Deck 17: Communicating Social Science Research Findings

Question 1

An evaluation report is usually more ________,whereas a research report is usually more ________.

A)qualitative;quantitative
B)informal;formal
C)team-based;individual
D)practical;theoretical

Answer 1

D

Question 2

How do qualitative and quantitative researchers write up their research projects?

A)Qualitative researchers include abstracts;quantitative researchers do not.
B)Both qualitative and quantitative researchers write research reports.
C)The titles of qualitative research reports are longer than the titles of quantitative reports.
D)Qualitative research requires an unstructured abstract;quantitative research requires a structured abstract.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Dr.Machi writes an abstract as part of his research report.The purpose of the abstract is to

A)briefly summarize the research report.
B)identify whether the publication process was peer-reviewed.
C)condense the study into text that could be used on a poster.
D)list keywords that could be used to find the report with a search engine.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A factory owner wants to know whether the assembly line workers feel adequately rewarded and appreciated.He hires a social scientist to conduct

A)a policy brief.
B)an impact factor.
C)evaluation research.
D)peer-reviewed research.

Question 5

Both structured abstracts and unstructured abstracts

A)are used with qualitative research,not quantitative.
B)are used with quantitative research,not qualitative.
C)explain the hypothesis in simple terms.
D)summarize the entire research report.

Question 6

Among professional social scientists,what is the MOST common form of research report?

A)a peer-reviewed article in a refereed journal
B)a poster at a professional conference
C)an abstract
D)an amicus brief

Question 7

Sari reads a research report by Dr.Williams,a study that uses interviews to investigate stress in correctional officers.Sari wants to explore the replicability of Dr.Williams's study,so she

A)uses a survey to investigate stress in correctional officers.
B)reproduces Dr.Williams's study with the same methodology,but in a different city.
C)contacts Dr.Williams's participants and interviews them again.
D)reads all the sources cited in Dr.Williams's literature review.

Question 8

Thomas writes a research report about his fieldwork with foster-care families.His research was about the families themselves,but he develops views and opinions about how policy in this area could improve.He

A)keeps these views out of the research report,because they are too subjective for a scientific research report.
B)rewrites his research question to be about policy and reinterprets data in that light.
C)includes policy recommendations in the discussion section of the research report.
D)searches for scholarly literature that supports his point of view and adds it to the literature review.

Question 9

One feature of a poster that is distinctive,not present in a written research report,is that a poster

A)allows for visuals such as photographs,tables,and figures.
B)can be clearly organized into sections.
C)allows two-way face-to-face interaction between author and audience.
D)can present only findings,without needing methods,literature review,or sources.

Question 10

Which question would MOST likely be used as the basis for evaluation research?

A)Should this research report be published in a refereed journal?
B)Do housing subsidies reduce overcrowded housing?
C)What previous research has been done on this topic?
D)How do people describe the experience of being loved?

Question 11

Horace is studying how chronic pain affects people's work lives.He has collected a massive amount of scholarly literature related to his topic.He read some of it and plans to read more later.He used some of it in his study,while other parts will be useful in a future,related study.What belongs in the bibliography of his study about chronic pain and work lives?

A)every source in the collection,whether he read it or not
B)every source in the collection,whether he used it or not in this study
C)only the sources that support his hypothesis
D)only the sources he cited in the research report

Question 12

Anneli plans a study of surgeons' willingness to report their own eye health problems (problems that threaten their ability to continue working).She starts with a pilot study,which

A)surveys optometrists about their views of surgeons.
B)tests her methodology on a different topic and population.
C)surveys a small number of surgeons,serving as a test run of the methodology.
D)is very broad,including multiple disciplines and methodologies,so she can narrow down to the best ones.

Question 13

In a research study,which of the following steps typically occurs first?

A)write literature review
B)analyze data
C)submit paper for publication
D)write up results

Question 14

A research report is different from an essay,argument paper,or newspaper article because it must

A)report original research.
B)include a clear hypothesis.
C)be written by a scholar with a PhD.
D)be in monograph or book form.

Question 15

When scholars present their work orally at professional conferences,they typically

A)give time to each section of the paper,proportionate to its written form.
B)give handouts to their audience in anticipation of common questions.
C)focus more on methods and results,because this is what the audience has the most
Interest in.
D)focus more on the literature review at great length,to encourage the audience to read key sources.

Question 16

Why would a sociologist classify this as a structured abstract? It

A)has been peer-reviewed.
B)was written by scholars with PhDs.
C)is well written and proofread.
D)is divided into sections with headers.

Question 17

Lucinda completes her study of people's attitudes toward affirmative action,but while analyzing the data,she realizes she should have reworded certain questions in her survey.What should Lucinda do with this insight?

A)do not write about it;let the reader determine the quality of the data
B)include this limitation in the discussion section;it is a sign of having a critical mind
C)write a separate essay that describes how the research could have been done differently
D)abandon the project and start over with a study that won't have significant limitations

Question 18

A bibliography may also be called a(n)

A)literature review.
B)works cited.
C)abstract.
D)list of reading material.

Question 19

What type of abstract is this?

A)peer-reviewed
B)unstructured
C)structured
D)scientific

Question 20

With respect to method,a research report describes ________,whereas a research proposal describes ________.

A)the methods used;the methods that are to be used
B)the methods that actually worked;the best ideal methods
C)one method;several methods
D)well-established methods;newer methods

Question 21

A legislative aide writes a policy brief about international development,to be provided to policy makers.The brief begins with an executive summary,which is a

A)protected portion available only to top leaders with clearance to view it.
B)version of the brief designed for economic leaders,such as executives,to understand.
C)one-page summary of the report and recommendations.
D)bulleted list of action steps to be taken.

Question 22

Dr.Acadia conducted a study on divorce rates in Europe.He wants to submit his work to a highly respected general-interest sociology journal,so he chooses

A)Sociology.
B)American Journal of Sociology.
C)Journal of Marriage and Family.
D)Demography.

Question 23

Dr.Kippley wants to publish her book-length manuscript about the sociology of aging.Like most academic sociologists,she hopes to publish a book with a highly ranked

A)academic press.
B)monograph press.
C)publisher with many best-sellers.
D)refereed book publisher.

Question 24

It is desirable for a ________ to have a ________ impact factor.

A)monograph;low
B)journal;high
C)sociologist;high
D)methodology;low

Question 25

An immediate reject,or a desk reject,is a manuscript that is

A)sent back to the author with reviews from the primary editor.
B)rejected by an editor without being peer-reviewed.
C)rejected by an editor after being peer-reviewed.
D)not submitted to a journal,despite having been completed.

Question 26

In comparison to a monograph,government reports usually have

A)less methodological rigor.
B)no literature review or theory section.
C)a national data set.
D)challenges with replicability.

Question 27

Elise finishes her study of child actors in theater settings and decides to publish it as a monograph.She writes a

A)book-length publication that includes the research question,methods,and findings.
B)30-page research report that will be submitted to a refereed journal.
C)summary of her book-length publication.
D)policy brief that offers recommendations for improving work conditions for child actors.

Question 28

The American Sociological Association (ASA)submitted an amicus brief to the U.S.Supreme Court in support of marriage equality because

A)the ASA was one of the plaintiffs.
B)one of the Supreme Court justices is a professional sociologist.
C)as a nonlitigant,the ASA wanted to contribute scholarly research to the process.
D)in order to be socially relevant,scientific organizations must participate in politics.

Question 29

An editorial is different than a refereed journal article because an editorial

A)does not include jargon or citations.
B)is entirely opinion and does not include any scientific backing for claims made.
C)includes recommendations for policy or application.
D)uses science,but is not written by a scientist.

Question 30

Dr.Sarty submits a manuscript to the American Journal of Sociology and receives a brief letter that states his manuscript is not being considered and was not even sent out for peer review.This is an example of a(n)________ reject.

A)desk
B)editorial
C)journal
D)scholarly

Question 31

Angie looks up scholarly literature in a search engine at her university's library.She selects "peer-reviewed publications only" for her search,because she wants to be sure that each publication

A)has been edited by professional editors.
B)is written by a scholar with a master's degree or doctorate.
C)has been reviewed by experts in the field.
D)is a monograph.

Question 32

In the single-blind peer-review process,the

A)reviewers know who the author is,but the author does not know who the reviewers are.
B)author knows who the editor is,but the editor does not know who the author is.
C)author knows who the reviewers are,but the reviewers do not know who the author is.
D)editor does not know who the author or editors are.

Question 33

In the case of ________,the peer-review process is typically double-blind.

A)academic press books
B)popular press books
C)journal articles
D)magazine articles

Question 34

Predatory journals prey on authors by

A)charging high fees to publish work in a fraudulent journal.
B)asking them to proofread and edit other manuscripts in the journal.
C)charging high fees to purchase articles that can be published in the author's name.
D)promising publication and then not following through.

Question 35

A monograph is called a "crossover" book because it often spans

A)two or three academic disciplines.
B)both academic and nonacademic audiences.
C)both journal articles and book formats.
D)qualitative and quantitative research.

Question 36

The trend in social scientists' opinion of blogs is that blogs

A)are too informal to adequately convey useful information,devaluing scholarly work.
B)allow too many uninformed people to share their views,and thus promote misinformation.
C)are a fresh space for sharing ideas away from the stifling format of conventional academic platforms.
D)may be used for policy recommendations or applications,but not for sharing the results of data analysis.

Question 37

A blog is a useful publication form for conveying

A)personal opinions only.
B)interesting stories from the research process,but not results.
C)research results,recommendations,and the author's opinions about the topic.
D)amicus briefs that were not officially accepted,but that court officials may read in their spare time.

Question 38

Predatory journals have existed since the

A)beginning of sociology.
B)early twentieth century.
C)mid-twentieth century.
D)early twenty-first century.

Question 39

A senator asks her legislative aide to write a policy brief about low-income housing policy in her state.The aide writes a good policy brief,which

A)relies only on government reports for data.
B)provides an impartial summary of what is known about low-income housing.
C)lists scholarly sources,especially monographs,about the topic.
D)details the Republican point of view and policy agenda for this topic.

Question 40

Dr.Heie conducted a study of weather-related tragedies from the last five years,and because the work is timely,he wants to publish it as quickly as possible.He follows the ethical guidelines of the Committee on Publishing Ethics,so he submits to

A)one journal and asks the editor to put consideration of this manuscript ahead of others.
B)five journals simultaneously,which is acceptable when an author has good reason.
C)one top-tier journal and three lesser-ranked journals,which is always considered ethical.
D)only one journal,with no special requests,despite the lengthy wait.

Question 41

An outline may be more useful for the ________ section than the ________ section.

A)bibliography;introduction
B)literature review;results
C)results;literature
D)results;methodology

Question 42

Social scientists prefer the active voice over the passive voice because the active voice

A)is bright,cheery,and inviting.
B)indicates who took action in the sentence.
C)allows for multiple interpretations.
D)uses disciplinary jargon appropriately.

Question 43

Briefly describe a study for which a pilot study could be used effectively,and explain why.

Question 44

What are three meaningful differences between an academic research report and a poster presentation? Explain why each is a meaningful difference.

Question 45

The failure to properly cite another author's words or ideas is called

A)null writing.
B)immediate reject.
C)predatory writing.
D)plagiarism.

Question 46

What is the difference between a policy brief and an amicus brief?

Question 47

How do social scientists generally view the peer-review process?

A)Its benefits are not worth the time it takes.
B)The growth of predatory journals has diminished the value of the peer-review process for all journals.
C)It is very strong and only very occasionally has flaws.
D)It is a human process,and thus flawed,but on the whole,it is the best method for ensuring quality research.

Question 48

How is an editorial different than a research report?

Question 49

In the case of ________,the peer-review process is typically single-blind.

A)academic press books
B)popular press books
C)journal articles
D)magazine articles

Question 50

You have written a research report.You could publish it relatively quickly as a blog post or magazine article,but instead you choose to submit it to a refereed journal.Why is the refereed journal preferred for academic research reports? What can you expect the process to be like?

Question 51

What is the textbook authors' view of jargon?

A)Jargon can be used effectively as a display of disciplinary expertise.
B)Jargon is preferred,because it filters out nonexpert readers.
C)In order to include nonexperts in the reading audience,jargon must be avoided at all costs.
D)Professional language is preferred to jargon-filled language,which can be confusing and off-putting.

Question 52

You have completed a quantitative research study about the correlation between childhood nutrition and high-school graduation rates.In your research report,would you choose to write a structured abstract or an unstructured abstract? Why? Your answer should show an understanding of what goes into the type of abstract you choose.

Question 53

What are predatory journals,and why are they a problem?

Question 54

Which recommendation will help an author avoid plagiarism?

A)do not summarize another author's words without citing them
B)do not use direct quotes,with or without quotation marks
C)do not pay a journal to publish your article
D)only submit an article to one journal at a time

Question 55

One of Jane Miller's basic pieces of writing advice is to include "the W's," which means

A)whether,whether not.
B)who,what,when,where.
C)watch,wonder,write.
D)who,we,what.

Question 56

What are two general rules for avoiding plagiarism?

Question 57

An author submits a journal article and receives an editorial decision of "revise and resubmit." The author is probably

A)disappointed,because most good journal manuscripts are accepted "as is."
B)disappointed,because she did not expect to put a lot of work into revision.
C)happy,because this is the most common path toward publication,and she will be able to improve the article with the feedback of her peers.
D)happy,because she can use the peer feedback to improve the article and submit it to a different journal.