Research Final Exam -Chapter 4

Which one of the following is the BEST example of the ecological fallacy?

Felisha studied Census tracts for her study on crime, but then wrote up her conclusions in terms of individuals.

Yugorsky studied five fifth-grade classes over three years to determine how friendship patterns established in the fifth grade affected friendship patterns in the eighth grade. He studied the same group of students over time, but not necessarily the same individuals. Which design did he use?

cohort

Brunelle concluded from her study on gender and delinquency that it is not just probabilistic that men commit more delinquency, but that gender is the only relevant factor in that high levels of delinquency are always committed by men. Which false criterion for nomothetic causality is reflected in this example?

complete causation

Several sports coaches are interested in studying the effect of a new training regimen on the performance of their respective teams. The unit of analysis is the sports teams.

True

The easiest way to identify the unit of analysis is to examine a statement regarding the variables under study.

True

The ecological fallacy refers to drawing conclusions about individuals based solely on the observation of groups.

True

The nomothetic model of explanation is probabilistic in its approach to causation.

True

Which of the following employs the nomothetic model of explanation?

an isolation of the three most important reasons as to why men were selected to all the leadership positions at a former women's college that went coed

The final stage of the research process involves

application.

Andrew studied family conflict as portrayed in the media by reading letters to advice columns. What was his unit of analysis?

artifacts

There is a strong correlation between the number of firefighters that show up at a fire and the amount of damage produced by the fire. The size of the fire influences both the number of firefighters and the amount of damage. This illustrates that the relationship between the number of firefighters and the amount of damage is

caused by a third factor.

It is possible to draw approximate conclusions about processes that take place over time when using cross-sectional data by

All of these choices are correct.

Which of the following hypotheses best fits the criteria of causality?

As education increases, income tends to increase even after controlling for gender and race.

A necessary condition represents a condition that, if it is present, guarantees the effect in question.

False

Andrea is interested in looking at the changes in the rate of violent crimes in Ohio over the last decade. She should use a cohort analysis in this case.

False

3. Panel attrition is comparable to experimental mortality.

True

4. A research proposal describes what you intend to accomplish and how.

True

A major shortcoming of exploratory studies is that they seldom provide satisfactory answers to research questions.

True

Sampling is a way to learn about ______ by obtaining information from _______ of a larger population.

a larger population; a subset

Exploratory studies are done for all EXCEPT which one of the following purposes?

to sort out the ethical implications of a study

The topic of surrogate mothers interested Professor Snyder. Snyder read the available materials on the topic and wanted to develop an age, education, and income profile of women who serve as surrogate mothers in the United States. To develop this profile, Snyder should undertake a(n)

descriptive study.

Desiree did a study on the causes of juvenile delinquency. Specifically, she examined if living in a city as opposed to the suburbs caused adolescents to become more delinquent. Which purpose of research did she pursue?

explanation

Nate wants to make some causal assertions in his cross-sectional study about the effects of high school involvement on violence among young adults (all the people he studied are in their early 20s). He can approximate a longitudinal study by

making logical inferences based on the time order of his variables.

In order to receive an honorable or dishonorable discharge from the military, you must be in the military. In terms of the discharge type, being in the military is a(n)

necessary cause.

Table A illustrates a ________ condition; and Table B illustrates a _______ condition.

necessary; sufficient

When the relationship between the number of firefighters and the amount of fire damage disappears once we control for the size of the fire, we say that "size of fire" is a ___________ variable.

spurious

17. Descriptive studies DO NOT

tell why something occurred.

For a causal relationship to exist, there must be evidence

that one variable precedes the other in time, that the two variables are correlated and that this relationship is not spurious.

Senator Robertson wants to know how voter interest in issues in his district has changed over time. It would be best to use a

trend study.

To look at changes in the average age of marriage for men and women in the United States, Professor Torme studied the U.S. Censuses over a period of decades. Torme was doing a

trend study.

The ecological fallacy is most relevant in terms of which one of the following?

units of analysis

Attrition of study participants is most critical for which of the following designs?

panel

Longitudinal studies are particularly useful for addressing which criterion for establishing causality?

time order

Longitudinal studies may be either trend or cohort studies, but not panel studies.

False

Mr. Smith found that males and females were equally likely to support his political platform. Smith correctly concludes that there is a correlation between gender and support for his platform.

False

Operationalization is the process of clarifying what is meant by the concepts being used in a study.

False

Research designs are descriptive, explanatory, or exploratory—never more than one.

False

Researchers ignore previous work on a topic so that their research can be original.

False

The independent (effect) variable must occur later in time than the dependent (cause) variable.

False

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

If there is a correlation between two variables, then one of those variables must be having an effect of some sort on the other.

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding necessary and sufficient causes?

In social science, we typically find a single necessary and sufficient cause to establish a causal relationship.

Descriptive research answers the question "What's so?" and explanatory research answers the question "Why?"

True

If a researcher is using information taken from other human beings in his/her research, he/she must first obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

True

The use of several different research methods to test the same finding is sometimes called triangulation.

True

If a researcher wanted to know why there was a noticeable increase in the number of burglaries in the town of Southpaw during 2005, the researcher should design a(n)

explanatory study.

Professor Dooley examined the literature on AIDS and could find nothing that examined children's attitudes toward parents and friends with AIDS. To examine this topic, Dooley should undertake a(n)

exploratory study.

Ricardo studied married couples in order to see if length of marriage affected the nature and quality of communication patterns. Which unit of analysis did he use?

group

Cindy established that gender came before voting in her study of adults in her city, so the time order was clear. She also ruled out the effects of age, religiosity, and other "third" variables. Which criterion for causality remains for her to establish?

that a relationship exists

A researcher examined newspaper editorials that focused on the Patriot's Act. She examined the editorials published in the major newspapers in major cities in the United States. The unit of analysis was

the newspaper editorials.

If a researcher is interested in studying the effects of different training regimens on a team's performance, the unit of analysis in this study is

the team.

Committing the error of reductionism is most closely tied to the selection of a(n)

theoretical paradigm.

Tyler finds that in burglary cases men and women are equally likely to vote to acquit. Tyler should conclude that

there is no relationship between gender and verdict in burglary cases.

Professor King examined all the reasons given by 50 couples for their marriages. In the final research report, King listed all the reasons given by the 100 people for their marriages. Professor King is

using an idiographic explanation for marriage.

If we can establish that variable X comes before variable Q in time, then we can say

variable Q is not a cause of variable X.

In nomothetic explanations, exceptions disprove the causal relationship.

False

Cohorts are defined by year of birth only.

False

Dr. Jordan chronicles people's attitudes toward an upcoming property tax levy. Jordan is doing explanatory research.

False

For a causal relationship to be true, it must apply to a majority of cases.

False

In Sweden, there is a very strong correlation between the number of storks and the number of babies born. However, both of these variables are associated with region (rural vs. urban). This illustrates

that there is no causal relationship between the number of storks and the number of babies.

Spurious relationships are relevant for which criterion for establishing nomothetic causality?

the effect cannot be explained in terms of some third variable

Which of the following is NOT an element of a research proposal?

All of these choices are elements of a research proposal.

16. Explanatory studies are designed to find answers to which of the following questions?

All of these choices exemplify questions answered by explanatory research.

If two variables are correlated with each other, there must be a causal relationship between them.

False

Which one of the following is the best example of reductionism?

Roberto explained suicide entirely in terms of psychological factors.

______________ is a paradigm based in the view that social behavior can be explained solely in terms of genetic characteristics and behavior.

Sociobiology

Professor Willard was interested in examining whether countries with higher GNPs tend to have more gangs than countries with lower GNPs. Willard's unit of analysis was

countries.

Once you have a well-defined purpose for your study and a clear description of the kinds of outcomes you want to achieve, the next step in your research design is

conceptualization.

A second researcher decides to select a LARGE sample of citizens in a community to interview before a new factory is built in the community. This researcher does not believe there is a need to re-interview these citizens at a later date. This researcher has engaged in _________ research design.

cross-sectional

Which one of the following designs is the most likely to be used for descriptive purposes?

cross-sectional

A single U.S. Census exemplifies a

cross-sectional study.

15. By itself, the 2000 Census exemplifies a decennial census could be considered a

cross-sectional; trend

Professor Root was studying the arrest rates for drunken driving in urban and rural areas of Ohio. It was found that the arrest rate was higher in the rural areas. Professor Root concluded that people who live in rural areas are more likely to drive while intoxicated than are people who live in urban areas. Root's conclusion

illustrates the ecological fallacy.

Andrea studied Native American women to learn more about how they cope with their minority status. What was her unit of analysis?

individuals

A researcher selects a sample of citizens in a community and interviews them before a new factory is built in the community. The researcher interviews these same citizens six months later and one final time a year later. The researcher has engaged in ______ research design.

panel or longitudinal

Margot wants to examine how student nurses change in their orientation towards patients over the course of their three years in nursing school. She is particularly concerned with following changes within the same individuals. It would be best to use a

panel study.

Professor Stone designs a study to examine the effect of a teenage pregnancy on young women's career choices. Stone wants to interview a sample of teenage women during their pregnancy, after the baby's birth, and once a year after that for a ten year period. Stone is using a

panel study.