SOWK6540: Intro to Research Study Guide
True or False? Face validity is a form of empirical validity.
False
True or False? Reliability and validity are handled precisely in the same ways in qualitative inquiry as they are in quantitative inquiry.
False
True or False? The more broadly worded the research question is, the better the research question.
False
True or False? The tendency to give a favorable impression of oneself is an example of random error.
False
True or False? Whenever two variables are correlated, we may assume that one is the cause of the other.
False
True or False? After you complete you literature review, part of formulating the question and purpose for your research requires you to consider the time dimension.
True
True or False? Each source of data -- including written self-reports, interviews, direct behavioral observation and examining available records -- is vulnerable to measurement error.
True
True or False? If a measure is valid, it must also be reliable.
True
In general, survey research is an appropriate observational method for A. describing a population too large to observe directly. B. descriptive purposes, only. C. explanatory purposes, only D. exploratory purposes, only.
A. describing a population too large to observe directly.
Qualitative research is especially effective for: A. auditory research. B. examining social processes over time. C. meeting the scientific norm of generalizability. D. meeting the scientific norm of inter-subjectivity.
B. examining social processes over time.
In qualitative research the unstructured interview is used to: A. minimize interviewer bias. B. gain an in-depth understanding of respondents' views, attitudes, values, and beliefs. C. obtain easily tabulated data. D. control for factors that may affect the respondents' answers.
B. gain an in-depth understanding of respondents' views, attitudes, values, and beliefs.
Which of the following designs signifies a mixed-methods study that emphasizes qualitative methods but with quantitative methods being implemented first? A. QUALITATIVE quantitative. B. quantitative QUALITATIVE. C. Quantitative Qualitative. D. Qualitative Quantitative.
B. quantitative QUALITATIVE.
An interview with someone with a limited vocabulary who therefore does not understand the questions being asked is likely to produce: A. systematic error. B. random error. C. validity. D. reliability
B. random error.
The tendency of people to answer questions through a filter that will convey a favorable impression is called: A. the acquiescent response set. B. social desirability bias. C. cultural bias. D. random error.
B. social desirability bias.
The PRIMARY ethical research issue raised by the Milgram study was: A. the administering of electrical shocks. B. the effects of the methods on the experimental subjects. C. the willingness of people to harm others when "following orders" required it. D. the examination of obedience as a topic for study.
B. the effects of the methods on the experimental subjects.
Which of the following statements is/are true about the Tuskegee syphilis study? A. Despite the controversy surrounding it, ethicists agreed that its benefits justified its risks. B. It was stopped shortly after it began. C. A social worker was instrumental in getting it stopped. D. Physicians were NOT involved in it.
C. A social worker was instrumental in getting it stopped.
A study that begins with observations and then looks for patterns, themes, or common categories is using what method? A. Being a complete participant B. Participatory action research. C. Grounded theory. D. client logs
C. Grounded theory.
Which of the following statements is true about constructing qualitative measures? A. You should rely primarily on close-ended questions. B.Highly structured self-administered questionnaires are more desirable than interview guides. C. Interviews can range from completely unstructured, informal conversational interviews that use no measurement instruments to highly structured, standardized interviews in which interviewers must ask questions in the exact order and with the exact wording in which they are written out in advance. D. They should be similar to quantitative measures for the same topic.
C. Interviews can range from completely unstructured, informal conversational interviews that use no measurement instruments to highly structured, standardized interviews in which interviewers must ask questions in the exact order and with the exact wording in which they are written out in advance.
Which of the following is a weakness of qualitative research? A. It measures phenomena too superficially. B. It is inflexible. C. It is weak on generalizability. D. It cannot be used to study formal organizations.
C. It is weak on generalizability.
The questionnaire item "Which is not a serious problem in the U.S. today, anomie or the socialization of the young?" violates which of the following guidelines? A. Avoid double-barreled questions. B. Avoid short items. C. Avoid leading the respondent. D. Avoid negative items.
D. Avoid negative items.
Descriptive studies do NOT A. study relationships between variables. B. use concepts. C. use operational definitions. D. tell why something occurred.
D. tell why something occurred.
Which of the following is an aim of qualitative studies? A. Deeper understanding. B. Testing hypotheses. C. Generalizable findings D. Objectivity
A. Deeper understanding.
If researchers wanted to find the average age of all licensed social workers in a country, they would undertake: A. a descriptive study. B. an exploratory study. C. an explanatory study. D. an evaluative study.
A. a descriptive study.
Assume that you have developed a study technique that you believe will result in students scoring higher on research methods exams. You test your study technique with the design diagrammed below. R = random assignment 0 = observation X = stimulus R 01 X 02 R 03 04 Using the diagrammed design, what predictions will you make? A. 02 should be greater than 01. B. 02 should be less than 04. C. 04 should be greater than 03. D. 04 should be less than 01.
A. 02 should be greater than 01.
A social work researcher conducted a study to assess the interactions between domestic violence victims and the law enforcement system. Upon reviewing the interview data, the researcher noticed that all of the respondents reported similar experiences with law enforcement. Since these experiences reflected the researcher's original expectations of the topic, the researcher discussed the results with several colleagues before publishing a report of the study. This is an example of which qualitative research standard? A. Peer debriefing and support B. Auditing C. Transferability D. Member checking
A. Peer debriefing and support
Which of the following statements is true about the research process? A. Qualitative and quantitative research methods are compatible. B. Writing any part of the research report should be delayed until all the data are analyzed and interpreted. C. It ends with the completion of data collection D. All parts of the research process happen in the same order regardless of the type of research being conducted.
A. Qualitative and quantitative research methods are compatible.
If we find that self-esteem is higher among children who are more active in sports, we have found what type of relationship? A. positive. B. negative. C. curvilinear. D. causal.
A. positive.
A social work student is interested in studying differences in job satisfaction of faculty based on the department in which they teach. The student would like to generalize to all university faculty. The study is conducted using only the faculty at the student's small institution, which limits the sample to 100 people. This is an example of A. sampling bias. B. random sampling. C. snowball sampling. D. stratified sampling.
A. sampling bias.
Administering multiple pretests in a non-equivalent comparison group design: A. enables us to detect whether participants are already engaged in a change process before treatment begins. B. increases the likelihood that improvement from pretest to posttest is a function of statistical regression. C. makes it more difficult to detect trends in the data. D. decreases the internal validity of the design.
A. enables us to detect whether participants are already engaged in a change process before treatment begins.
Professor Root was studying the child abuse rates in urban and rural areas of Ohio. It was found that the child abuse rate was higher in the rural areas. Professor Root concluded that people who live in rural areas are more likely to abuse children than are people who live in urban areas. Root's conclusion A. illustrates the ecological fallacy. B. illustrates reductionism. C. illustrates good deductive reasoning. D. illustrates the importance of trend studies.
A. illustrates the ecological fallacy.
Nonequivalent comparison groups designs can be strengthened by: A. using multiple pretests or switching replications. B. using smaller sample sizes. C. using no pretests D. using replication without switching.
A. using multiple pretests or switching replications
A sampling interval of 10 was used to select a sample from a population of 5,000. How many elements are to be in the sample? A. 50 B. 500 C. 100 D. 1,000
B. 500
A study tests the hypothesis that children who grow up in single-parent homes are more prepared for independent living upon reaching the age of majority than children who grow up in two-parent homes. In this hypothesis the variable "preparedness for independent living" is what type of variable? A. Independent variable B. Dependent variable C. Moderating variable D.It is not a variable.
B. Dependent variable
Which of the following is true about survey research? A. It is least useful when trying to describe a very large population. B. It makes it feasible to obtain very large samples. C. Its findings are less generalizable than the findings of experiments. D. An advantage is the ability to develop a deep feel for what respondents are thinking.
B. It makes it feasible to obtain very large samples.
A study that begins with qualitative research in an effort to lay the groundwork for conducting a larger study with quantitative research methods is using A. a convergent mixed methods design. B. an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. C. an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. D. a multiphase mixed methods design
B. an exploratory sequential mixed methods design.
When we switch replications in a non-equivalent comparison group design, we: A. administer the treatment to the control group before posttesting. B. can determine whether the difference between the groups at the first posttest may be attributed to the lack of comparability between the two groups. C. decrease the chances of determining whether the difference between the groups at the first posttest may be attributed to a selection bias. D. decrease the internal validity of the design.
B. can determine whether the difference between the groups at the first posttest may be attributed to the lack of comparability between the two groups.
A social work researcher is reporting on sample selection for a study on the topic of childhood obesity and discusses the level of representativeness of the sample in comparison to the population. Representativeness refers to the degree to which the sample: A. acts as representatives of the population. B. characteristics approximately reflect the population characteristics. C. characteristics perfectly reflect the population characteristics. D. represents all possible perspectives on the topic of study.
B. characteristics approximately reflect the population characteristics.
One of the most important natural abilities that interviewers must have is the ability to: A. dress in a fashion that is similar to the people being interviewed. B. determine very quickly the kind of person the respondent will feel most comfortable with. C. rephrase questions in their own words. D. probe for responses.
B. determine very quickly the kind of person the respondent will feel most comfortable with.
A researcher randomly selects cities, then randomly selects churches in each selected city, and the randomly selects members to be interviewed in each selected church. This research is using: A.quota sampling. B. multistage cluster sampling. C. stratified sampling. D. accidental sampling.
B. multistage cluster sampling.
After the delivery of their baby, new parents in hospital A were given a poison-control test. While at the hospital they attended a training session on poison control. At the end of a week, they were given the poison-control test again. After the delivery of their baby, new parents in hospital B were given the poison-control test. One week later they were given the test again. What kind of design is being used? A. pretest-posttest control group B. nonequivalent comparison group: C. cross-sectional design. D. multiple time-series
B. nonequivalent comparison group:
In general, as sample size increases: A. sampling error increases. B. sampling error decreases. C. sampling error will remain the same regardless of changes in sample size. D. measurement error decreases.
B. sampling error decreases.
When selecting a comparison group in a quasi-experimental design, one should: A. select a group unlike the experimental group: B. select a group as similar as possible to the experimental group: C. use random assignment. D. avoid the use of switching replications.
B. select a group as similar as possible to the experimental group:
Every kth (e.g. 5th) element in a list is chosen for inclusion in the sample in: A. simple random sampling. B. systematic sampling. C. disproportionate sampling. D. stratified sampling.
B. systematic sampling.
The 55-mph speed limit was introduced in the U.S. in 1973. Shortly thereafter the number of auto accidents declined. We can conclude that: A. the reduced speed limit caused the decline in auto accidents. B. the reduced speed limit may have caused the decline in the number of auto accidents. C. the reduced speed limit and the number of auto accidents are causally related. D. the reduced speed limit had nothing to do with the decline in auto accidents.
B. the reduced speed limit may have caused the decline in the number of auto accidents.
It is acceptable to withhold the results of a research study when: A. the results don't reflect what the researcher expected to find. B. the results of a study should always be reported. C. the results demonstrate that a particular intervention was not effective. D. the study was poorly conducted, rendering the results meaningless.
B. the results of a study should always be reported.
When a researcher is deciding what information will be gathered (and from whom), that researcher is dealing with which of the following stages of the research design process? A. purposes of research. B. units of analysis. C. topics for research. D. time dimension. E. motivations for research.
B. units of analysis.
Researchers who operationally define the severity of substance abuse as a total score on a scale with multiple questions asking research participants to indicate how often they use various types of substances are using what source of data for their operational definition? A. Direct observation. B. Self-report. C. Available records. D. Direct observables.
B. Self-report.
Which of the following statements is true about mailed surveys? A. Cover letters should be avoided so as to save costs and reduce the amount of material the respondent must read. B. Response rates are considered good only if they exceed 80%. C. Follow-up mailings are essential. D. The survey should usually take between 30 and 60 minutes for the respondent to complete.
C. Follow-up mailings are essential.
Which of the following statements is recommended in email invitations to participate in an online survey? A. Place the URL link to the survey site at the bottom of the screen under your invitation to participate. B. Always send the email invitation early in the morning, regardless of the type of people you are surveying C. Offer to share selected results from the study with everyone who completes the survey. D. Avoid using a prize drawing as an incentive to participate.
C. Offer to share selected results from the study with everyone who completes the survey.
Students are given a packet of documents, including a self-care survey, which must be submitted before the students are permitted to enter field placement. At the top of the self-care survey are instructions for completion and a statement that the students are not required to complete the survey. When the students meet with the field administrator to submit the paperwork, they are asked for their self-care survey also. The field administrator hopes to compare self-care behavior prior to entering field and at the conclusion of field placement for each student. The administrator can make what conclusions regarding voluntary participation? A. Participation in the research is not voluntary because the surveys are not submitted anonymously. B. Participation in the research is voluntary as long as students read the instructions at the top of the self-care survey. C. Participation in the research may not be truly voluntary even if the students read the instructions at the top of the self-care survey. D. Participation in the research is completely voluntary.
C. Participation in the research may not be truly voluntary even if the students read the instructions at the top of the self-care survey.
A local Native American tribal council was interested in conducting some research regarding concerns about Native children entering the state foster care system and going into white homes primarily. The tribal council partnered with a social work researcher in the area to conduct an assessment of child protection on the reservation and in the surrounding community as it related to Native children. Once they gathered all of the pertinent information, the tribal council members and the researcher collaborated to identify some possible solutions to keep Native children with families that reflect their cultural heritage. This is an example of a study using what qualitative research methods? A. Phenomenology B. Grounded theory C. Participatory action research D. Case study
C. Participatory action research
If we can establish that variable X comes before variable Q in time, then we can say: A. variable X is a cause of variable Q. B. variable X is not a cause of variable Q. C. variable Q is a cause of variable X. D. variable Q is not a cause of variable X.
D. variable Q is not a cause of variable X.
Which of the following statements is/are true about case-control designs? A. They are rarely feasible. B. Data must be collected at multiple points in time. C. Retrospective data are collected about past differences that might explain differences in outcome. D. We can usually be highly confident about the direction of causal influence.
C. Retrospective data are collected about past differences that might explain differences in outcome.
Which of the following statements is true about the qualitative perspective on operational definitions? A. We must know the most salient variables before we implement the study. B. We must understand the variables well enough in advance to anticipate the best way to operationally define them for an intervention? C. Specifying variables only in terms of observable indicators is superficial. D. Social context should be ignored, as it applies more to the quantitative perspective.
C. Specifying variables only in terms of observable indicators is superficial.
Which of the following statements is true about subjectivity in social work research? A. It should be minimized in all studies, regardless of the research question. B. It should be avoided in mixed methods studies, only. C. Subjective inquiry can be complimentary with objective inquiry. D. It should be avoided in all studies.
C. Subjective inquiry can be complimentary with objective inquiry.
Interview surveys have a number of advantages over mail surveys. Which of the following is NOT one of those advantages? A. Higher response rates. B. There is generally a smaller number of 'don't knows' and 'no answers.' C. There are a smaller number of relevant responses given. D. Observations can be made.
C. There are a smaller number of relevant responses given.
A study that begins with quantitative research and uses qualitative research to develop a better understanding of the quantitative data is using A. a convergent mixed methods design. B. an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. C. an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. D. a multiphase mixed methods design.
C. an explanatory sequential mixed methods design.
Suppose a case management program is established to reduce rehospitalization rates in a hospital and that those rates drop dramatically once the new program is established. We can conclude that: A. research has demonstrated an effective approach to practice. B. causality cannot be inferred because time order was not established. C. another event occurring during the time of the study might explain away the change. D. the absence of covariation threatens the internal validity of any causal inferences.
C. another event occurring during the time of the study might explain away the change.
A social worker conducts research to determine how well clients respond to a new anxiety medication, Nervousnelly. The researcher decides to split the clients into three groups: one group gets Nervousnelly, one group gets an existing anxiety medication, and the final group gets a sugar pill (a placebo). The clients are told that they will be assessed to determine how they respond to the anxiety medication, but they are not told what type of medication they are receiving. Ethical issues in this research include: A. confidentiality and voluntary participation., B. voluntary participation and denial of services. C. deception and denial of services. D. deception and confidentiality.
C. deception and denial of services.
A social worker who counsels clients who have recently been diagnosed with PTSD decides to assess a new treatment he developed called shock-recovery therapy. The basic idea of the therapy is that he spends half of each session shouting at the patient trying to shock the trauma out of them. The remainder of the session is spent in recovery from this, where the client processes his/her feelings about being shouted at and how that compares with his/her trauma experience. To maintain the integrity of the research, the social worker decides to inform the clients about the study only after its completion, using the debriefing method. The study will last six months. Ethical issues in this research include: A. informed consent and confidentiality. B. denial of services and voluntary participation. C. deception and harm to participants. D. deception and denial of services.
C. deception and harm to participants.
A social work student is interested in studying how children respond to families with same-sex parents. The student anticipates that parents who are opposed to same-sex marriage or same-sex couples becoming parents may be unlikely to allow their children to participate in the study. As a result, when gathering informed consent from the parents, the student describes the study as an assessment of how children respond to many types of families and includes families of all types in the assessment. The ethical issue(s) in this study is/are: A. voluntary participation and harm to participants. B. violation of privacy. C. deception of participants. D. confidentiality.
C. deception of participants.
The primary function of the probe is to: A. loosen up the respondent. B. get the correct answer from the respondent. C. get the respondent to answer a question more fully. D. indicate an understanding and interest in the respondent.
C. get the respondent to answer a question more fully.
A social work researcher interested in assessing social work students' understanding of professional ethics gathers a list of social work students from 10 large social work programs. The researcher sends a survey to a randomly selected 10% of the 5000 potential participants. The list of 5000 social work students represents the ___________ for this study.: A. sampling unit B. population C. sampling frame D. parameter
C. sampling frame
An example of the participant-as-observer includes: A. joining a sorority or fraternity to study initiation rituals without revealing your identity as a researcher. B. telling people you're a spy to find out how they react. C. telling a motorcycle gang that you are a researcher and would like to ride with them for a year to understand their interaction patterns. D. being a newspaper reporter who interviews union workers to learn about recent strike efforts.
C. telling a motorcycle gang that you are a researcher and would like to ride with them for a year to understand their interaction patterns.
When evaluating ethical issues involved in a research study, it is important to consider: A. how to get the results you want from the study. B. the impact of replicating other studies. C. whether the benefits of the study outweigh the risks of the study. D. what would happen if someone chose to replicate your study.
C. whether the benefits of the study outweigh the risks of the study.
A social work student is interested in studying the topic of adoption. Particularly, the student would like to be able to outline and describe how the adoption process differs for individuals who adopt internationally, domestic infants, and out of foster care. This study would most likely use what qualitative method? A. Phenomenology B. Ethnography C. Participatory action research D. Case study
D. Case study
The public health organization social worker is unable to conduct the desired study, so he decides to interview his existing clients between the ages of 8 and 16 to learn about their sexual decisions and level of understanding about sexual issues. This would be an example of a: A. Longitudinal panel study. B. Longitudinal cohort study. C. Longitudinal trend study. D. Cross-sectional study.
D. Cross-sectional study.
The following designs signifies which type of mixed methods study: qualitative QUANTITATIVE? A.Equal emphasis with qualitative methods being implemented first. B. Equal emphasis with quantitative methods being completed first. C. Emphasis on quantitative research with quantitative methods being implemented first. D. Emphasis on quantitative research with qualitative methods being implemented first.
D. Emphasis on quantitative research with qualitative methods being implemented first.
A study tests the hypothesis that children who grow up in single-parent homes are more prepared for independent living upon reaching the age of majority than children who grow up in two-parent homes. Whether or not there are multiple children in the home is what type of variable? A. Independent variable B. Dependent variable C. It could be an independent or dependent variable in this hypothesis depending on how it is used. D. Extraneous variable
D. Extraneous variable
A social worker at a volunteer agency wonders if volunteering could be used as an intervention for depression among adolescent males. The social worker locates youths receiving treatment for depression and, after linking specific youth with volunteer opportunities, begins studying their depression levels at 3-month intervals. The goal is to determine whether depression improves as a result of the volunteer experience and if that depression continues to improve over time. This is a: A. Cross-sectional study. B. Longitudinal trend study. C. Longitudinal cohort study. D. Longitudinal panel study.
D. Longitudinal panel study.
A social work researcher conducted a study of women in same-sex relationships. The goal of the research was to better understand female same-sex partnerships in order to provide improved couples counseling to same-sex female couples. After collecting data from 20 women, the researcher compiled the data and revisited each of the women so that she could review the researcher's results. The researcher wanted to ensure that the women's varying perspectives were accurately represented. This is an example of which qualitative research standard? A. Prolonged engagement B. Peer debriefing and support C. Triangulation D. Member checking
D. Member checking
Compared to quantitative studies, qualitative studies are more likely to: A.usually have a larger sample size. B. use less time consuming data collection methods. C. ask close-ended questions. D. None of the above.
D. None of the above.
Which of the following is LEAST suited to providing clear evidence about a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables? A. Classical experimental design. B. Solomon four-group design. C. Posttest-only control group design. D. One-shot case study.
D. One-shot case study.
Which of the following is an aim of quantitative studies? A. Deeper understanding. B. Rich observations. C. Rich narratives. D. Precision.
D. Precision
Most social scientists would not accept the conceptualization of IQ as foot size because such a measurement would lack: A. precision. B. reliability. C. accuracy. D. validity.
D. Validity
A social work researcher conducting a study of medical professionals to ascertain their feelings on physician-assisted suicide is able to gather a large sample from around the United States by using Medical Association membership lists. The population is: A. the individuals who participate in the study. B. members of the various medical associations. C. medical professionals who are employed in hospitals. D. all medical professionals
D. all medical professionals
You decide to do a class research project on how many freshmen violate the lifestyle agreement they signed when they decided to attend a Christian college. You intend to analyze the results by dorm, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and major. The instrument you create has some extremely sensitive questions on it related to substance use and sexual activity. To disguise the real purpose of the research, you include several questions on the instrument that are unrelated to your study and, in the informed consent form, you tell participants that you are studying general characteristics of college students. Ethical issues in this research include: A. deception only. B. informed consent and confidentiality. C. anonymity and voluntary participation. D. anonymity and deception.
D. anonymity and deception.
You want to examine the relationship between family size and family cohesion. You use as your sample all the students in this research class. What kind of sampling design are you using? A. simple random sampling. B. quota sampling. C. cluster sampling. D. available sampling.
D. available sampling.
When a social work researcher is interested in a topic that is controversial and has potential political implications, the researcher should: A. only conduct research that is the opposite of the researcher's personal beliefs in order to maintain objectivity. B. only conduct research that is likely to align with predominant political ideals. C. determine the most politically savvy approach prior to completing a study. D. be aware of his or her biases throughout the research process.
D. be aware of his or her biases throughout the research process.
To obtain samples of the same size from strata of varying sizes, it would be necessary to use A. simple random sampling. B. systematic sampling. C. proportionate sampling. D. disproportionate sampling.
D. disproportionate sampling.
According to contemporary positivist standards, which of the following strategies is NOT recommended for enhancing the rigor of qualitative studies? A. Triangulation. B. Negative case analysis. C. Leaving a paper trail for auditing. D. evoking actions by participants to effect desired change.
D. evoking actions by participants to effect desired change.
In contrast to interviews, self-administered questionnaires have the advantage of: A. being more effective in dealing with complicated issues. B. producing fewer incomplete questions. C. dealing with the context of social life. D. handling sensitive issues more effectively.
D. handling sensitive issues more effectively.
The director of a social work program decides to conduct a survey of the students in the program to determine their satisfaction with the program and with professors. The director sends the survey to all students via e-mail and asks the students to return their completed surveys by dropping them off with the receptionist. To maintain anonymity of the survey data, the director should: A. have the receptionist put the surveys in an envelope to be given to the director. B. there is no way to maintain anonymity in this situation. C. have the receptionist put the surveys upside down in a basket on the reception desk. D. put a drop box outside the office where the students can put the surveys without being seen by anyone.
D. put a drop box outside the office where the students can put the surveys without being seen by anyone.
You are doing research on hospital personnel—orderlies, technicians, nurses, and doctors. You want to be sure you draw a sample that has cases in each of the personnel categories. You want to use probability sampling. An appropriate strategy would be: A. simple random sampling. B. quota sampling. C. cluster sampling. D. stratified sampling.
D. stratified sampling.
A social work researcher decides to study the use of community recreational services in a community with a significant amount of diversity. The community is home to a number of refugees and immigrants (newly arrived and long-term residents). Additionally, most of the residents of the community have incomes on the verge of the poverty line and the average level of education among the residents is less than high school. To ensure informed consent, the researcher should: A. limit the sample to participants who can read at a 12th grade reading level or above. B. limit the sample to participants who can read in English. C. select a very diverse sample and use the same consent form for all participants. D. write the consent form at a 6th grade reading level and translate it as needed.
D. write the consent form at a 6th grade reading level and translate it as needed.
Which of the following is/are a reason for using mixed methods? A. To use one set of methods to illustrate cases or provide numbers for the findings of the other set. B. To use one set to initiate ideas that subsequently can be pursued by the other set. C. To see if two sets of findings corroborate each other. D. All of these are ways to used mixed methods studies.
D. All of these are ways to used mixed methods studies.
Which of the following is an attribute of a good research question? A. There should only be one possible acceptable answer to it. B. It need NOT be stated in specific terms. C. It need NOT be answerable by observable evidence. D. Its answer should be relevant to others concerned about social work or social welfare.
D. Its answer should be relevant to others concerned about social work or social welfare.
According to contemporary positivist standards, which of the following is NOT a threat to the trustworthiness of qualitative research? A. The researcher's presence in the field might distort the naturalism of the setting. B. Researcher biases might distort what researchers perceive or how they selectively observe. C. The need to appear socially desirable might result in respondent biases. D. The use of prolonged engagement.
D. The use of prolonged engagement.
If researchers wanted to find the average age of all licensed social workers in a country, they would undertake: A. qualitative study. B. quantitative study C. a mixed-methods study. D. None of the above.
b. quantitative study
Which of the following is an example of a qualitative research question? A. How does it feel to be homeless? B. How many clients receiving our agency services are homeless? C. How effective is our agency in reducing homelessness? D. What proportion of returning combat veterans become homeless?
A. How does it feel to be homeless?
An instrument is developed with the intent to measure whether the parenting skills of parents referred for child abuse or neglect improve after participation in a parenting education treatment program. The instrument is found to be valid when untreated parents referred for child abuse or neglect score much worse on it than model parents who are child therapists. Which of the following statements is/are true about the instrument? A. It appears to have known-groups validity. B. Because it is valid, it can be relied upon to detect whether small, subtle improvements occur in the parenting skills of the parents who participate in the program. C. It appears to have predictive validity. D. It is sensitive to small differences.
A. It appears to have known-groups validity.
Which of the following statements is/are true about the interview guide approach? A. It uses an outline of interview topics and issues to cover. B. It is the most highly structured approach to qualitative interviewing. C. It is the least structured approach to quantitative interviewing. D. It relieves interviewers of the need to be completely familiar with the interview guide contents before beginning any interviews.
A. It uses an outline of interview topics and issues to cover.
The following items and Scoring scheme were taken from the Minnesota Survey of Opinions. The four items were part of an index designed to assess attitudes toward education. In the index SA = strongly agree, A = agree, U = undecided, D = disagree, and SD = strongly disagree 1 A man can learn more by working four years than by going to school, SA 5 A 4 U 3 D 2 SD 1 2 The more education a man has the better he is able to enjoy life. SA 1 A 2 U 3 D 4 SD 5 3 Education helps a person to use his leisure time to better advantage. SA 1 A 2 U 3 D 4 SD 5 4 Education is of no help in getting a job today. SA 5 A 4 U 3 D 2 SD 1 A. Likert scale. B. Thurstone scale. C. semantic differential scale. D. Bogardus social distance scale.
A. Likert scale.
Which of the following statements is NOT true about reliability and validity in qualitative research? A. Standardized scales whose reliability and validity are known to be high would be relied upon as the prime measures. B. Akin to interobserver reliability in quantitative studies, one might assess whether two independent raters arrive at the same interpretation from the same mass of written qualitative field notes. C. Reliability might be assessed by asking subjects whether the researcher's interpretations ring true and are meaningful to them. D. Reliability has a role in qualitative research.
A. Standardized scales whose reliability and validity are known to be high would be relied upon as the prime measures.
Which of the following statements, as currently stated and without the need for rewording, comes closest to being a useful hypothesis? A. The provision of case management services reduces the number of days spent in institutions. B. The provision of case management services should be increased. C. The number of days spent in institutions can be decreased. D. The greater the number of days spent in institutions, the fewer the number of days spent outside of institutions.
A. The provision of case management services reduces the number of days spent in institutions.
Which of the following statements is true about probability samples? A. They avoid conscious and unconscious sampling bias. B. They are perfectly representative of the population from which they are drawn. C. They are more risky than non-probability samples. D. They allow you to choose exactly who will be in your sample.
A. They avoid conscious and unconscious sampling bias.
Which of the following is an example of a quantitative research question? A. What proportion of returning combat veterans become homeless? B. How do clients describe their experiences with homelessness? C. How does it feel to be homeless? D. What would clients explain as a pivotal moment in their process out of homelessness?
A. What proportion of returning combat veterans become homeless?
Asking respondents if they have any children before asking them about the ages of their children is an example of: Correct answer: A. a contingency question. B. a double-barreled question. C. a biased question. D. a negative item.
A. a contingency question.
Quasi-experimental designs are often used instead of experimental designs because A. agency constraints often make experiments infeasible. B. they have more internal validity than experiments C. quasi-experiments randomly assign participants to groups. D. they use random assignment.
A. agency constraints often make experiments infeasible.
Drawing a judgmental sample A. allows researchers to use their prior knowledge about the topic. B. enlists the aid of uninformed respondents. C. results in a sample that has no researcher bias. D. requires the development of a quota matrix.
A. allows researchers to use their prior knowledge about the topic.
Pre-experimental designs A. are insufficient for drawing causal inferences. B. control for most sources of internal invalidity. C. control for most sources of external invalidity. D. are excellent for drawing causal inferences.
A. are insufficient for drawing causal inferences.
When asking questionnaire items, the interviewer should: A. ask every question even if the respondent has apparently answered it already. B. react to a question after the respondent has answered to show interest C. give help on difficult questions. D. summarize the respondent's answers so that they are more meaningful answers.
A. ask every question even if the respondent has apparently answered it already.
The Solomon four-group design: A. combines the classical experimental design with the posttest-only control group design. B. combines the classical experimental design with the pretest-only control group design. C. combines the classical experimental design with the static-group comparison design. D. combines the static-group comparison design with the one-group pretest-posttest design.
A. combines the classical experimental design with the posttest-only control group design.
Stratifying a population prior to drawing a sample A. generally occurs when the variables used to stratify are known to be associated with the dependent variable. B. eliminates the need for simple random sampling. C. is most useful for studying a homogeneous population. D. eliminates the need for probability sampling.
A. generally occurs when the variables used to stratify are known to be associated with the dependent variable.
When the variable "marital status" is classified as never married, currently married, or currently married but separated, this variable has the important quality/ qualities of being A. mutually exclusive. B. exhaustive. C. interchangeable. D. ratio scale.
A. mutually exclusive.
Monitoring questionnaire returns A. provides a clue about when to launch a follow-up mailing. B. does NOT enable you to estimate sampling bias. C. should begin two to three months after the questionnaires are mailed. D. should be used only when surveys are NOT anonymous.
A. provides a clue about when to launch a follow-up mailing.
When someone who has sexually abused a child consistently denies having done so, it is an example of: A. systematic measurement error. B. random measurement error. C. unreliable data. D. face error
A. systematic measurement error.
If a researcher were conducting a study of women's attitudes toward abortion rights, the unit of analysis would be: A. the individual women. B. abortion rights. C. women's attitudes. D. society
A. the individual women.
Reliability involves: A. whether a particular technique applied repeatedly to the same object would yield the same results each time. B. ensuring accuracy. C. ensuring that your measure measures what you think it should measure. D. ensuring precision.
A. whether a particular technique applied repeatedly to the same object would yield the same results each time.
Which of the following is true regarding the feasibility of social work research studies? A. Fiscal costs are rarely underestimated. B. Agency staff members may resist research studies. C. Unexpected obstacles rarely take up much time. D. Ethical issues rarely require that the research be reformulated.
B. Agency staff members may resist research studies.
Which of the following statements is/are true about IRB procedures or requirements? A. All IRBs use the same amounts of required forms. B. All IRBs are expected to require education on the protection of human research participants for each research assistant in studies involving human subjects. C. All research must undergo a full review; there are no exemptions for expedited reviews.
B. All IRBs are expected to require education on the protection of human research participants for each research assistant in studies involving human subjects.
Which of the following statements is true about questionnaires? A. Researchers can avoid the need for pretesting if they are very careful in the way they word questions. B. Because it is virtually impossible to avoid some mistakes in wording, questionnaires should be pretested in a dry run. C. When pretesting, the pretest sample should be very large. D. When pretesting your questionnaire, it's better to ask people to read through it looking for errors rather than to complete the questionnaire.
B. Because it is virtually impossible to avoid some mistakes in wording, questionnaires should be pretested in a dry run.
Which of the following statements is true about the literature review? A. It should be put off until the research question has been sharpened. B. It is a prime source for selecting a research question to begin with. C. It should be done exclusively in the library, not online. D. It should be limited to social work journal articles.
B. It is a prime source for selecting a research question to begin with.
Professor Hall was planning to do a field study of unemployed recent immigrants. Hall wanted to be sure that persons representing all different age, racial, and sex categories were included in the sample of unemployed recent immigrants. What kind of sampling scheme would you recommend? A. Deviant cases B. Quota sampling C. Snowball sampling D. Cluster sampling
B. Quota sampling
Which of the following statements is/are true about focus groups? A. The larger the number of participants, the better. B. The group dynamics may bring out information that may not have emerged in individual interviews. C. Representativeness is a common strength of this method. D. The data that emerge are likely to be less voluminous and more systematic than structured survey data.
B. The group dynamics may bring out information that may not have emerged in individual interviews.
Which of the following statements is TRUE about selecting a research question? A. The selection should be based exclusively on the researcher's personal curiosity. B. The question should pass the "so what" test. C. Reading the research literature on the topic should be put off until after the research question is finalized. D. The question must test a theory.
B. The question should pass the "so what" test.
In looking over the responses given to the items in question 12, you notice that a respondent checked "strongly agree" to all four items. As a methodologist, which of the following statements BEST describes your ideas about the respondent? A. The respondent is a scale type 12. B. The respondent probably fell into a response set. C. The respondent must strongly agree with all the items. D. The respondent has a high opinion of education.
B. The respondent probably fell into a response set.
If a researcher wanted to test the hypothesis that female social workers are more empathic than male social workers, the researcher would design: A. a descriptive study. B. an explanatory study. C. an exploratory study. D. an evaluative study.
B. an explanatory study.
To generate hypotheses or tentative new insights about a new phenomenon, a researcher would undertake: A. an explanatory study. B. an exploratory study. C. an evaluative study. D. a descriptive study.
B. an exploratory study.
When a respondent is asked to select an answer from a list provided by the researcher, this is an example of: A. open-ended questions. B. closed-ended questions. C. double-barreled questions. D. an invalid study.
B. closed-ended questions.
Which of the following statements is true about choosing an existing scale as an operational definition of self-esteem for children to complete before and after an intervention? A. The longer the scale, the better. B. A scale that has been shown to be reliable and valid for adults would be a good choice. C. The scale should be sensitive to change over time. D. The scale exemplifies a direct observable.
C. The scale should be sensitive to change over time.
Which of the following statements is TRUE about qualitative and quantitative research methods? A. Scholars always use their favorite B. They are incompatible. C. They tend to measure different attributes. D. They can be used interchangeably.
C. They tend to measure different attributes.
Explanatory studies are designed to find answers to which of the following questions? A. Are people's attitudes toward public welfare changing? B. Who watches soap operas? C. Why are people's attitudes toward public welfare changing? D. Is a measurement scale valid?
C. Why are people's attitudes toward public welfare changing?
The questionnaire item "Did you file federal and state income tax reports last year?" with a response set of yes, no, can't remember, other, is an example of A. an open-ended question. B. an ordinal variable. C. a double-barreled question. D. a negative item.
C. a double-barreled question.
A follow-up study of how the same clients discharged from a mental hospital in 1990 were functioning in 1991, 1992, 1993, and so on through 2000 would be: A. a cohort study B. a trend study C. a panel study D. a cross-sectional study
C. a panel study
Among the advantages of qualitative research is that it: A. yields precise descriptive statements about a large population. B. involves the uniform application of precise operational definitions. C. allows for the modification of research design. D. produces definitive conclusions.
C. allows for the modification of research design.
If we find that test performance improves as level of anxiety increases from low to moderate amounts and then worsens as level of anxiety increases beyond moderate amounts, then we have found what type of relationship? A. positive. B. negative. C. curvilinear. D. causal.
C. curvilinear.
A researcher wanted to learn about factors that influence parents to participate or not participate in the substance abuse treatment for their adolescent children. She decided to interview the parents who refused to participate and compare their responses with the parents who participated the most. What type of sampling did she use? A. snowball sampling B. systematic sampling C. deviant cases sampling D. accidental sampling
C. deviant cases sampling
Professor Smith was interested in reporting the reality of the experiences of teenage runaways living on the streets in their own terms. Smith is probably most interested in: A. being a complete participant. B. grounded theory. C. ethnography. D. hermeneutics.
C. ethnography.
The qualitative researcher: A. usually approaches the task with precisely defined hypotheses to be tested. B. typically studies only those processes that can be predicted in advance. C. makes initial observations, develops tentative conclusions that suggest D.further observation, and revises the conclusions. never attempts to increase objectivity.
C. makes initial observations, develops tentative conclusions that suggest
A study tests the hypothesis that the provision of social work intervention will reduce the school dropout rate. It finds that social work intervention reduces the dropout rate only of children whose families are experiencing high levels of family stress. In this study, what type of variable is "level of family stress"? A. independent variable. B. dependent variable. C. moderating variable. D. It could be an independent or dependent variable; it depends on whether it is stated first or second in the hypothesis.
C. moderating variable.
The specification of concepts in a scientific inquiry depends on nominal, operational, and real definitions. A. real definitions. B.nominal and operational definitions. C. nominal and real definitions. D. operational and real definitions.
C. nominal and real definitions.
Ethical obligations to one's colleagues in the scientific community: A. allow the researcher to determine whether or not to report negative findings. B. Encourage the researcher to always describe the findings as the product of a carefully preplanned analytical strategy. C. require that technical shortcomings and failures of the study be revealed.
C. require that technical shortcomings and failures of the study be revealed.
An advantage of qualitative research is that: A. it enables the researcher to draw conclusions about the population. B. the researcher can control the variables under study. C. social life can be studied in a natural setting. D. hypotheses can be rigorously tested.
C. social life can be studied in a natural setting.
Professor Myth asked respondents whether or not they had ever been divorced. One year later Professor Myth asked respondents the same question. Myth found that with repeated applications of the measure different responses were obtained for the same subject. This means that the measuring instrument was: A. unreliable. B. invalid. C. unreliable or the value on the variable had changed. D. lacking in face validity.
C. unreliable or the value on the variable had changed
Which of the following is NOT an operational definition of degree of homophobia? A. a score on a scale measuring attitude about homosexuality. B. whether or not participates in protests against gay marriage. C. view of homosexuality. D. number of derogatory statements made about homosexuality in a conversation about it.
C. view of homosexuality.
Which of the following statements is/are true about qualitative and quantitative research methods? A. Many studies use one or the other approach exclusively. B. Some studies use both approaches with an equal emphasis on each. C. Some studies use both approaches, but put more emphasis on one approach than the other. D. All of these are ways that quantitative and qualitative studies can be used.
D. All of these are ways that quantitative and qualitative studies can be used.
In social work studies testing hypotheses involving the variable "level of social functioning" that variable is: A. always the dependent variable. B. always either the dependent or control variable. C. always the independent variable. D. an independent, dependent, or control variable, depending on what is being conceptualized and postulated in any given study.
D. an independent, dependent, or control variable, depending on what is being conceptualized and postulated in any given study.
When names are removed from questionnaires and are replaced with identification numbers so that only the researcher can later link a response to a name, the researcher should tell the respondent that the information is: A. harmless. B. anonymous and confidential. C. anonymous. D. confidential.
D. confidential.
Asking a group of experts whether the items on a scale appear to measure what they intend to measure is a good way to assess the scale's: A. predictive validity. B. concurrent validity. C. construct validity. D. content validity.
D. content validity.
The unit about which information is collected and which provides the basis of analysis is called: A. universe. B. unit of analysis. C. sampling frame. D. element.
D. element.
A nominal definition: A. is a statement of the essential nature of some entity. B. is a statement detailing what will be involved in measuring some entity. C. is a statement that allows us to observe some entity. D. is a statement that assigns a definition to a concept.
D. is a statement that assigns a definition to a concept.
In a study in which a researcher examined major U.S. newspaper editorials that dealt with the topic of public welfare, the unit of analysis was A. public welfare. B. major U.S. cities. C. newspapers. D. newspaper editorials. E. welfare recipients.
D. newspaper editorials.
Professor Lum asked respondents, "How old are you?" Later in the interview Lum asked, "What is your date of birth?" This illustrates that Lum was interested in the ________ of the measurement. A. face validity B. validity C. precision D. reliability
D. reliability
