Research Methods Exam 1

Microtheory

-a theory aimed at understanding social life at the intimate level of individuals and their interactions. -Examples: dating behavior, jury deliberations, student-faculty interactions

Macrotheory

-a theory aimed at understanding the "big picture" of institutions, whole societies, and the interactions among societies. -Examples: class struggles, international relations, and interrelations between social institutions

Selective overservations

-avoid looking for deviant cases

Purpose of Social Research: Descriptive

-done for the purpose of describing the state of social affairs -What is the unemployment rate? What is the racial composition of a particular city? -Careful empirical description takes the place of speculation and impressions.

Ethics: Anonymity

-guaranteed in a research project when neither the researchers nor the readers of the findings can identify a given response with a given respondent.

Ethics: Confidentiality

-guaranteed when the research can identify a given person's responses but promises not to do so publicly

Elements of a research proposal

1. Problem or Objective 2. Literature Review 3. Subjects for Study 4. Measurement 5. Data Collection Methods 6. Analysis 7. Schedule 8. Budget

Review Question A researcher wants to measure religiosity. A common measure is the frequency of attendance at religious services. What kind of validity does this measure have?

As a measure of religiosity, frequency of attendance at religious services has face validity.

Review Question: A researcher studying prejudice seeks to determine how racial prejudices are used by some groups to dominate other groups. What paradigm is this researcher using?

Because this researcher is examining how prejudice operates in systems of social domination, the Conflict paradigm is being used.

Aggregates, Not Individuals

Focus of social science is to explain why aggregated patterns of behavior are regular even when individuals change over time.

Nomothetic Explanation

Goal: to find a few factors that can account for many of the variations in a given phenomenon. Example: Legalization of Marijuana -Political orientation -Others?

_____ explanations seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a particular condition of event. A. Idiographic B. Latent C. Manifest D. Nomothetic

Idiographic explanations seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a particular condition or event.

The Interchangeability of Indicators

If several different indicators all represent the same concept, all of them will behave the same way the concept would behave if it were real and could be observed

Which of the following are true of tradition and authority? A. They both assist human inquiry. B. They both hinder human inquiry. C. Both of the above. D. None of the above.

Tradition and authority both assist human inquiry and hinder human inquiry. (Both A and B)

Established Measures

Use measures previously shown to be reliable.

Cross-Sectional Study

a study based on observations representing a single point in time, a cross section of a population.

Longitudinal Study

a study design involving the collection of data at different points in time.

Validity

a term describing a measure that accurately reflects the concept it is intended to measure.

nomothetic

an approach to explanation in which we seek to identify a few casual factors that generally impact a class of conditions or events. Imagine the two or three key factors that determine which colleges students choose-- proximity, reputation, and so forth

Indicator

an observation that we choose to consider as a reflection of a variable we wish to study

A scientific assertion

both logical and empirical support.

Measurement

careful, deliberate observations of the real world for the purpose of describing objects and events in terms of the attributes composing the variable.

tradition

knowledge based on shared cultural understandings

authority

knowledge based on the status of the discoverer

sufficient cause

represents a condition that, if it is present, guarantees the effect in question (Most satisfying outcome in research includes both necessary and sufficient causes.) -Sufficient Cause. Not taking the exam is a sufficient cause of failing it, even though there are other ways of failing (such as answering randomly).

Conceptualization

the mental process whereby fuzzy and imprecise notions (concepts) are made more specific and precise.

Agreement Reality

those things we know as part of the culture we share with those around us

Units of Analysis

-Individuals --Most common unit of analysis for social research. -Groups -Organizations -Social Interactions -Social Artifacts --Any product of social beings or their behavior.

Ethical

-"Conforming to the standards of conduct of a given profession or group."

Ethnomethodology

-"methodology of the people." -Harold Garfinkel (1917-2011): People are continually creating social structure through their actions and interactions, creating their realities.

Review Question: How would you approach studying the relationship between education and income deductively?

-A deductive approach to the study of the relationship between education and income would begin with theory, propositions, and hypotheses. You would then collect observations and compare that data to your theoretical expectations. (research is used to test theories)

Asch Experiment (1958)

-A group of subjects is present with a set of lines on a screen and asked to identify the two lines that are equal in length. -Others in the group identify A or C as the correct answer, while you know that B is the correct answer. -conformity

Review Question How would you approach studying the relationship between education and income inductively?

-A inductive approach to the study of the relationship between education and income would begin with your observations. You would then examine those observations to generate descriptions and explanations of the patterns you observe. (theories are developed from analysis of data.)

Critical Race Theory

-A paradigm grounded in race awareness and an intention to achieve racial justice -W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963): roots in the civil rights movement. :African Americans lived their lives through a "dual consciousness:" as Americans and as Black people. :"The Souls of Black Folk" (1903)

Structural Functionalism

-A paradigm that divides social phenomena into parts, each of which serves a function for the operation of the whole. -A social entity can be viewed as an organism. -Emile Durkheim (1858-1917): crimes and their punishment provide an opportunity to reaffirm society's values.

Criticisms of Positivism: Critical Realism

-A paradigm that holds things are real insofar as they produce effects.

Criticisms of Positivism: Postmodernism

-A paradigm that questions the assumptions of positivism and theories describing an "objective reality."

Conflict Paradigm

-A paradigm that views human behavior as attempts to dominate others and to avoid being dominated. -Karl Marx (1818-1883): social behavior is best explained as the process of conflict. -Georg Simmel (1858-1918): focused on small-scale conflict. -Michel Chossudovsky: international and global competition (1997).

Symbolic Interactionism

-A paradigm that views human behavior as the creation of meaning through social interactions, with those meanings conditioning subsequent interaction. -Georg Simmel (1858-1918): interested in how individuals interacted with one another, a micro approach. -George Herbert Mead (1863-1931): "taking the role of the other." -Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929): "looking-glass self," primary groups.

Review Question According to Abraham Kaplan's list of the three kinds of things social researchers measure (direct observables, indirect observables, constructs), what is a person's religious affiliation? And what is a person's views towards national security?

-A person's religious affiliation would be an indirect observable; we could ask a person on a survey to indicate their religious affiliation (e.g., Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc.). -A person's views towards national security would be a construct, which we could measure with a set of survey questions.

Dependent Variable

-A variable assumed to depend on or be caused by another (the independent variable).

Independent Variable

-A variable with values that are not problematical in an analysis, but are taken as simply given -Presumed to cause or determine a dependent variable.

Paradigms

-a model or frame of reference through which to observe and understand. -"Patterns happen." -play fundamental role in science -paradigms are neither true nor false

Review Question In the first measurement stage we focus on the different meanings and dimensions of our concept, for example political conservatism. What are the next two steps?

-After conceptualizing our concept, political conservatism, we would next develop a nominal definition. For example, we could define "political conservatism" as representing personal identification with conservatives, conservatism, and conservative causes. -Once our nominal definition is set, we would develop an operational definition. For example, we could ask respondents the following survey question, "Do you consider yourself politically liberal, moderate, or conservative?

Idiographic

-An approach to explanation in which we seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a particular condition of event.

Nomothetic

-An approach to explanation in which we seek to identify a few causal factors that generally impact a class of conditions of event.

Defining Variables and Attributes

-An attribute is a characteristic or quality of something (ex: female, old, student). -A variable is a logical set of attributes (ex: gender, age). 1. Attributes must be exhaustive 2. attributes must be mutually exclusive

Review Question How would you measure satisfaction with one's college?

-Are there different dimensions to "college satisfaction"? -What level of measurement would you use? -Would you use single or multiple indicators?

Rational Objectivity Reconsidered

-Auguste Comte (1798-1857): society can be studied rationally and objectively. -With the growth of science and technology and the decline of superstition, rationality has more and more become the center of social life.

Review Question ______ are fundamental assertions that are taken to be true. A. Hypotheses B. Propositions C. Axioms D. Paradigms

-Axioms (or postulates) are fundamental assertions that are taken to be true.

Review Question: Would being 18 or older be a necessary or a sufficient cause of voting in the next presidential election?

-Being 18 or older would be a necessary cause of voting in the next presidential election, but it would not be a sufficient cause. In order to vote in the next presidential election, a person has to be 18 or older. But because there are other requirements for voting in presidential elections (such as having previously registered to vote), being 18 is not a sufficient cause of voting.

Social Darwinism

-Charles Darwin (1809-1882): evolution through natural selection: "On the Origin of the Species" (1859) -Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Translation of Darwin's theory into societies: over time, societies are improving.

False Criteria for Nomothetic Causality

-Complete Causation -Exceptional Cases -Majority of Cases

Concepts as Constructs

-Concepts are constructs derived by mutual agreement from mental images. -Conceptions summarize collections of seemingly related observations and experiences.

Ethics: Deception vs debfriefing

-Deception within social research needs to be justified by scientific or administrative concerns. -Solution to deception, debriefing: interviewing subjects to learn about their experience of participation in the project.

Definitions in Descriptive and Explanatory Studies

-Definitions are more problematic for descriptive research than for explanatory research. -The degree of precision needed varies with the type and purpose of a study.

Purpose of Research: Description

-Describe situations and events through scientific observation

Purpose of Research: Explanation

-Descriptive studies answer questions of what, where, when, and how -Explanatory studies answer questions of why

Positivism

-Early Positivism: Auguste Comte (1798-1857): Society is a phenomenon that can be studied scientifically. -A philosophical system grounded on the rational proof/disproof of scientific assertions. -Assumes a knowable objective reality -"Positive Philosophy": Theological Stage Metaphysical Stage Positivist Stage

Big Data

-Extremely large data sets generated through the automatic monitoring of ongoing processes. -Examples:Amazon purchases, Phone and internet communications

Validity

-Face Validity - the quality of an indicator that makes it a reasonable measure of some variable. -Criterion-Related Validity - the degree to which a measure relates to some external criterion. -Construct Validity - the degree to which a measure relates to other variables as expected within a system of theoretical relationships. -Content Validity - the degree to which a measure covers the range of meanings included within a concept

Illogical reasoning

-Gambler's Fallacy: if something happens more frequently than normal during some period, it will happen less frequently in the future, or that, if something happens less frequently than normal during some period, it will happen more frequently in the future -Use system of logic consciously and explicitly

Idiographic Explanation

-Goal: to find an exhaustive understanding of the causes producing events and situations in a single or limited number of cases. Example: Legalization of Marijuana Idiographic: -Approach -Information from parents, teachers, clergy -Previous experiences -Others?

Half-Life of Facts

-How long today's scientific facts survive re-conceptualization, retesting, and new discoveries -The fact that scientific knowledge is constantly changing points to a strength of scientific scholarship.

Nomothetic Causal Analysis and Hypothesis Testing

-Hypotheses are not required in nomothetic research. -To test a hypothesis: Specify variables you think are related --Specify measurement of variables --Hypothesize correlation, strength of relationship, statistical significance --Specify tests for spuriousness

Null Hypothesis

-In hypothesis testing and tests of statistical significance, the hypothesis that suggests there is no relationship among the variables under study.

Unit of analysis gorups

-Individuals: Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics -Groups: Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups -Organizations: Corporations, social organizations, colleges -Social Interactions: telephone calls, dances, online chat rooms, fights -Social Artifacts: Books, poems, paintings, jokes, songs

Purpose of Social Research: Exploratory

-Investigative, such as looking into a new political or religious group -methods vary greatly -conclusions are usually suggestive rather than definitive.

Preventing Over generalizations

-Large and representative samples are a safeguard against over generalization -Replication: repeating a research study to test and either confirm or question the findings of an earlier study

Variables

-Logical groupings of attributes -Variables are sets of related attributes (categories, values). Variables: Age, Sex, Occupation etc

Single or Multiple Indicators

-Many social research variables have fairly obvious, straightforward measures. -Some social research variables have no single indicator. -Example: College Performance

Feminist Paradigms: Feminist Standpoint Theory

-Nancy Hartsock (1983): women have knowledge about their status and experience that is not available to men. -Third wave feminism (1990s)

Inductive Theory Construction

-Observe aspects of social life and seek to discover patterns that may point to relatively universal principles. -Grounded Theory -Field Research

Feminist Paradigms

-Paradigms that (1) view and understand society through the experiences of women and/or (2) examine the generally deprived status of women in society. -Feminists call attention to aspects of social life that other paradigms do not reveal. -Concerned with the treatment of women and the experience of oppression.

Ethics: No Harm to the Participants

-People being researched should never be injured (physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, psychologically). Examples: Tuskegee Syphilis Study (did not let rural African American men get penicillin to see full progression of disease), Stanford Prison Experiment -Informed Consent:a norm in which subjects base their voluntary participation in research projects on a full understanding of the possible risk involved.

Precision and Accuracy

-Precise measures are superior to imprecise ones. -Precision is not the same as accuracy

Pure and Applied Research

-Pure Research - Gaining "knowledge for knowledge's sake." -Applied Research - Putting research into practice.

Qualitative and Quantitative Data

-Qualitative Data - non-numerical data -Quantitative Data - numerical data

Approximating Longitudinal Studies

-Researchers can draw approximate conclusions about longitudinal processes even when cross-sectional data is not available. 1. Imply processes over time 2. Make logical inferences 3. Ask individuals to recall past behavior 4. Cohort analysis

Research Ethics and Theory

-Researchers should not use paradigm and theory selection as a means of achieving desired research results. -The collective nature of social research offers protection against biased research findings.

Objectivity and Ideology

-Science achieves objectivity through inter-subjectivity. -Max Weber (1864-1920): sociology needs to be unencumbered by personal values if it is to make a special contribution to society (1925). -Social Research and Race -The Politics of Sexual Research -Politics and the Census

Science... A. deals with what should be and not with what is. B. can settle debates on value. C. is exclusively descriptive. D. has to do with disproving philosophical beliefs. E. has to do with how things are and why.

-Science has to do with how things are and why.

Politics in Perspective

-Science is not untouched by politics. -Science does proceed in the midst of political controversy and hostility. -An awareness of ideological considerations enriches the study and practice of social research methods. -Whereas researchers should not let their own values interfere with the quality and honesty of the research, this does not mean that researchers cannot or should not participate in public debates.

Social Regularities

-Social research aims to find patterns of regularity in social life. -The Charge of Triviality:Documenting the obvious is a valuable function of any science.... The obvious all to often turns out to be wrong.

Politics with a Little "p"

-Social research in relation to contested social issues cannot remain antiseptically objective. -politics is personal

Theory, Not Philosophy or Belief

-Social theory has to do with what should be, not with what is. -Science cannot be used to settle value debates. -Social science can help know what is and why.

Social Regularities: People could interfere

-The conscious will of social actors to upset social regularities does not pose a serious challenge to social science.

The Traditional Image of Science

-The deductive model of scientific inquiry begins with a sometimes vague or general question, which is subjected to a process of specification, resulting in hypotheses that can be tested through empirical observations.

The Politics of Social Research

-The ethics of social research deals mostly with the methods employed. -Political issues tend to center on the substance and use of research. -There are no formal codes of acceptable political conduct, while there are formal codes of conduct for social research.

Deduction Theory

-The logical model in which specific expectations of hypotheses are developed on the basis of general principles. -all deans are mean, so this one may not let you pass class

Conceptualization

-The process through which we specify what we mean when we use particular terms in research. -We cannot meaningfully answer a question without a working agreement about the meaning of the outcome. -Conceptualization produces a specific, agreed-upon meaning for a concept for the purposes of research.

Review Question: A researcher interviews college students about their experiences with plagiarism. Although the researcher has collected email addresses, a promise has been made to never reveal those to anyone

-The researcher has collected students' email addresses, and therefore does have a way to identify the research participants. This would then qualify as an example of confidentiality. -If the researcher wanted to be able to promise anonymity as well, the researcher would have to stop collecting identifying information (such as the email addresses) to identify the participants.

The two foundations of science are: A. tradition and observation. B. observation and logic. C. logic and theory. D. theory and observation. E. logic and generalization.

-The two foundations of science are observation and logic.

Logical explanations are what theories seek to provide

-Theories prevent our being taken in by flukes. -Theories makes sense of observed patterns. -Theories shape and direct research efforts.

Review Question A researcher is studying racial and gender inequality in employment using a national sample of persons who graduated high school in 2000. What kind of study is this?

-This project would be a cohort study, because the researcher is interested in a particular cohort or group (people who graduated high school in 1990) and what happens to that group over time. If the researcher was interviewing the exact same people each and every time, then it would be a panel study.

Review: Exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? -A researcher wants to examine what percentage of the U.S. adult population supports same-sex marriage -A researcher wants to examine the influence of religious affiliation on same-sex marriage attitudes

-This project would be considered descriptive because it is trying to characterize the level of national approval -This project would be considered explanatory because it is seeking to determine whether (and how) religion influences same-sex marriage attitudes.

Review Question: A researcher conducts a national survey, collecting information on religious affiliation and same-sex marriage attitudes. Based on this data, the researcher theorizes on the influence of religion on attitudes. This is an example of what kind of research?

-This project would be inductive because the researcher is trying to develop general principles from specific observations

Review Question: -A researcher wants to determine why people of differing political orientations have different opinions on environmental regulations. What purpose does this research project fulfill?

-This research topic is attempting to address a "why" question, that is, why and how does political orientation influence attitudes toward environmental regulations. Therefore this research is explanatory.

Purpose of Research: Exploration

-To satisfy the researcher's curiosity and desire for better understanding -To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study -To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study

Longitudinal Studies

-Trend Study - a study in which a given characteristic of some population is monitored over time. -Cohort Study - a study in which some specific subpopulation, or cohort, is studied over time. -Panel Study - a study in which data are collected from the same set of people at several points in time. (Panel mortality - The failure of some panel subjects to continue participating in the study.)

Comparing Types of Longitudinal Studies - example: Religious Affiliation

-Trend Study - looks at shifts in religious affiliation over time. -Cohort Study - follows shifts in religious affiliation among those born during the Depression. -Panel Study - follows the shifts in religious affiliation among a specific group of people over time.

Review Question: In the course of a career, a researcher has undertaken several studies of environmental regulations. For each study description below, identify the unit of analysis. -A study of state regulatory agencies' enforcement of environmental laws. -A study of opinion toward environmental regulations. -A study of environmental law passage in the U.S. and the E.U. -A study of environmental law compliance by power plants.

-Units of analysis: States -Units of analysis: Individuals -Units of analysis: Countries -Units of analysis: Corporations

Levels of Measurement - Nominal

-Variables whose attributes are merely different; they have only the characteristics of exhaustiveness and mutually exclusiveness. -Examples: gender, religious affiliation, college major, hair color, birthplace, nationality

Levels of Measurement - Interval

-Variables whose attributes are rank-ordered and have equal distances between adjacent attributes. -Examples: temperature (Fahrenheit), IQ score

Levels of Measurement - Ratio

-Variables whose attributes meet the requirements of an interval measure and have a true zero point. -Examples: temperature (Kelvin), age, length of time, number of organizations, number of groups, number of As received in college

Levels of Measurement - Ordinal

-Variables with attributes we can logically rank in order. -Examples: socioeconomic status, level of conflict, prejudice, conservativeness, alienation

When we recognize that we are operating within a paradigm, two benefits accrue.

-We can better understand seemingly bizarre views and actions of others who are operating under different paradigms. -We can profit from stepping outside of our paradigm.

Scenario: Your friend notices that after two coworkers take a sick day, their work hours are cut in the following weeks. Your friend concludes that management punishes all workers who take sick days.

-Your friend has committed the error of overgeneralization. Your friend had only observed the cases of two coworkers, but extended this observation to all coworkers. -If your friend really wants to investigate this issue, a relatively large and representative sample of all workers should be gathered.

Purpose of Social Research: Explanatory

-providing reasons for phenomena in the form of causal relationships -Examples: Why do some cities have higher unemployment rates -Explanatory social research provides more trustworthy explanations.

Mesotheory

-referencing an intermediate level between macro and micro. -Examples: studying organizations, communities, and social categories

The Traditional Model of Science: Observation

-specifying the exact operations involved in measuring a variable.

The Traditional Model of Science:

-the concrete and specific definition of something in terms of the operations by which observations are to be categorized.

Traditional Model of Science: Operationalization

-the process of developing operational definitions, or specifying the exact operations involved in measuring a variable.

Reliability

-the quality of measurement method that suggests the same data would have been collected each time in repeated observations of the same phenomenon. -Reliability is not the same as accuracy.

Units of Analysis

-the what or whom being studied (most often individuals in social science research). -Individuals versus Aggregates

1. Conceptualization 2. Operationalization

1. Conceptualization is the refinement and specification of abstract concepts. 2. Operationalization is the development of specific research procedures that will result in empirical observations representing those concepts in the real world.

How to design a research project

1. Define the purpose of your project - exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? 2. Specify the meanings of each concept you want to study - conceptualization. 3. Select a research method. 4. Determine how you will measure the results - operationalization. 5. Determine whom or what to study - population and sampling. 6. Collect empirical data - observations. 7. Process the data. 8. Analyze the data. 9. Report your findings - application.

Three Principles from The Belmont Report- National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research- (no harm to the participants)

1. Respect for persons Participation must be completely voluntary and based on full understanding of what is involved. 2. Beneficience: Subjects must not be harmed by the research. 3. Justice: The burdens and benefits of research should be shared fairly.

Deductive Theory Construction

1. Specify the topic. 2. Specify the range of phenomena your theory addresses. 3. Identify and specify your major concepts and variables. 4. Find out what is known about the relationships among those variables. 5. Reason logically from those propositions to the specific topic you are examining.

Criteria for Nomothetic Causality

1. The variables must be correlated -Correlation - an empirical relationship between two variables such that changes in one are associated with changes in the other, or particular attributes in one are associated with particular attributes in the other. 2. The cause takes place before the effect 3. The variables are non spurious -Spurious Relationship - a coincidental statistical correlation between two variables shown to be caused by some third variable

Elements of Social Theory 1. Observation 2. Fact 3. Laws 4. Theory 5. Concepts 6. Variable 7. Axioms or Postulates 8. Propositions 9. Hypothesis

1. seeing, hearing, touching. 2. a phenomenon that has been observed. 3. universal generalization about classes of facts. 4. a systematic explanation for observations that relate to a particular aspect of life. 5. abstract elements representing classes of phenomena within the field of study. 6. a set of attributes. 7. fundamental assertions on which a theory is grounded 8. specific conclusions, derived from the axiomatic groundwork, about the relationships among concepts. 9. a specified, testable expectation about the empirical reality that follows from a more general proposition.

1. Specification 2. A nominal definition 3. An operational definition

1. the process through which concepts are made more specific. 2. is one that is simply assigned to a term without any claim that the definition represents a "real" entity. 3. specifies precisely how a concept will be measured - that is, the operations we will perform.

_____ refer(s) to mental images. A. Perspectives B. Theories C. Conception D. Methods

ANSWER: C. Conception refers to mental images.

Necessary Causes

A necessary cause represents a condition that must be present for the effect to follow. (Most satisfying outcome in research includes both necessary and sufficient causes.) -. Being female is a necessary cause of pregnancy; that is, you can't get pregnant unless you are female.

Review Question: -What would a project seeking an idiographic explanation of support for environmental regulations look like?

A researcher interested in an idiographic explanation of attitudes toward environmental regulations would seek out one or just a few individuals to study. The researcher would then try to develop a deep understanding of the reasons this person provides for their views.

Review Question

A researcher interested in an nomothetic explanation of attitudes toward environmental regulations would seek many individuals to study. The researcher would then try to develop an understanding of how some particular factors (such as age, gender, and political affiliation) influence views.

Theory

A systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of life

A _____ is probabilistic and usually incomplete. A. nomothetic explanation B. correlation C. spurious relationship D. theory

ANSWER: A. A nomothetic explanation is probabilistic and usually incomplete.

Which of the following is not a difference between ethical and political aspects of social research? A. Ethical considerations are more objective than political considerations. B. Ethical aspects include a professional code of ethics, whereas political aspects do not. C. Ethics deal more with methods, whereas political issues deal with substance. D. Ethical norms have been established, whereas political norms have not been established.

ANSWER: A. The following is not a difference between ethical and political aspects of social research: Ethical considerations are more objective than political considerations.

Which of the following is the best example of a hypothesis? A. The greater the level of education, the greater the tolerance for alternative lifestyles. B. Socialization in childhood has a significant impact on adolescent gender-role identify. C. There are more female than male college students. D. Religiosity equals frequency of church attendance and praying. E. Actions are based on perceived costs and rewards.

ANSWER: A. The following is the best example of a hypothesis: The greater the level of education, the greater the tolerance for alternative lifestyles.

The _____ of concepts in scientific inquiry depends on nominal and operational definitions. A. specification B. interchangeability C. functioning D. network

ANSWER: A. The specification of concepts in scientific inquiry depends on nominal and operational definitions.

A level of measurement describing a variable whose attributes are rank-ordered and have equal distances between adjacent attributes are _____ measures. A. ratio B. interval C. nominal D. ordinal

ANSWER: B. A level of measurement describing a variable whose attributes are rank-ordered and have equal distances between adjacent attributes are interval measures

A _____ represents a condition that, if present, guarantees the effect in question. A. hypothesis B. sufficient cause C. practical issue D. necessary cause E. dependent variable

ANSWER: B. A sufficient cause represents a condition that, if present, guarantees the effect in question.

In social research, the process of coming to an agreement about what terms mean is A. hypothesizing. B. conceptualization. C. variable naming. D. operationalization.

ANSWER: B. In social research, the process of coming to an agreement about what terms mean is conceptualization.

Which of the following is not a step in deductive theory construction? A. Specify the topic B. Identify the major concepts and variables C. Identify propositions about the relationships among those variables D. Reason logically from those propositions to the specific topic one is examining

ANSWER: B. The following is not a step in deductive theory construction: identify the major concepts and variables.

The major justification that social scientists have for requesting participation in a study is that A. it may help the respondent. B. it may help all humanity. C. it may help the social scientist. D. it may help government officials make policy decisions. E. it may help improve the educational system.

ANSWER: B. The major justification the social scientists has for requesting participation in a study is that it may help all humanity.

The paradigm that accounts for the impact of economic conditions on family structures is: A. symbolic interactionism. B. structural functionalism. C. positivism. D. conflict. E. critical race.

ANSWER: B. The paradigm that accounts for the impact of economic conditions on family structures is structural functionalism.

A _____ is an empirical relationship between two variables such that changes in one are associated with changes in the other. A. nomothetic explanation B. regression analysis C. correlation D. spurious relationship

ANSWER: C. A correlation is an empirical relationship between two variables such that changes in one are associated with changes in the other.

_____ is a norm in which subjects base their voluntary participation in research projects on a full understanding of the possible risks involved. A. Research participation B. The Hawthorne effect C. Informed consent D. The code of ethics

ANSWER: C. Informed consent is a norm in which subjects base their voluntary participation in research projects on a full understanding of the possible risks involved.

Scientific inquiry comes down to A. making observations. B. interpreting what you have observed. C. both of the above D. none of the above

ANSWER: C. Scientific inquiry comes down to making observations and interpreting what you have observed.

The mental processes whereby fuzzy and imprecise notions are made more specific and precise is called A. construction. B. reification. C. conceptualization D. operationalization.

ANSWER: C. The mental processes whereby fuzzy and imprecise notions are made more specific and precise is called conceptualization

Both ethics and politics hinge on A. idiographic research. B. power and resources. C. manifest research. D. ideological points of view.

ANSWER: D. Both ethics and politics hinge on ideological points of view.

_____ is the degree to which a measure covers the range of meanings included within a concept. A. Construct validity B. Criterion-related validity C. Face validity D. Content validity

ANSWER: D. Content validity is the degree to which a measure covers the range of meanings included within a concept.

Which of these are among the purposes of research? A. exploration B. description C. explanation D. all of the above

ANSWER: D. Exploration, description, and explanation are among the purposes of research.

Which constrains must be placed on social research for it to be considered realistic? A. scientific constraints B. administrative constraints C. ethical constraints D. all of the above

ANSWER: D. Scientific, administrative, and ethical constraints must be placed on social research for it to be considered realistic.

Social researchers tend to choose _____ as their units of analysis. A. social interactions B. social artifacts C. groups D. individuals E. aggregates

ANSWER: D. Social researchers tend to choose individuals as their units of analysis.

The controversy surrounding Laud Humphreys' study of homosexuals suggests that he most violated which of the following ethical principles? A. anonymity and confidentiality B. harm to subjects and data reporting without identification C. concealed identify or researcher anonymity D. harm to subjects and anonymity

ANSWER: D. The controversy surrounding Laud Humphreys' study of homosexuals suggests that he most violated the ethical principle of harm to subjects and anonymity.

Though the norm of voluntary participation is important, it is often A. justifiably violated. B. not received. C. impossible to follow. D. all of the above

ANSWER: D. Though the norm of voluntary participation is important, it is often justifiably violated, not received, and impossible to follow.

What do social researchers mean when they say there is a causal relationship between education and racial tolerance? A. There is a statistical correlation between the two variables. B. A person's educational level occurred before their current level of tolerance. C. There is no third variable that can explain the observed correlation. D. All of these choices.

ANSWER: D. When social researchers say there is a casual relationship between education and racial tolerance they mean: there is a statistical correlation between the two variables, a person's educational level occurred before their current level of tolerance, and there is no third variable that can explain the observed correlation.

Ethics are not a consideration in which one of the following fields of research? A. natural sciences B. psychology C. medicine D. sociology E. None of the above - they all require ethical considerations.

ANSWER: E. Ethics enters in all of these fields: natural sciences, psychology, medicine, and sociology.

Which of the following are examples of nominal measures? A. gender B. religious affiliation C. political party affiliation D. birthplace E. all of the above

ANSWER: E. Gender, religious affiliation, political affiliation, and birthplace are all examples of nominal measures.

It is truly possible to measure the stuff of life. A. True B. False

ANSWER: True It is truly possible to measure the stuff of life.

Indirect observables

Characteristics of a person as indicated by answers given in a self- administered questionnaire

Attributes

Characteristics of people or things Attributes: Young, middle aged, old; male,female; Plumber, lawyer, clerk

Reliability of Research Workers

Clarity, specificity, training, and practice can prevent much unreliability

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

Deductive = Traditional Model of Science -Deductive reasoning starts with a general theory, statement, or hypothesis and then works its way down to a conclusion based on evidence. -Inductive reasoning starts with a small observation or question and works it's way to a theory by examining the related issues. -A Case Illustration (Glock, Ringer, and Babbie, 1967) -Comfort Hypothesis:People are more likely to believe when they are deprived.

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

Deductive: hypothesis, observations, accept or reject hypothesis Inductive: Observations, find pattern, tentative conclusion

Critical Race Theory: Interest Convergence

Derrick Bell: majority group members will only support the interests of minorities when those actions also support the interests of the majority group (1980).

Faulty Reasoning about Units of Analysis

Ecological fallacy: erroneously drawing conclusions about individuals solely from the observations of groups Reductionist: a strict limitation (reduction) of the kinds of concepts to be considered relevant to the phenomenon under study --Sociobiology- a paradigm based on the view that social behavior can be explained solely in terms of genetic characteristics and behavior

_____ is/are the science of knowing: A. Intelligence B. Exam-taking C. Epistemology D. Methodology E. Relationships

Epistemology is the science of knowing.

Ethics: Analysis and Reporting

Ethical obligation to colleagues in the scientific community. All results must be reported (positive and negative). All limitations must be admitted. Institutional Review Boards (IRB) - a panel of faculty who review all research proposals involving human subjects so that they can guarantee that the subjects' rights and interests will be protected. -Exceptions : anonymous survey sent to a large sample of respondents, many more

Review Question True or False: Operationalization occurs before conceptualization.

False: Conceptualization (specifying the concepts you intend to study) must occur before operationalization (specifying how you will measure those concepts).

Review Question True or False: Researchers should refrain from participating in public debates because their personal opinions can interfere with their research.

False: Researchers do not have to refrain from engaging in public debates. But they should be aware of how their values and opinions may interfere with their research.

Exception and Social Regularities

Just because there are exceptions to a social regularity does not mean the regularity is unreal or unimportant.

Foundations of Social Science

Logic and Observation

Split-Half Method

Multiple sets of randomly assigned variables should produce the same classifications

Ethics: Voluntary Participation

No one should be forced to participate. Balance of science and ethics? Possible?

Review Question: A hypothesis is a basic statement tested in research which typically states a relationship between two variables. Generate a hypothesis connecting education to income.

One hypothesis for the relationship between education and income would be: "The greater the level of education, the greater the income."

Test-Retest Method

To make the same measurement more than once

Direct observables

Physical characteristics (sex, height, skin color) of a person being observes and/or interviews

Mixed Modes

Researchers often use more than one approach (experiments, surveys, field research, etc.) to understanding a social phenomenon.

Tolerance for ambiguity

The ability to hold conflicting ideas in your mind simultaneously.

Agency

The influence of individual "choice" or "free will.

Determinism

The influence of particular social environments and conditions

Induction Theory

The logical mode in which general principles are developed from specific observations

induction

The logical model in which general principles are developed from specific observations. Having noted the Jews and Catholics are more likely to vote democratic than Protestants are, you might conclude that religious minorities in the US are more affiliated with the Democratic party and then your task is to explain why- that is an example.

Methodology

The science of finding out- procedures fro scientific investigation

Epistemology

The science of knowing- systems of knowledge

The three main elements of the traditional model of science are: A. theory, operationalization, observation. B. operationalization, hypothesis testing, theory. C. observation, experimentation, operationalization. D. theory, observation, hypothesis testing. E. experimentation, hypothesis testing, theory.

The three main elements of the traditional model of science are theory, operationalization, observation. (A)

Review Question True or False: Research proposals are summaries of research projects, prepared after the project has been completed.

This statement is false. Research proposals often mark the start of or preparation for a new research project.

Review Question

What would a project seeking an nomothetic explanation of support for environmental regulations look like?

When social scientists study variables, they focus on: A. attributes. B. groups. C. people. D. characteristics. E. relationships.

When social scientists study variables, they focus on relationships.

dimension

a specifiable aspect of concept