Deck 22: Historical Research

Question 1

Which of the following presents the greatest difficulty in forming definitive conclusions in historical research?

A) The obtainable evidence pertaining to historical events is often incomplete.
B) The scientific method does not fit historical problems.
C) The most readily available evidence for historical studies is usually primary data only.
D) The type of reasoning involved in historical research makes it impossible to use hypotheses.

Answer 1

The obtainable evidence pertaining to historical events is often incomplete.

Question 2

Which of the following is an appropriate step to take in the external criticism of an original document used in historical research?

A) Determining who actually wrote the document
B) Establishing the author's competence
C) Making a study to determine the author's meaning
D) Analyzing the author's possible bias

Answer 2

Determining who actually wrote the document

Question 3

For which of the following problems would historical research be most appropriate?

A) Trends in patterns of financing Nebraska public schools
B) Current concepts of "faculty motivation" of public high school principals in Texas
C) Effects of "social acceptance" on tendencies to "withdraw"
D) The developmental needs of eighth-graders in San Francisco, California

Answer 3

Trends in patterns of financing Nebraska public schools

Question 4

A researcher is studying a speech known to have been delivered by Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1971. She is attempting to establish whether those parts of the speech that referred to American education truly represent the state of education in the United States at that time. She is doing:

A) content analysis
B) causal analysis
C) internal criticism
D) external criticism

Question 5

Historical research is usually limited in terms of:

A) researcher bias
B) little or no control over sampling
C) lack of control of threats to internal validity
D) all of the above

Question 6

In external criticism, one asks:

A) is the document authentic?
B) is the document telling the truth?
C) does the document agree with other contemporary sources?
D) does the document yield information that agrees with one's hypothesis?

Question 7

Which of the following questions is the least appropriate for historical research?

A) To what extent do tuition tax credits perpetuate segregation?
B) Why is school compulsory in the United States?
C) Which computer software program is most effective in teaching algebra?
D) To what extent does additional funding of schools improve student achievement?

Question 8

A problem of particular importance in designing a historical study is selecting:

A) too broad a topic
B) a topic on which there is no information
C) a topic that cannot be quantified
D) a topic that requires the consent of participants

Question 9

Which of the following is a source of data for a historical study?

A) Oral statements
B) Written documents
C) Relics
D) All of the above

Question 10

Which of the following is a primary source?

A) A poem expressing the writer's feelings after a strike
B) An observer's description of a schoolteachers' strike
C) A magazine article based on interviews with striking teachers
D) A film using videotapes made during the strike

Question 11

Which of the following questions does not apply to external criticism?

A) What was the intent of the document?
B) Was the author emotionally involved in the events described?
C) Under what conditions was the document written?
D) When was the document written?

Question 12

Which of the following questions does not apply to internal criticism?

A) Did the author have a biased point of view?
B) Could the event(s) have taken place as described?
C) Where was the document written?
D) Would people have behaved as described?

Question 13

Which of the following is a secondary source?

A) A teacher's description of misbehavior in the school cafeteria
B) A principal's summary of actions taken by the school board
C) A student's report card
D) A school record of absences

Question 14

The main advantage of the historical method is that it is:

A) the only way to investigate certain questions
B) less intrusive than other methods
C) easier to use than other methods
D) inexpensive

Question 15

Which of the following is unique to historical research?

A) Information of questionable validity
B) Researcher bias
C) Inevitable loss of data
D) Reliance on written information

Question 16

Which of the following is not an essential step in historical research?

A) Limiting the problem to be studied
B) Defining terms
C) Checking validity
D) Statistical analysis

Question 17

"Presentism means:

A) assuming that earlier people had the same historical perspective that we do
B) attributing current behavior patterns to people who lived at an earlier time
C) making sure that a witness to an event was present at the time
D) the ability to accurately forecast future events based on current data

Question 18

Which is not a common purpose of historical research?

A) To test hypotheses
B) To determine cause-effect relationships
C) To aid in prediction
D) To avoid unnecessary repetition

Question 19

An educator wishing to do a historical study should:

A) design methodological controls for threats to internal validity
B) be highly skilled in instrument development
C) work under the guidance of an experienced historian
D) be prepared to do random sampling

Question 20

Which threat to internal validity is most serious in historical studies?

A) Data collector bias
B) Subject characteristics
C) History
D) Maturation

Question 21

Matching

-Secondary source

A) An eyewitness account
B) A document prepared by an individual who was not a direct witness to an event
C) The accuracy of the contents of a document
D) The genuineness of documents
E) Any object whose physical or visual characteristics provide information

Question 22

Matching

-Internal criticism

A) An eyewitness account
B) A document prepared by an individual who was not a direct witness to an event
C) The accuracy of the contents of a document
D) The genuineness of documents
E) Any object whose physical or visual characteristics provide information

Question 23

Matching

-Primary source

A) An eyewitness account
B) A document prepared by an individual who was not a direct witness to an event
C) The accuracy of the contents of a document
D) The genuineness of documents
E) Any object whose physical or visual characteristics provide information

Question 24

Matching

-Relic

A) An eyewitness account
B) A document prepared by an individual who was not a direct witness to an event
C) The accuracy of the contents of a document
D) The genuineness of documents
E) Any object whose physical or visual characteristics provide information

Question 25

Matching

-External criticism

A) An eyewitness account
B) A document prepared by an individual who was not a direct witness to an event
C) The accuracy of the contents of a document
D) The genuineness of documents
E) Any object whose physical or visual characteristics provide information

Question 26

One purpose of historical research is to test hypotheses concerning relationships or trends.

Question 27

In historical research, the use of secondary sources is preferred to the use of primary sources.

Question 28

A disadvantage of historical research is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to control for many of the threats to internal validity discussed in Chapter 9.

Question 29

In general, historical research makes use of more different kinds of evidence than most other research methods.

Question 30

Historical resear