Ch 1 - True and False, Multiple Choice, Matching Activities

False

A person's specific attributes offers a researcher little information about the person.

Most of what we know is a matter of what?

Agreement reality

False

An independent variable is a variable assumed to depend on or be caused by another variable.

False

Antifeminism is a variable because some people display the attitude more than others.

True

Idiographic is an approach to explanation in which we seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a particular condition or event.

True

Induction is the logical model in which general principles are developed from specific observations

True

Inductive reasoning involves going from the specific to the general.

Selective observation

Interpreting events to fit a general pattern that a researcher believes to be true

Scientists do not study individuals per se, but instead study social patterns reflecting what?

aggregates

As a child, through media reporting on children's television, Giselle learned that a man walked on the moon. Her parents and peers confirmed this historical fact. Giselle's belief is an example of ________.

agreement reality

Relationship

an association that links variables

Professor Juliet Dallaire examined the following categories of marital status: married, never married, widowed, separated, and divorced. These categories are known as what?

attributes

Methodology

the science of finding out

Which one of the following is the best example of agreement-based knowledge? A student is asked by her professor to perform a study on the causal relationship between first-year students' mental health statuses and their grades in order to confirm the findings of an identical study undertaken during the previous term. This safeguard is ________.

you do not get right next to people when you talk to them because it violates a norm

False

Attributes are composed of variables.

False

Deception is unacceptable in the execution of any kind of research project.

True

Deductive reasoning provides a hypothesis based on general principles.

True

Epistemology is the science of knowing and methodology is the science of finding out.

False

Examples of attributes include gender, political affiliation, and occupation.

False

Gender, occupation, social class, and race are examples of attributes.

You have just had a wonderful streak of great luck in your methods class: you've gotten A's on the last three tests and assignments. You have a research project due on the last day of class and you just know that you are going to flunk it. After all, something has to happen to break up this streak of good luck. What error have you fallen prey to?

Illogical reasoning

True

Nomothetic explanations seek to explain a class of situations or events rather than a single one.

False

One of the unique advantages of science is that it can settle debates on values.

True

Overgeneralization is more likely to lead to selective observation than selective observation is to lead to overgeneralization.

True

Postmodernists believe that it is impossible to be completely objective when conducting research

False

Qualitative data is generally obtained through numerical means

False

Quantitative research is more aligned with nomothetic explanations, while qualitative research helps to achieve more idiographic explanations.

True

Scientific assertions must have both logical and empirical support.

False

The argument that there are always exceptions to patterns helps dispel the notion of social regularities.

True

The foremost ethical rule of social research is that it brings no harm to research participants.

False

The foremost rule to research is to compensate participants for their time, specifically prison inmates and people in mental health institutions.

True

The gambler`s fallacy is an example of illogical reasoning.

False

The goal of a scientific theory is ultimately to settle the debates about what is right and wrong once and for all.

True

The issue of voluntary participation can arise even when you ask for and receive written permission from your participants.

True

To acquire voluntary participants, researchers should utilize whatever means possible.

False

Upon completion of a nomothetic explanation, you would feel that you fully understand the causes of what happened in one particular case.

True

Variables can be explained as logical groupings of attributes.

False

While nomothetic explanations are very useful in social scientific research, idiographic explanations are of little use.

True

You have a bag filled with red marbles. After picking out five of them you declare that all of the marbles are red. This is an example of inductive reasoning.

Authority

a source of knowledge that is obtained from experts

But my professor said that no significant differences exist between women and men regarding intelligence." What source of understanding does this example reflect?

authority

Aggregates

collective actions and situation of many individuals

Julia studied the literature on binge drinking and discovered a pattern between gender and binge drinking that might be logically and theoretically expected. She then did her study of college students and drinking. Which approach is reflected?

deductive

According to a Statistics Canada's 2008 Report entitled, Women in Canada, women are more likely to seek the help of a professional when experiencing mental health issues. Based on this information, a therapist decides to organize a women's-only therapy group in her rural community practice. This is an example of ________.

deductive reasoning

Nomothetic explanation

explanation that seeks to identify the major factors that affect something across many causes

Brent studied students at his community college and noticed that a slim majority carried no books to class. Then he saw a new set of people in the distance. Before seeing the new set of people up close, he concluded that they would definitely be carrying books to class because someone should do that, especially since he had just seen students without books. Which error in inquiry is reflected?

illogical reasoning

While riding a bus, Hazel noticed that other riders tended to avoid sitting with people who were larger in size. She concluded that people on the bus would rather sit elsewhere than with a larger person. Her conclusion is an example of what ________.

inaccurate observation

A researcher found that the younger a person married the higher the likelihood of divorce. The age of marriage is an example of ________.

independent variable

Former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams researched the effects of political orientation on attitudes toward abortion. "Political orientation" is an example of what?

independent variable

During her internship, a criminal justice student has noticed that adolescents who have experienced difficulties in school are more likely to come into conflict with the law. In her process of going from specific observations to the discovery of a more general pattern, she has employed what?

inductive reasoning

On the first day of the semester you notice that your classes mostly consist of female students. You conclude that females are more likely to attend university than males. What is this an example of?

inductive reasoning

Which of the following statements is true about science?

it has to do with how things are and why

Social regularities

logical and persistent patterns in social life

Variables

logical grouping of attributes

What are the two foundations of science?

observation and logic

Nomothetic explanations:

offer key reasons as to why something happened

Lucy decided to study the differences among students who choose different majors. However, everyone in her study has chosen sociology as a major. Which one of the following can be said about Lucy's concept of choice of major?

one of her variable isn't really a variable because it has only one attribute

A researcher was carrying out preliminary research on a specialized gang unit in a Canadian prison. Later that day, the researcher concluded that a majority of prisoners have visible gang tattoos. What error has the researcher committed?

overgeneralization

A student meets two fraternity men at a party who talk about all the partying they do. She then concludes that all fraternity men party all the time. What error in understanding does this example reflect?

overgeneralization

When you hear the 4:27 train blow its whistle as you walk home from school every day, you can expect within minutes to smell Mr. Dusseault's cooking. What is this an example of?

prediction without understanding

Professor Fillmore was interested in learning more about the negotiation processes couples use when they argue. He was interested in this for its own sake and had no plans to use the results to help improve couples' lives. What type of research is reflected in this example?

pure

When social scientists study variables in explanatory research, what do they focus on?

relationships

A student is asked by her professor to perform a study on the causal relationship between first-year students' mental health statuses and their grades in order to confirm the findings of an identical study undertaken during the previous term. This safeguard is ________.

replication

Which one of the following is not a common error in casual inquiries?

replications of inquiry

Overgeneralization

the assumptions that a few similar events are evidence of a general pattern

Independent variable

the cause of a particular dependent variable

Romeo says that his 48-year-old Catholic uncle will marry his 23-year- old atheist girlfriend next year in order to prove that the social regularity that people tend to marry someone like themselves is not accurate. What is your best response as a methodology student?

the objection that social regularities could be upset through the conscious will of the actors is not a serious challenge to social science