Research Methods COM 3435 - Final Exam Study Quiz
What report summarizes ethical principles and guidelines for research involving human subjects?
Belmont Report
___________________ helps us to asses the image of particular groups in society and analyze the framing in news reporting.
Content Analysis
What are the downsides to Interviews?
Cost & Labor-Intensive Interviewer's bias Social Desirability repsonse
Which paradigm is ideologically-oriented inquiry and reflection, and is the basis for ideologies such as Neo-Marxism, feminism, and materialism?
Critical Theory
What are the two types of logic systems (reasonings) in empirical research?
Deductive & Inductive
List the three ways to ethically report research.
Ensure Accuracy Avoid Plagiarism Protect the participant's identities
_____________________ is a type of Ethnography that involves theoretically driven methods where researchers focus on language and speech communities.
Ethnography of Communication
What are the two types of Ethnography?
Ethnography of Communication Autoethnography
True or False? Ethnography information is normally not deep or descriptive.
False - it involves very deep, thick descriptions and explanations of meanings
True or False? When transcribing the interview, the transcript does not have to be verbatim or word-for-word.
False - the transcript should be verbatim
True or False? There aren't really specific rules or definitions required to determine a Unit of Analysis, it very loosely defined in research.
False - there are very specific rules or definitions required to determine a Unit of Analysis. It is very important because it is what ensures a close agreement among coders and fewer judgment calls.
True or False? The Belmont Report is a type of committee charged with the formal process of considering the soundness and reasonableness of research involving human participants.
False - this is the IRB
True or False? An example of the Likert-Type Scale is: Very Inappropriate____________________________Very Appropriate
False, this is the Semantic Differential Scale.
A ______________________ proposes/predicts what the nature of the relationship between variables will be.
Hypothesis
__________________ Criteria is the criteria that the participants must meet to be included in a sample.
Inclusion/Exclusion
The ________________ Variable is manipulated by the researcher in order to assess it's relationship with another observed phenomenon.
Independent
___________________ Surveys have a low response rate of only 10%.
What are the different survey forms?
Mail Survey Online Survey Phone Survey Personal Survey/Interview
Should a researcher answer questions from the participant, if they ask while in the interview process?
No
True or False? Critical Theory is Qualitative
True
True or False? Ethnography involves a strong interest in exploring a particular phenomenon that is underexplored.
True
True or False? Even only one case that is in great detail can be sufficient in ethnography, because the research is so focused.
True
True or False? Interdisciplinary Triangulation is possible when researchers from a variety of disciplines work together on a research project. (ex: a communication researcher partners with a physician to gather research)
True
True or False? Measurement involves everything a researcher does to arrive at the numerical estimates.
True
True or False? Ordinal Continuous Data is data involving a sequence or ordered, measured by ranking elements from high to low or low to high.
True
True or False? Participant anonymity and confidentiality, minimized physical or psychological harm, and consented audio and video recording are all means to conduct ethical research.
True
An ___________________ Survey describes AND explains why certain situations exist.
Analytic
____________________ is a type of Ethnography in which the researcher is also a participant and is typically highly personal and emotional (autobiographical).
Autoethnography
What guideline from the Belmont Report involves protecting the well-being of the participants?
Beneficence
What is the concept that one variable will cause change in the second variable?
Causation
What is the method of studying and analyzing communication in a systematic, objective, and quantitative manner for the purpose of measuring variables?
Content Analysis
True or False? The interview guide should contain around 4 or 5 questions that are ordered from most specific to most general.
False - The interview guide should contain around 4 or 5 questions that are ordered from most GENERAL to most SPECIFIC.
True or False? When writing questionnaire questions, the researcher should use "double-barreled" questions (two or more questions in the same sentence) in order to save the respondent's some time.
False - The researcher should ask all questions separately so that the respondent does not accidentally skip one.
True or False? Personal questions and other sensitive items should be placed at the beginning of the questionnaire.
False - They should be place at the end of the questionnaire.
True or False? Post-Positivism's theory is "I think therefore I am" & believes that society can be studied like any other science.
False - This is Positivism's theory, not Post-Positivism
True or False? Qualitative Research deals with numbers, analyzing organized and methodical data, and content analysis.
False - This is Quantitative Research
True or False? Reliability is much more difficult to achieve than Validity.
False - Validity is much harder to achieve than Reliability.
_____________________ is an agreement the participant gives the researcher in order to participate in the research project after having been given some basic info about research.
Informed Consent
What does IRB stand for?
International Review Board
What are the 5 parts of the Qualitative Research format?
Introduction Literature Review Writing Method Findings & Analysis Conclusions
What does a Descriptive Survey do?
It describes what exists at the moment
_________________ Sampling does not rely on any form of random selection. Instead, the research simply selects who he or she wants as participants.
Nonprobability
In Quantitative Research, ____________________ sampling is preferred.
Probability
Is Constructivism Quantitative or Qualitative?
Qualitative
The ____________________ Researcher will use a more cyclical approach to gather information for research.
Qualitative
_________________________ Research tends to analyze words, tests, narratives, long interviews, ethnography, and people's perspectives more than numbers and graphical data.
Qualitative
A cyclical process of research in which there is a more interactive method of gathering information. Multiple realities exist in which information is changeable and subjective based on interpretation and individuals.
Qualitative Research
Is Post-Postitivism Quantitative or Qualitative?
Quantitative
_____________________ Research uses a very linear method of gathering data.
Quantitative
A linear process of research in which there is a strict method and system in place. It is narrowly focused and can be measured objectively.
Quantitative Research
In __________________ Sampling, the researcher uses a target or quota as a goal for seeking people or elements that fit the characteristics of the subgroup.
Quota
_____________________ is when a measurement constantly gives the same answer.
Reliability
A _____________________ asks the question of what the relationship between variables will be.
Research Question
___________________ is the degree to which a sample differs from population characteristics.
Sampling Error
"Based on asking questions" and "uses a systematic process" are characteristics of __________________________.
Scientific Research
Which form of sampling divides the population according to subgroups of interest or homogeneous groups, and then randomly selects from each subgroup?
Stratified Random Sampling
_____________________ Sampling is a form of random sampling in which every nth element is chosen after starting at a random point.
Systematic
Name an example of Interval Continuous Data.
Temperature, because zero can exist based on numerical scores and values. Ex: 0-degree weather does exist.
Why do researchers use triangulation?
To bring credibility to their findings
True or False? 0.7 or higher is the reliability number that is acceptable.
True
True or False? A character in a film would be a Unit of Analysis.
True
True or False? A researcher should use "screening questions" which will help him or her eliminate unwanted respondents.
True
True or False? Cluster Sampling is used when the researcher does not have access to a complete list of population members.
True
True or False? Constructivism believes that multiple realities exist and they are dependent on the people who hold them.
True
True or False? Content Analysis is used to describe content and analyze how things are affected by social changes.
True
True or False? Scientific Research is cyclical.
True
True or False? Testing hypotheses on communication content is a way that we can use Content Analysis.
True
True or False? The data in ethnography is sometimes very unstructured and not neatly categorized.
True
True or False? The following is the Content Analysis process: 1 - formulate research question 2 - define the universe (population) 3 - select the sample 4 - select a unit of analysis 5 - construct content categories 6 - establish quantification system 7 - train coder and do a pilot study 8 - code the content 9 - analyze the data 10 - Interpret the results
True
True or False? The following is the procedure for typing a long interview: 1 - select interview participants 2 - prepare the interview 3 - conduct the interview 4 - end the interview 5 - transcribe the interview 6 - analyze the transcript
True
True or False? The goal of communication research is to describe communication phenomena, and discover and explain the relationships among them.
True
True or False? The interviewer in ethnography research must be immersed in the culture and the field for long periods of time in order to gain insight.
True
True or False? The intro of a Qualitative Research report should begin with explaining why a particular setting is important or interesting. It should draw the reader in.
True
True or False? The larger the sample, the smaller the sampling error.
True
True or False? The process of analyzing qualitative data is iterative, which means that the process is repeated until all info is collected.
True
True or False? Triangulation is like cross-checking.
True
True or false? The Dependent Variable changes as a consequence of the Independent variable.
True
True or false? Validity is the truthfulness or accuracy of the measurement.
True
True or False? Ratio Continuous Data has an absolute zero, which means that zero is a complete lack of a variable. Ex: height, weight, or time.
True This is because it is data measured on specific numerical values with equal-interval data points.
What kind of sampling uses research participants that offer to participate?
Volunteer Sampling
If the analyses of two or more methods of data collection or two or more investigators point toward the same conclusion, is the validity of it enhanced?
Yes
Should a researcher record a long interview?
Yes, with the consent of the participant
What is triangualtion in Qualitative Research?
a method for enhancing credibility within the research
Which of the following are roles of the researcher in Qualitative Research? (select all that apply) a. collect data b. think abstractly c. write everything down d. produce data with objective characteristics e. interview participants individually
a. collect data b. think abstractly d. produce data with objective characteristics
An example of a Simple Random Sample would be: a. picking a name out of a hat from a group of different names b. picking every 3rd house on your street to interview c. picking one artist from each different musical genre d. picking someone from your class because it is convenient
a. picking a name out of a hat This is because a Simple Random Sample gives every person an equal chance of getting picked.
How might one triangulate their research? (select all that apply) a. use multiple data sources b. use a background check to assure researchers that are participating are honest c. use multiple kinds settings d. use multiple researchers e. interdisciplinary check
a. use multiple data sources d. use multiple researchers e. interdisciplinary check
How does Post-Positivism view Positivism?
as "naive"
Questions in a questionnaire should be: a. long b. leading questions c. short d. not always related to the topic
c. short
Which of the following would be an example of Discrete Data? a. the ranking of football teams in Georgia b. the temperature outside c. the gender of a person/group of people d. the time
c. the gender of a person/group of people This is because Discrete Data is CATEGORICAL, which means it describes the presence or absence of a characteristic or attribute
Which of the following are characteristics of experimental research? a. Causation b. Manipulation c. Random Assignment d. Constructed Environment e. All of the above d. None of the above
e. All of the above
What is the Unit of Analysis?
the smallest element of content analysis
What is ethnography research?
the study of people in their own environment through the use of observation and face-to-face interviews
Analyzing Qualitative Data is identifying ________________ within the data.
themes
The Likert-Type Scale is a scale measurement in which participants are given a statement and then asked to respond by indicating how much the _________________ or _______________.
Agree or Disagree
Define Formal Research
"The discovery of answers to questions and the application of a systematic procedure"
What are the three different kinds of triangulation?
1 - data triangulation 2 - investigator triangulation 3 - interdisciplinary triangulation
Which of the following is the proper Survey Questionnaire format? a. Informed Consent, Introduction, Instructions & Questions, and Last Page b. Informed Consent, Instructions, Questions, and Thank You's c. Agreement, Introduction, Questions, Last Page d. Informed Consent, Introduction, Conclusion, Last Page
a. Informed Consent, Introduction, Instructions & Questions, and Last Page This format provides a logical and clear path for respondents to follow.
When participants help the research identify other similar participants, it is called: a. Snowman Sampling b. Snowball Sampling c. Domino Sampling Effect d. Friends & Family Sampling
b. Snowball Sampling
Which of the following are ways to analyze and interpret qualitative data? (select all that apply) a. read and describe previous literature in depth b. capture the impression and reaction of people in what are called "analytic memos" or fieldnotes c. diagram the data into graphical form so it is easier to read d. write a hypothesis explaining what data you will find e. code and categorize the data based on distinguishing factors within it
b. capture the impression and reaction of people in what are called "analytic memos" or fieldnotes c. diagram the data into graphical form so it is easier to read e. code and categorize the data based on distinguishing factors within it
A detailed set of activities for the project/research that is proposed is called a. Research Rules b. Project Protocol c. Plan-Making d. Research Protocol e. None of the above
d. Research Protocol
