discoveries and draw insights from the gathered data. The other options suggest that data is being analyzed based on an untested or unverified assumption, hypothesis or proof, which is not necessarily the case. Therefore, option B - observed - is the best choice.

Question 18

After reading current research on the causes of juvenile crime and noting that lack of opportunity, school failure, and parental neglect are often prominently mentioned, you have trouble reconciling what you read with what your personal experience. You think in particular of someone you went to high school with who, despite coming from a well-educated, wealthy family, being a star student and athlete, and having very attentive parents, carried out a series of burglaries and arsons. This illustrates the ____ fallacy.

Accepted Answer

The individualistic fallacy is the assumption that an individual's behavior is solely determined by their personal characteristics or choices, rather than by larger societal or environmental factors. In this case, the example of the high school student contradicts the idea that lack of opportunity, school failure, and parental neglect are always the primary causes of juvenile crime. The individualistic fallacy assumes that the student's personal characteristics or choices were the determining factors instead.

Question 19

The ____ is a panel study.

Accepted Answer

The National Crime Victimization Survey is a panel study, meaning that the same sample of households is surveyed multiple times over a period of years to track changes in victimization rates and other related factors. The other options listed are not panel studies.

Question 20

A survey distributed on a college campus discovered that males support the death penalty in greater numbers than do females. The units of analysis in this case would be ____.

Accepted Answer

The units of analysis in this case would be individuals since the survey results are based on responses from individual males and females on their support for the death penalty.

Quiz 3: Section 1: General Issues in Research Design