Deck 12: Materials-Based Methods

Question 1

The term materials-based methods is superior to unobtrusive methods because it

A)encompasses a greater number of methods.
B)does not carry the implication that gathering data from people is intrusive and unwelcome.
C)elevates the value of archival and physical data for sociologists.
D)broadens the scope of questions that sociologists may ask.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is a first-person account?

A)a popular media song performed by the person who wrote it
B)a government agency document authored by a single person
C)a Facebook post by a person who observed a significant public event
D)full data records (birth,marriage,and death certificates)for a single person

Answer 2

C

Question 3

How do researchers typically access data sets?

A)by asking the researchers who collected the data
B)by asking professors or research advisers
C)through government and academic websites
D)Researchers must create their own data sets.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Xavier plans a materials-based study of Black Lives Matter protests over the last five years.Xavier uses news media to

A)point him to key sociological theories.
B)document where and when protests occurred.
C)substitute for scholarly sources,since the topic is contemporary and ongoing.
D)understand governmental perspectives on policing.

Question 5

News media is particularly well-suited to providing sociologists with

A)facts that were reported at the time of an event or events.
B)direction toward finding the strongest scholarly sources for a topic.
C)lengthy and extensive expert analyses.
D)annual reports of trends and statistics.

Question 6

Dr.Stevens wants to study processes of government reconstruction following civil war.She chooses a materials-based approach for this type of macro-sociological topic because

A)civil war affects so many people that it would be impossible to develop an adequate sample.
B)war is traumatizing,so it is likely unethical to interview people about it.
C)the topic is so much larger than any individual,so data such as reports,media,and expert analyses would offer better insight.
D)it is too difficult to access government elites for interviews,so materials-based methods are the next best option.

Question 7

A sociologist asks,"What sparks positive change in institutional structures?" Which of the following represents a materials-based methodology for this study?

A)an anonymous online survey of organizational leaders
B)observation of organizational leaders at work
C)analysis of meeting agendas and minutes
D)interviewing organizational leaders who are retired

Question 8

A report ________,while a record ________.

A)is official;is unofficial
B)is gathered in an unobtrusive manner;must be requested from a person
C)synthesizes credible information;documents events or characteristics at a moment in time
D)advances a point of view;reports facts from a neutral stance

Question 9

When social scientists use physical materials as data,they

A)categorize the research as archeology.
B)may add the physical materials to a data set that also includes written or digitized materials.
C)must be derived from a human institution (e.g. ,family or government),not nature.
D)should be linked to a verbal first-person account.

Question 10

In a materials-based study of American popular music,Jenny uses episodes of the American Music Awards from the last 10 years.These episodes are best classified as

A)reports.
B)news media.
C)records.
D)media.

Question 11

Emily is conducting a materials-based study of a social issue in Mexico.Which of the following would be classified by sociologists as a report?

A)a protester's blog post that records the events from the protester's perspective
B)the posters used by the protesters
C)news media that was created on the day of the protest
D)the U.S.State Department's official document that synthesizes information about human rights in Mexico

Question 12

Which of the following represents a sociological interpretation of this photograph?

A)Criminal justice officers,as well as criminal suspects,are mostly male.
B)The Wire depicts common beliefs and attitudes,such as the notion that crime and criminal justice are mostly male domains.
C)Popular media does not correspond to reality;this is simply a fictional depiction of an imagined world.
D)Popular media predicts reality;thus,we can expect more street confrontations such as this one.

Question 13

Serena conducts a study of presidential inaugurations in Washington,D.C.She interviews Max,who provides a first-person account of the last inauguration.What do sociologists recommend as the most important way Serena could assess the quality of this first-person account? She may

A)find at least three more accounts that corroborate Max's.
B)interview Max on another day to see if his account changes over time.
C)consider whether Max's political views may shape his experience and interpretation.
D)reflect on her expertise as an interviewer.

Question 14

Andrew is doing a materials-based sociological study of supply chains in the athletic apparel industry.He wants the most credible expert analyses,so he

A)prioritizes website addresses that use expert or historical names,such as supplychainjustice.org.
B)relies mostly on Google and Google Scholar,rather than less well-known search engines.
C)works only from print sources,not the Internet.
D)investigates the origin of his sources and prioritizes the ones that underwent a peer-review process.

Question 15

Geographic information systems (GIS)take bits of data and associate them with maps to create visual images of how

A)qualitative data may be portrayed in a quantitative way.
B)roadways may be navigated more efficiently.
C)reports,records,media,and physical materials fit together.
D)social phenomena are unfolding.

Question 16

In the context of materials-based methods,the word materials refers to

A)preexisting information that can be used as data in a study.
B)written materials produced by a subject at the researcher's request.
C)the physical devices and resources needed by the researcher.
D)physical data,as opposed to verbal or observational data.

Question 17

For which research question would mapping be an ideal research method?

A)How does social inequality influence access to grocery stores?
B)Why is war such a persistent part of the human experience?
C)How do veterans who served in Afghanistan remember their transitions back into civilian life?
D)Is household garbage production increasing or decreasing in the United States?

Question 18

Increasingly,businesses and governments use big data derived from ________ to interpret people's lives and behaviors.

A)compilations of previous studies
B)professional associations,such as the American Sociological Association,
C)electronic traces,such as websites visited or cell phone usage,
D)major nonprofit and for-profit research corporations

Question 19

Sociologists categorize birth certificates as records because records

A)are documentation of human life and activity.
B)are about individuals,whereas reports are about issues.
C)document events or characteristics at a particular moment in time.
D)provide government-generated data about populations.

Question 20

In her analysis of U.S.family history,Stephanie Coontz used materials such as census data to challenge which societal blind spot?

A)the focus on the nuclear family,not seeing the influence of grandparents and other extended family
B)the tendency to romanticize the past as a golden time when families were stable and happy
C)seeing U.S.history as white and privileged,when in fact the data show ethnic diversity through immigration and marriage between people of different ethnic groups
D)an unwillingness to see how social institutions such as government,public schools,and religion influence families

Question 21

Lorenzo follows the steps of the historical-comparative research process.He begins to write up his findings regarding the nuclear facility accident in Fukushima,Japan,in 2012.Which statement would come first in his paper?

A)This study yields important implications for nuclear facilities around the world.
B)Existing literature regarding risk management in large-scale societies has significant gaps.
C)My data show four patterns regarding risk management strategies in Fukushima.
D)Fukushima provides a case for evaluating theories about risk management in large-scale societies.

Question 22

Historical research methods and comparative research methods both

A)rely more on qualitative than quantitative methods.
B)interpret macro social processes through critical examination of social organization.
C)prioritize the past over the present as an interpretive lens for understanding society.
D)reject big data in favor of a researcher collecting her own data and developing her own interpretation.

Question 23

An archive is a

A)physical place where multiple items of any type are stored.
B)physical or virtual space where materials are brought together,organized,preserved,and made available for inspection.
C)collection of items whose validity and value have been evaluated by scholars.
D)storage space for big data only.

Question 24

The most important reason why,when the choice is available,sociologists collect primary information over secondary information is because

A)primary information is more recent,and secondary information is more dated.
B)secondary information was collected by someone else,so the researcher cannot control its quality or content.
C)primary information is almost always more accurate than secondary information.
D)secondary information is shared with other researchers,making it less interesting.

Question 25

David conducts a historical-comparative study of the terrorist attacks on September 11,2001.When he considers counterfactuals,he

A)lays out conflicting accounts of the events of the day.
B)describes all the false facts,both intentional and unintentional,that developed after the event.
C)thinks about what would have happened in society if the terrorist attacks had not occurred.
D)asks another sociologist to review his study,looking for bias and errors of fact.

Question 26

Dr.Swan is a sociologist with experience in ethnography and in-depth interviewing.She uses skills developed in those areas to begin a project in historical-comparative research about rural poverty.Accordingly,she selects

A)a governmental organization that can grant access to previously developed nation-level data sets.
B)big data available online that is derived from people's consumer habits.
C)a West Virginia town suffering from economic dislocation as the case she will examine.
D)a large sample of individuals drawn from 10 regions of the nation.

Question 27

Organizations may sometimes provide false or biased information.Researchers should,therefore,

A)only use archival data as a last resort.
B)carefully evaluate material from any archive for bias and accuracy.
C)consider governmental data to be generally superior to data that comes from other organizations.
D)seek data sets from organizations that do not have a bias or an agenda.

Question 28

Kenyatta conducts a study of residential patterns of Muslim Americans.She uses aggregate data,which offers information related to ________ but not ________.

A)citizenship;religion
B)how many Muslim Americans live in a zip code;individuals who live in particular residences
C)residential addresses of individuals;reasons why people live where they do
D)primary information;secondary information

Question 29

Historical research methods consider ________;comparative research methods consider ________.

A)one case;two or more cases
B)human life in the past;social institutions at present
C)archival data;real-world data
D)change over time;variation across locations

Question 30

Why would a researcher conduct critical content analysis on materials such as speeches or journalistic reports?

A)to determine what really happened in history
B)to identify societal blind spots
C)as a supplement to big data approaches
D)as a follow-up to purposive sampling

Question 31

Professor Michael Bellesiles reached an incorrect conclusion in his book Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture.Where,in the stages of historical-comparative research,did he go wrong?

A)He selected a case that wasn't well-suited to his topic.
B)The theoretical framework he used was poorly chosen,leading to faulty conclusions.
C)Poorly organized data led to inferior analysis.
D)Intentional fraud in data gathering led to fraudulent conclusions.

Question 32

Michelle collects five new reports and adds them to her data set.She finds that these new reports add nothing new;rather,they reinforce what she has already found.Michelle has reached the point of

A)factual knowledge.
B)saturation.
C)proven hypotheses.
D)testing the counterfactuals.

Question 33

Which is an example of micro data?

A)an individual's birth and death dates
B)any data collected by an individual scholar
C)all primary information
D)data from reports,not records

Question 34

A researcher wants to know whether stress influences time spent exercising.She wants to strengthen the validity of her measure,so she

A)increases the sample size.
B)uses both qualitative and quantitative measures.
C)relies on secondary data,because its validity has been proven by others.
D)collects primary data,so she can control the accuracy of her measure.

Question 35

Dr.Harper seeks primary information for her study about the lives of Sudanese refugees in the Midwest,so she turns to ________ for ________.

A)The Congressional Record;immigration bills considered by Congress
B)U.S.Department of State Human Rights Reports;stories of conditions in Sudan
C)interviews;stories of Sudanese refugees' lives
D)New York Times articles;accounts of immigration in recent years

Question 36

When a researcher systematically reviews materials that have been converted into a quantitative data set,seeking to test a hypothesis,this approach is called

A)materials-based research.
B)critical content analysis.
C)quantitative content analysis.
D)saturated coding.

Question 37

Mishon's sociological study of W.E.B.DuBois's work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)follows the typical steps in the historical-comparative research process.Which question represents Mishon's first step?

A)Who is a particularly influential person in African American history?
B)How might the sociological concept of "organizational leadership" help shed light on this period of history?
C)Should this research ultimately be published as an article or a book?
D)Where are the archives that store material related to NAACP history?

Question 38

Consider two books about Sacagawea,a Shoshone woman who assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition.One is a history book and one is a historical sociology book.What emphasis is distinctive to historical sociology?

A)describing Sacajawea's contribution to American history
B)emphasizing key decision-making moments for Sacajawea
C)detailing the available empirical evidence and its limitations
D)using the story of Sacajawea to strengthen rational choice theory

Question 39

Organizations such as Data Sharing for Demographic Research are designed to allow researchers to

A)form research teams with other scholars.
B)share data that would be time-consuming and expensive for scholars to collect on
Their own.
C)comply with federal laws and regulations regarding data collection and dissemination.
D)work from a shared understanding of what constitutes high-quality data.

Question 40

What would happen if a sociologist used purposive sampling to select a case for a historical-comparative research study? He or she would

A)reduce validity in order to gain the benefit of a highly focused study.
B)choose a case because it represents an anomaly (something different than what is typical).
C)identify all possible cases and select one at random (to reduce bias).
D)review the literature and identify the case with the most need for critique and revision.

Question 41

You are conducting a critical content analysis of traffic signs in your community (stop signs,speed limit signs,etc. ).List three themes you might look for in an effort to deconstruct traffic signs.How do these themes exemplify critical content analysis?

Question 42

Lisa uses triangulation in her study,so she uses

A)secondary data from three different data sets.
B)data from micro,meso,and macro levels.
C)interviews,surveys,and observation.
D)a hypothesis,existing literature,and a theory.

Question 43

Dr.San collected data from numerous data sets regarding behaviorally challenged third graders.He has data from three levels: student,school,and state.What is the strongest way for him to analyze these data? He

A)must analyze all three levels separately because there is no way to bring them together.
B)may triangulate the data,using the same method to look at the three levels and check for consistency of findings.
C)may merge data across units of analysis,developing a single data file.
D)should shift to qualitative analysis,because this would allow for an interpretive approach to three data sets that don't fit together.

Question 44

When McCabe and colleagues studied gender in children's literature,they developed a list of five possible categories for gender in book titles.This list is the

A)operationalization.
B)code.
C)coding scheme.
D)gap in the literature.

Question 45

Which of the following describes operationalization?

A)choosing which subjects or materials will be included in the study
B)watching for the time when new data simply repeat and reinforce existing data
C)the process of linking conceptualized variables to a set of procedures for measuring them
D)creating a document that lists all possible categories for analysis

Question 46

Why do some sociologists find the term unobtrusive methods problematic? How does the term materials-based methods address these problems?

Question 47

Dr.Ling conducts a study of gender-based violence in all nations of the world.Her codebook includes

A)a list of relevant hypotheses that she may want to use in analysis.
B)organized information about the data set,such as countries and rates of violence.
C)pseudonyms of people and places involved in the study.
D)a reference list of other studies conducted on this subject.

Question 48

Quantitative data analysis always involves

A)the discipline of sociology.
B)critical content analysis.
C)numerical data.
D)materials-based methods.

Question 49

In one sentence,briefly describe a historical-comparative research project that you might conduct.Explain why it is best classified as a historical-comparative sociology project,as opposed to a history project.

Question 50

Give an example of primary information and an example of secondary information.What is the key difference between the two types of information?

Question 51

Consider this question: Why does poverty exist? Describe a type of material that could help answer this question,and explain why this source would be helpful.

Question 52

What are three main reasons that researchers use materials-based methods?

Question 53

What three criteria do historical-comparative sociologists use to determine whether they have gathered sufficient material?

Question 54

A researcher needs to create a decision rule to

A)settle differences between multiple researchers analyzing a data set.
B)assign difficult material to a category in a coding scheme.
C)determine when sufficient data have been collected.
D)decide that a coding scheme is complete.

Question 55

Jorge conducts a study about first kisses between couples in romantic movies.When he codes 20 movies,he

A)counts the number of times first kisses occur.
B)defines what "first kiss" means for the purpose of his study.
C)selects 20 movies to be included in the study.
D)analyzes the cinematic purpose of "first kiss" scenes.

Question 56

Compare and contrast aggregate data and micro data.Describe one similarity and two differences.

Question 57

The most important element to consider regarding new trends in quantitative content analysis is

A)technology,which facilitates faster and larger-scale analysis,but still needs humans to spot check for accuracy.
B)robots,which increasingly can do both data analysis and accuracy checking.
C)doing data analysis by hand,which is recovering and renewing modes of research from the beginning era of social science.
D)selecting topics with contemporary relevance,such as climate change,security,or terrorism.

Question 58

Liam develops a secondary data set of newspaper articles about presidential elections from 1950 to 2016.He sees that election coverage varies significantly by election,so he has varying numbers of articles from the various elections.He accounts for this discrepancy with

A)a coding scheme.
B)primary data.
C)triangulation.
D)sampling weights.

Question 59

Micaela conducts a critical content analysis of beginner's piano lesson books.She deconstructs these artifacts to find

A)the physical aspects of the book (e.g. ,paper,ink,and staples).
B)a hidden theme of racial superiority embedded in the illustrations.
C)more possible codes for analysis than she expected.
D)ways that this analysis could contribute to gaps in the literature.

Question 60

Quantitative content analysis by Janice McCabe and her colleagues,which systematically reviewed 101 years of children's books,supported which hypothesis about the presence of girls in children's literature?

A)When the economy was growing,more girls appeared.
B)When the economy was struggling,more girls appeared.
C)When feminist mobilization weakened,fewer girls appeared.
D)When feminist mobilization weakened,more girls appeared.

Question 61

Describe a research project for which secondary data sets would be ideal.What would be one important caution,or potential drawback,of this secondary data set?