Deck 2: What Are the Major Types of Social Research

Question 1

Which best summarizes the main goal of descriptive research?

A) Give a verbal or numerical e.g., percentages) picture.
B) Advance knowledge about an underlying process or complete a theory.
C) Develop techniques and a sense of direction for future research.
D) Provide evidence to support or refute an explanation.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
research is primarily aimed at professional researchers in the scientific community and supports the creation of new knowledge, while research is primarily aimed at resolving a specific social problem.

A) Basic; applied
B) Applied; basic
C) Descriptive; explanatory
D) Evaluation; action

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Dr. Hogson conducted an experiment in which he tested the theory that the intensity of social interaction among people increases when they are anxious. What type of study is this most likely to be?

A) explanatory research
B) exploratory research
C) descriptive research
D) cost benefit analysis

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Two scientists debate the moral consequences of genetically modified crops. One argues that the positives of these technologies outweigh any consequences, while the other believes the new technologies are potentially hazardous to the local ecosystem. The debate these two scientists are having exemplifies how has many implications to humanity.

A) recursive knowledge
B) reflexive knowledge
C) manufactured knowledge
D) instrumental knowledge

Question 5

A researcher using the exploratory method would

A) become familiar with the basic facts of a new topic or social issue. The basic goal is to formulate more precise questions for future research.
B) attempt to solve a social issue by implementing a social program. The basic goal is to answer the question "how do I fix it?"
C) accurately paint a picture of a social topic or issues. The basic goal is to answer the questions "how?" and "who?"
D) look for the cause or reason behind a social issue. The basic goal is to answer the question "why?"

Question 6

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Samantha questioned the corporate Factory Site Expert's claims that the company had created jobs and done wonderful things in two other towns so the same things would happen here and so no further issues would be involved. She challenged their claims, which used all of the following non-scientific basis of knowledge EXCEPT

A) premature closure.
B) authority.
C) tradition.
D) overgeneralization.

Question 7

What is the purpose of basic social research?

A) It predicts what future society will be like.
B) It improves social programs so they become more effective.
C) It creates fundamental knowledge about how the social world works.
D) It solves social problems and find which policies are best.

Question 8

Howard was hired by the Association of Alzheimer Caregivers to investigate if a new training program for caregivers was effective in reducing caregiver burden. What type of applied research is this?

A) evaluation research
B) instrumental research
C) social impact assessment research
D) action research

Question 9

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Researchers use research because it is the simplest and least costly method of collecting data.

A) time-series
B) cross-sectional
C) panel
D) cohort research

Question 10

Elizabeth conducted a study of gambling establishments operated by American Indian groups. She examined two establishments operated by different tribes. During the study, she spent many hours at each establishment and gained a detailed knowledge of the tribal leaders, gambling employees, and gambling customers. She also investigated how the establishments were organized, their impact on economic development in the area, and how tribal members saw them. She was conducting a

A) case study.
B) time series study.
C) summative evaluation study.
D) cohort study.

Question 11

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
creates a general mental picture of a social condition, paints a detailed, highly accurate picture of a social condition, and tests a theory's predictions or principle.

A) Explanatory; exploratory; descriptive
B) Descriptive; explanatory; exploratory
C) Exploratory; descriptive; explanatory
D) Explanatory; descriptive; exploratory

Question 12

In 2001, Professor Dennis Breach believed that the social climate following veterans returning from war influenced their marriage decisions. Breach surveyed 250 newly married couples from 1946 WWII) and 1968 Vietnam). What kind of research was he conducting?

A) cohort study
B) time series study
C) panel study
D) case study

Question 13

Residents were asked to separate cans, paper, glass, and plastic for recycling in a three week experimental trash collection program. After the three week trial was over, Susan surveyed 150 residents' reactions to the recycling program. Additionally, she examined whether or not the neighborhood properly sorted the trash. Her results were used to prepare a report for the city trash collection department. Susan's study is an example of what type of applied research?

A) evaluation research
B) cost-benefit research
C) social impact assessment research
D) action research

Question 14

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Which of the following is NOT an example of quantitative research?

A) surveys
B) content analysis
C) historical-comparative research
D) nonreactive research

Question 15

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Based on her questions, Samantha urged the County Board to delay a decision and first conduct a

A) formative evaluation research study.
B) social impact assessment study.
C) needs assessment study.
D) summative evaluation research study.

Question 16

Rita conducted a study on teenage drug use. She discovered that children with parents who use legal drugs alcohol and cigarettes) were more likely to use illegal drugs marijuana) than children whose parents did not use legal drugs. What type of research is this?

A) explanatory research
B) exploratory research
C) descriptive research
D) deponent research

Question 17

A local human service organization contacted Sam Tanaka and asked him to conduct a study identifying the difficulties and problems of the elderly in the local community so that the organization could develop social programs to help them. What type of study was Mr. Tanaka being asked to conduct?

A) contingency evaluation cost-benefit analysis
B) actual cost cost-benefit analysis
C) needs assessment
D) summative evaluation research

Question 18

Joe studied gender differences in attitudes toward mathematics and science among 45 first grade students. Over the next twelve years, he studied the same 45 children when they were in the fifth, eighth, and twelfth grade. This type of research is called

A) time series research.
B) cross-sectional research.
C) panel study research.
D) case study research.

Question 19

All of the following characterize different types of applied research, EXCEPT , which is a characteristic of basic research.

A) the driving goal is to produce practical payoffs or uses of the results
B) the primary concern is with the internal logic and rigor of the research design, so a research attempts to reach the absolute norms of scientific rigor and scholarship
C) doing research is usually part of a job assignment and sponsors/supervisors who are not professional researchers will judge/use the results
D) success is based on whether sponsors/supervisors use the results in decision-making

Question 20

Explanatory research is

A) evaluation research throughout the program or policy being evaluated.
B) evaluation research after the program or policy being evaluated ends.
C) research in which a researcher seeks to test theories and addresses the question of why events or patterns occur in social reality.
D) a technique developed by economists in which the positive and negative consequences of something are estimated, given a dollar value, then balanced against one another.

Question 21

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Michelle Stump is an honor student and wants to investigate how "love" was portrayed in 1970s disco music. Ms. Stump analyzed the lyrics of all disco music in the Billboard Top 100 from January 1976-December 1981. What kind of research is Ms. Stump conducting?

A) experiment
B) content analysis
C) existing statistics
D) field research

Question 22

Both summative and formative evaluation can be used in evaluation research. What does each do? Explain PPBS and program audits. Why are they types of evaluation research?

Question 23

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Explain the differences between exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research.

Question 24

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Howard was recently named president of the Cable Corporation of America. He said he was going to institute PPBS in order to improve efficiency and productivity. He said PPBS was used by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1960s and incorporates evaluation research into running an organization. What does PPBS stand for?

A) Prognosis, Production, Balance and Synthesis
B) Prepared Projects as the Basic Strategy
C) Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System
D) Prompt and Prepared Bulletin Sharing

Question 25

How does action-oriented research differ from social impact assessment?

Question 26

Explain the basic difference between quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. How do quantitative and qualitative methods differ in terms of how data is collected?

Question 27

Discuss how scientists produce knowledge. Specifically address instrumental and reflexive knowledge. What are the pros and cons of each form of knowledge? How does each have a place in the development of knowledge?

Question 28

Discuss the three types of longitudinal research methods. When is each method an appropriate choice of data collection? Discuss the difficulties of each method.

Question 29

The social scientist must always be aware of the audience of his or her research when conducting social research. Discuss the complexities of a researcher's autonomy in commissioned social research. What are some of the issues surrounding commissioned research?

Question 30

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below.
After graduating from university, Samantha got a job with the county government. One year into her new job, she learned that Big Corporation planned to build a huge new factory on farmland outside a quiet, small town of Smallsville that had 2,000 residents. Big Corporation flew in a high-powered public relations team of five people who showed a slick video, threw out a few statistics, and promised that many new jobs and income would come to the county and town. Two of the public relations people said they were Factory Site Experts. They said that in the three other locations where Big Corporation had built factories in the past two years, the local people were very happy. They said the same would occur in Smallsville and further study was unnecessary. Just before the County Board was about to vote for approval, Samantha asked some questions. How would the new factory with 1,000 employees affect the way of life in Smallsville? Would the new factory create traffic congestion, noise, and air or water pollution? Would the town need to upgrade its police, fire, or ambulance services? Would it raise housing prices? What percent of the jobs would go to local people, and would the jobs be well-paying and stable? Would there be three shifts with some shifts ending late at night or early in the morning? How would the local schools and sewage treatment services be affected? Would the new factory's location adjacent to the area's only park limit the use of the park and its playground and bicycle trail by local children?
Identify five differences between basic and applied research.

Question 31

Think critically about crime on your college campus. Briefly outline how a researcher would use each of the following types of research to investigate campus crime: exploratory research, descriptive research, and explanatory research.

Question 32

What are some potential problems with cost-benefit analysis? Why is it used?