FCS 3200. Exam 3 study guide
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of web survey over other types of survey methods?
a high completion rate
Which of the following is NOT an important concern about telephone surveys:
a reduction in postal service
Which one of the following is NOT a good advice for recording observations?
avoid rewriting your notes Interviewers should expect to rewrite their notes after the interview, not to embellish the story, but to make them more coherent and understandable in the future. Researchers should always expect to revise and rewrite their notes.
Aaron studied one family over several months to describe the social dynamics in the family. Which paradigm did she use?
case study In social science, case study is a descriptive, exploratory or explanatory analysis of a person, group or event. In contrast, ethnography is the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.
Alana wanted to ask several questions asking about which dimensions of feminism that respondents would agree with. All the items have the same answer categories. Which type of questions would be the best to use?
close-ended
Surveys are particularly appropriate to:
collect original data to describe a large population. Surveys are particularly appropriate to use when your questions and information needs are best answered by the people themselves and when a closed list of potential respondents is available.
The Solomon four-group design
combines the classical experimental design with the posttest-only control group design p.258. One major characteristic of the Solomon four-group design is that it adds experimental and control groups that skip the pretest. This is because the classical experiment runs the risk that pretesting will have an effect on subjects.
Which of these are among the many advantages that underlie the growing popularity of web surveys?
cost time convenience all of these
You were asked to participate in an experiment to test the effectiveness of review sessions on exam grades. As a research methods student, you concluded that you had been assigned to the control group because you simply took the scheduled exams. Since you were in the control group you simply gave up and quit studying. This exemplifies:
demoralization This is NOT experimental mortality since you did not drop out of the research.
Among the requirements for the classical experimental design is a posttest measurement of the:
dependent variable for both the experimental and control groups the dependent variable is also the outcome variable
Experiments are especially appropriate for research projects involving all of the following EXCEPT:
descriptive research A descriptive study is one in which information is collected without changing the environment (i.e., nothing is manipulated). Sometimes these are referred to as " correlational " or " observational " studies. When you want to conduct descriptive study, you are trying to describe the issue and the parameter.
Jason wants to be come a good qualitative interviewer. He should try to:
determine very quickly the kind of person with whom the respondent feels most comfortable P293 P.336. Wording questions can be a tricky business. Good qualitative interviews strive for a balance of sensitivity, interaction and objectivity. The interviewer should follow the wording of the original questions closely, because a slight change in the wording of a given question may lead to an incorrect answer and possible biases. Meanwhile, the interviewer should not just ask pre-established questions and record the answers. Instead, the interviewer should ask questions and listen carefully to the answer, interpret its meaning for the general inquiry.
Qualitative interview is different from survey interview. Which of the following is the major contrast?
discusses a set of topics in depth vs. uses standardized questions Survey interviews are mostly structured. Data is often suitable for quantitative analysis. In contrast, qualitative interviews are rarely structured. Findings are suitable for qualitative study.
Rich wanted to do an experiment testing the effects of a new classroom strategy for teaching reading on the reading skills of elementary school students. He used random assignment and wanted to make sure that neither the subjects nor the experimenters knew which was the experimental group and which was the control group. Best to use would be the:
double-blind design A double blind experiment is an experimental method used to ensure impartiality, and avoid errors arising from biases. It is very easy for a researcher, even subconsciously, to influence experimental observations, especially in behavioral science, so this method provides an extra check. For example, imagine that a company is asking consumers for opinions about its products, using a survey. There is a distinct danger that the interviewer may subconsciously emphasize the company's products when asking the questions. This is the major reason why market research companies generally prefer to use computers, and double blind experiments, for gathering important data.
Dan performed an experiment on the effects of after-school educational activities on students' academic performance. His experimental group involved after-school educational activities and his control group involved after-school non-educational activities. The children in the control group felt left out and gave up on the experiment. What problem of internal validity is this reflected?
experimental mortality Experimental mortality refers to a more general and less extreme problem. For instance, it could be the loss of subjects from conditions for whatever reason. Animal subjects may die or become sick during the course of an experiment.
Which of the following survey method usually has the highest response rate?
face-to-face It is harder to refuse to answer questions face-to-face. In a face-to-face survey, an interviewer is physically present to ask the survey questions and to assist the respondent in answering them. This survey delivery mode can offer many advantages over mail and telephone surveys in terms of the complexity and quality of the data collected. However, there are also disadvantages such as increased cost and possible response biases.
In comparison to surveys and experiments, field research has
high validity and low reliability Surveys and experiments tend to have high reliability and repeatable, because they provide nomothetic explanations. In contrast, field research often follows an idiographic approach to research questions. It is difficult to replicate the findings from field research.
A researcher wants to see if a protein-enriched diet will enhance the maze-running performance of rats. One group of rats is fed the high-protein diet for the duration of the study; the other group continues to receive ordinary rat chow. In this experiment, the diet fed to the two groups of rats is the __________ variable.
independent p.247 for more information about dependent and independent variables. Independent variable refers to a variable controlled by the researcher in an attempt to test the effects (protein-enriched diet) on some outcome, the dependent variable (the maze-running performance of rats).
An experiment examines the effect of the:
independent variable on the dependent variable We control independent variables and see the effect on the dependent variable. For instance, we study the effect of education on life time earning. Education would be the independent variable, while life time earning would be the dependent variable. We would like to see whether those who are highly educated indeed have higher earnings than those who are less educated.
Which approach was originally developed by Dorothy Smith to better understand women's everyday experiences by discovering the power relations that shape those experiences?
institutional enthography
"All politicians are crooked. How crooked do you feel your own representatives are?" The major flaw in this item is that it:
is biased According to PewResearch Center, it is important to consider whether certain words may be viewed as biased or potentially offensive to some respondents, as well as the emotional reaction that some words may provoke. For example, in a 2005 Pew Research survey, 51% of respondents said they favored "making it legal for doctors to give terminally ill patients the means to end their lives" but only 44% said they favored "making it legal for doctors to assist terminally ill patients in committing suicide." Although both versions of the question are asking about the same thing, the reaction of respondents was different.
Lisa used this question in her questionnaire given to students: "Are you satisfied with your grade in this class and the amount of homework?" What is the major weakness with this item?
it is double barreled
An example(s) of the complete participant role is(are)
joining a sorority or fraternity to study initiation rituals without revealing your identity as a researcher In a complete participant role, the observer is wholly concealed; the research objectives are unknown to the observed, and the researcher attempts to become a member of the group under observation. The complete participant interacts with the observed as naturally as possible. When researchers adopt the participant-as-observer role, they inform the group being studied that there is a researcher agenda. Researchers make long-term commitments to becoming active members of the group and attempt to establish close relationships with its members, who subsequently serve as both informants and respondents.
Karen used the student directory at her school to select a random sample of 100 students for her laboratory experiment on decision making. She then used a quota matrix containing the variables she felt would most likely influence decision making, and assigned people within each matrix cell alternately to the experimental and control groups. What method of selecting subjects was used?
matching
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of matrix questions over other formats:
matrix questions allow response-set. p.281. Matrix questions a series of questions that concern a common theme and that have the same response choices. The questions are written so that a common initial phrase applies to each one, which helps shorten the wording of the questions. It also emphasizes the common theme among the questions. They are the preferred choice of researchers that need to get multiple questions with the same scale to fit on a single page. Matrix questions often use Likert-type responses. The advantage of matrix questions is that they allow for a large number of questions or statements to be condensed into a smaller area in the questionnaire. The matrix question format can foster a response-set among some respondents-- that is to say, respondents may develop a pattern of, e.g., agreeing with all the statements.
Which of the following field research paradigms was first developed?
naturalism Naturalism is an approach to field research based on the assumption that an objective social reality exists and can be observed and reported. It is related to the pre-modern view of reality.
Case studies should NOT be used for
nomothetic purpose Case Studies are in-depth examinations of a single instance of some social phenomenon, such as a village, a family, or a juvenile gang. Case studies are often used in exploratory research. They can help us generate new ideas (that might be tested by other methods). They are an important way of illustrating theories and can help show how different aspects of a person's life are related to each other. While the results from case studies can be the foundation for nomothetic studies, case studies are idiographic in nature.
"Natural" experiments refers to experiments which:
occur naturally without the experimenter's intervention. Natural experiment refers to an experiment in which the independent variable is not artificially manipulated, but rather changes naturally in terms of its level or presence, so that these alterations can be used to monitor its effect and attempt to determine its impact upon a dependent variable or variables. Different from pre-experimental designs, the process governing the exposures to stimuli resembles random assignment. Such studies are understandably rare in social sciences.
Which of the following is LEAST suited to providing clear evidence about a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables?
one-shot case study
High scores on variable X are associated with high scores on variable Y and low scores on variable X are associated with low scores on variable Y. Hence, the correlation between variables X and Y will be:
positive
Coach Myers wanted to examine how a new visualization technique affects Intramural player performance. At the very beginning of the academic year, he divided his total group of players into two teams using a random number table. Group One received the visualization technique while Group Two was told to "think positive thoughts." At the end of the season, Group One won significantly more games than Group Two. The design of this study is:
post-test only control group design This would be an experiment, because randomization is involved in the group selection. However, pre-test was not conducted. In the static-group comparison method, two naturally-occurring groups are selected. One Group receives the experimental treatment, and the other does not. Both groups are then measured. The experimenter then compares the two sets of measurements to see if there is a difference. In contrast, experiments require the randomization of the sample selection.
The easiest of the true experimental designs to conduct is the:
posttest-only group design The post test control group design is a true experimental design. Randomization is used to separate the control group from the reference group. Pretest is not used. One-shot case study is a preexperimental design. It is not a true experimental design. Preexperimental designs do not randomize treatment and control groups. Posttest-only control group is a true experimental design and it is simpler than other experimental designs outlined here. Through randomization, we can assume that both treatment and control groups are similar to each other. Pretesting refers to the process of measuring a dependent variable among subjects before they are exposed to a stimulus representing an independent variable.
Alex did an experiment on children in a classroom. He measured their social anxiety on Monday, randomly assigned half of them to be taught yoga on Wednesday, and measured their social anxiety again on Friday. Measuring the children's social anxiety on Monday is the:
pretest
After designing a questionnaire, the surest protection against such mistakes as ambiguous questions is to:
pretest the questionnaire with people who at least somewhat resemble your eventual sample. A pilot study is often helpful. A pilot study here refers to a small scale preliminary study conducted in order to evaluate feasibility, time, cost, adverse events, and effect size in an attempt to predict an appropriate sample size and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research project.
A ______________ is an interaction between an interviewer and a respondent in which the interviewer has a general plan of inquiry, but not a set of questions that must be asked with particular words in a particular order.
qualitative interview Open-ended, qualitative interview questions are sometimes combined with more closed-ended, structured interview formats. Qualitative interviews may be used as an exploratory step before designing more quantitative, structured questionnaires to help determine the appropriate questions and categories. Conversely, interviews may be used after results of more standardized measures are analyzed to gain insight into interesting or unexpected findings. While quantitative results are sometimes dismissed on political or methodological grounds by those who disagree with the findings, it can be harder to dismiss the actual words of participants which convey their powerful emotions.
Joshua studied underground miners by becoming a miner. He became increasingly concerned about his role, how he might affect what he studied, and how much he should become involved in the lives of the miners. He gave these issues a lot of thought, particularly regarding their impact on the study. This sense of things acting on themselves is known as:
reflexivity In social research, reflexivity is regarded as an individual's considered response to an immediate context and is concerned with the ability of service users to process information and create knowledge to guide life choices.
Keith studied friendship patterns among pairs of women and pairs of men. Which one of the following did he study?
relationships
Which term would best refer to bias in selection of experimental and control groups?
selection bias Selection bias is a statistical bias in which there is an error in choosing the individuals or groups to take part in a scientific study. In other words, the experimental and control groups were not comparable in important ways. Here is an example in which we want to study the effect of education on life-time earning. Those who have higher levels of education tend to be self-selected. In other words, those who receive high levels of education are still more likely to have higher earnings than the less educated, even if they did not complete the high levels of education.
Jacob took the Graduate Record Exam in September 2005 and thought that he would score in the 90th percentile. However, he unexpectedly scored in the 99th percentile. In February 2007, Jacob took the same exam again. This time he scored in the 90th percentile. As a research methods student, you told your Jacob that his lowered score was most likely due to:
statistical regression Statistical regression toward the mean refers to the fact that those with extreme scores on any measure at one point in time will, for purely statistical reasons, probably have less extreme scores the next time they are tested. The Hawthorne effect (also referred to as the observer effect) refers to a phenomenon whereby individuals improve or modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed.
In general, survey research is
strong on reliability and weak on validity
Rebecca did an experiment in which half of her subjects were told that they had extrasensory perception and half were not. In reality, there was no difference. Interestingly, at the end of the three-month experiment, those subjects who were told that they had extrasensory perception actually outscored the control group on the ability to accurately describe video scenes with the sound turned off. This example reflects:
the Pygmalion effect The Pygmalion effect is the phenomenon whereby the greater the expectation placed upon people, the better they perform. The effect is named after the Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved. Again, The Hawthorne effect (also referred to as the observer effect) refers to a phenomenon whereby individuals improve or modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed.
Tito wanted to rebuild or improve the theory on adjustment to retirement. In his research, he gave particular attention to all the ways in which observations conflict with theories, based on a sound knowledge of the literature in this area. Which approach did he use?
the extended case method According to Buroway, the extended case method (ECM) is an ethnographic research method that focuses on a detailed study of concrete empirical cases with a view to "extract" general principles from specific observations. The extended case method emulates a reflexive model of science that takes as its premise the intersubjectivity of scientist and subject of study.
Professor Milne was preparing to do some qualitative interviewing in a field research project. Milne knew that you were a research methods student and asked for your advice. You told Milne
try not to talk too much. When conducting qualitative interviews, flexibility is important. Therefore interviewers should prepare to alter questions, change the sequence, and use different probes for different interviewees. According to Babbie, unlike a survey, a qualitative interview is an interaction between an interviewer and a respondent in which the interviewer has a general plan of inquiry including the topics to be covered, but not a set of questions that must be asked with particular words and in a particular order. At the same time, the qualitative interviewer, like the survey interviewer, must be fully familiar with the questions to be asked. This allows the interview to proceed smoothly and naturally.
Regarding sensitive issues and complicated issues, which one of the following is correct?
use self-administered questionnaires for sensitive issues and interviews for complicated issues.
Which mode of observation was used in the article "Social and environmental infantilization of aged persons: Observations in two ad (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site."?
Complete observer
According to Babbie, what does CAPI stand for?
Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) is an interviewing technique in which the respondent or interviewer uses a computer to answer the questions. It is similar to computer-assisted telephone interviewing, except that the interview takes place in person instead of over the telephone. This method is usually preferred over a telephone interview when the questionnaire is long and complex. It has been classified as a personal interviewing technique because an interviewer is usually present to serve as a host and to guide the respondent. An example of a situation in which CAPI is used as the method of data collection is the British Crime Survey.
Which of the following could NOT constitute a case in a case study?
Cuba WW II The Iraq war Your family All of these choices constitute a case for a case study A case study is a descriptive, exploratory or explanatory analysis of a person, group or event. An explanatory case study is used to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. All of the mentioned can be the subject of case studies.
According to Michael Burawoy, which of the following statements is TRUE?
Extended case study theorists seek to know all the literature before entering the field. Burawoy is known for the development of the extended case study method.
Interview surveys typically attain lower response rates than do mail surveys.
False Mail surveys tend to have low response rates. It is more difficult for interviewers to refuse in front of the interviewers.
The dependent variable is also known as the experimental stimulus.
False The independent variable will usually be the experimental stimulus, while the dependent variable is often the outcome. Say you want to study the effect on education on life time earning. Education would be the independent variable, while life time earning the dependent variable.
Experiments are most suitable for descriptive research.
False They are most suitable for explanatory research, identifying causal relationships.
Playing the complete participant role in qualitative field research has the advantage that you will not affect what you are studying.
False Adopting the points of view of the people you are studying can reduce your objectivity. This is especially evidence in qualitative field research where you have to interact with your subjects.
Structured interviews are more appropriate for field research than unstructured interviews.
False Both methods are equally valuable. It depends on the research questions and the research design. In general, unstructured interviews are more widely used in field research. A structured interview (also known as a standardized interview or a researcher-administered survey) is a quantitative research method commonly employed in survey research. The aim of this approach is to ensure that each interview is presented with exactly the same questions in the same order. This ensures that answers can be reliably aggregated and that comparisons can be made with confidence between sample subgroups or between different survey periods. In contrast, field research is qualitative in nature. Unstructured interviews are more widely used. An unstructured interview is an interview in which questions are not prearranged (although some questions may be prepared in advance), allowing for spontaneity and for questions to develop during the course of the interview. Unstructured interview is a qualitative research method and accordingly prioritizes validity and the depth of the interviewees' answers, whilst losing reliability and making it more difficult to draw patterns between interviewees' responses in comparison to structured interviews. Similar to other qualitative study, it is also more difficult to generalize the results to the population at large, due to the lack of external validity. Unstructured interviews are used in a variety of fields and circumstances, ranging from research in social sciences, such as sociology, to college and job interviews.
In the discussion of reflexivity, Earl Babbie used his personal experience as an example. In his study of trance channeling, he fully participated in channeling sessions by temporarily disassociating himself from social science and fully embracing the idea of channeling.
False Earl Babbie suspended his personal beliefs for a moment, neither believing channeling to be true nor disbelieving. Reflexivity refers to the fact that your own characteristics can affect what you see and how you interpret it.
A survey response's rate refers to the number of people selected in the sample divided by total people.
False It refers to the number of people who answered the survey divided by the number of people in the sample.
Pre-experimental designs do not have control groups.
False Out of the three comment pre-expermental designs, the static-group comparison design includes a comparison group.
Your field notes should record what you know happened NOT what you think.
False Should record both. You should record: Any interesting/significant informal conversations. Where, with whom, about what? Any significant observations (about non-verbal aspects of research context). Where, about whom, about what? Anything surprising or interesting that came up during the day. Was there anything that went against your expectations? Things that people said or did that reflected their taken-for-granted understandings. New issues that have been coming up repeatedly that are not covered in your interview schedules. Issues that should be developed and explored in subsequent interviews or further observations. Issues that should be taken into account during data analysis.
Qualitative field researchers should wait to record observations until enough time has passed to put the events in a proper perspective.
False Should record observations as soon as possible to reduce the chance of memory lapse.
Because classical experimental design involves both pretest and posttest, it is superior to Solomon four-group design with respect to reducing the influence of confounding variables.
False The Solomon four group design is a way of avoiding some of the difficulties associated with the pretest-posttest design or the classical experimental design. The Solomon four-group design contains two extra control groups, which serve to reduce the influence of confounding variables and allow the researcher to test whether the pretest itself has an effect on the subjects. This is an important concern for social scientists, because the experiment has a potent effect on the subjects. Whilst much more complex to set up and analyze, this design type combats many of the internal validity issues that can plague research. It allows the researcher to exert complete control over the variables and allows the researcher to check that the pretest did not influence the results. The Solomon four group test is a standard pretest-posttest two-group design and the posttest only control design. The various combinations of tested and untested groups with treatment and control groups allows the researcher to ensure that confounding variables and extraneous factors have not influenced the results.
The greatest strength of laboratory experiments lies in the ability to examine numerous variables simultaneously.
False The greatest strength is to have a controlled environment in which independent variables can be manipulated and causal relationships can be more easily identified.
The phrasing used in closed-ended questions should allow respondents to attach their own meanings and interpretations to the question.
False pp. 192-19. With close-ended questions, the respondent is asked to select an answer from among a list provided by the researcher. They can be used in self-administered questionnaires as well as interviews. They are popular in quantitative research because they provide a greater uniformity of response and higher reliability than open-ended questions and qualitative research.
Which of the following statement is CORRECT about participants in focus groups?
Group interviews tend to be unstructured.
A group of researchers decide to study the effect of different seating arrangements among a group of students. They find that when seats are arranged in a circle, students' test scores go up. When they return seats to their original spots, students' test scores go up once again. The students are aware they are being studied. This is an example of
Hawthorne effect The Hawthorne effect describes a temporary change to behavior or performance in response to a change in the environmental conditions. This change is typically an improvement. Others have broadened this definition to mean that peoples behavior and performance change following any new or increased attention.
Jimmy's experiment requires him to tell subjects that they will be working in pairs to solve a problem when in reality he does not care about problem-solving. Jimmy is really observing the nonverbal communication between two people who do not know each other. Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning Jimmy's research?
Jimmy must tell the subjects that he plans to observe their nonverbal communications. Jimmy may be unethical, because Jimmy has deceived his subjects.
Which of the following is the best example of a breaching experiment?
Opening an umbrella on a beautiful day. A breaching experiment is an experiment that seeks to examine people's reactions to violations of commonly accepted social rules or norms. Breaching experiments are most commonly associated with ethnomethodology, and in particular the work of Harold Garfinkel. Breaching experiments involve the conscious exhibition of "unexpected" behavior/violation of social norms, an observation of the types of social reactions such behavioral violations engender, and an analysis of the social structure that makes these social reactions possible. The idea of studying the violation of social norms and the accompanying reactions has bridged across social science disciplines, and is today used in both sociology and psychology.
_________involves measuring subjects on a dependent variable before exposing them to a stimulus representing an independent variable.
Pretesting Posttesting refers to the remeasurement of a dependent variable among subjects after they've been exposed to a stimulus representing an independent variable
Which of the following statements is(are) FALSE about participatory action research (PAR)?
Researchers should define their subjects' problems, define the desired remedies, and take the lead in helping subjects realize their aims. Researchers should allow the subjects to define their problems. Participatory action research (PAR) is an approach to research in communities that emphasizes participation and action. It seeks to understand the world by trying to change it, collaboratively and following reflection. PAR emphasizes collective inquiry and experimentation grounded in experience and social history. Within a PAR process, "communities of inquiry and action evolve and address questions and issues that are significant for those who participate as co-researchers" (Reason and Bradbury, 2008, p. 1). PAR contrasts with many research methods, which emphasize disinterested researchers and reproducibility of findings. PAR is not a monolithic body of ideas and methods but rather a pluralistic orientation to knowledge making and social change.
Rob used this question in his survey of first-year college students: "What will be your Social Security benefit amount upon retirement?" What is the major weakness with this item?
Respondents are mostly incompetent to answer the item.
Which of the following is NOT a strength of secondary analysis in comparison with primary data collection?
Secondary data tend to have all variables that one needs.
Of all experimental designs, which of the following addresses the problem of testing interaction with the stimulus?
Solomon four-group design p.258-259. The problem of an interaction between the testing and the experimental stimulus can be handled by Solomon-four-group design and the posttest-only control group design. Two-group pretest-posttest design is the classical experimental design. One-shot and static-group comparison designs are pre-experimental designs.
________ refers to the need for social researchers to treat the beliefs they study as worthy of respect rather than as objects of ridicule.
Symbolic realism Robert Bellah has offered this term to indicate the need for social researchers to treat the beliefs they study as worthy of respect rather than as objects of ridicule.
Ben did an experiment on workers in an insurance company to examine the effect of a new computer system on workers' attitudes and productivity. He had no control group. He noticed that as he simplified the computer system, worker productivity and positive attitude went up. He then complicated the computer system and monitored the workers closely, only to discover that their productivity and positive attitude again increased. What was probably at work?
The Hawthorne effect `
What is the basic difference between the classical experiment design and the Solomon four-group design?
The Solomon four-group design repeats the classical design but adds groups that are not pretested Pretests may affect the observations. The Solomon four-group design helps mitigate the potential problem.
Which of the following is an advantage of focus groups?
The cost is relatively low. Cost is a major advantage for using focus groups.
Which one of the following is NOT a topic particularly appropriate for field research?
The effect of watching a video in a laboratory on prejudice. Field research is the systematic observation of people in a natural setting for an extended period of time. This research has its origins in investigative journalism and cultural anthropology. Topics appropriate for field research include those that defy simple quantification, attitudes and behaviors best understood in their natural settings, and social processes over time.
Jessica is concerned with the problem of reactivity in her study of a local diet group. Which of the following is NOT one of her reactivity concerns?
The members might alter their lifestyles and behavior to lose weight because they joined the group. Reactivity refers to the problem that the subjects of social research may react to the fact of being studied, thus altering their behavior from what it would have been normally. In this case, the members have joined the group to manage their weight. Therefore, Jessica should not be concerned if the members alter their lifestyles and behavior to lose weight. That is the purpose of the group.
In the article "A Study of Differences in Business Ethical Values in Mainland China, the U.S. and Jamaica," research findings largely support their first hypothesis—Chinese, Jamaican and U.S. subjects will select the same behavioral choice when faced with the same ethical dilemma.
True
Double-barreled questions can have more than two parts.
True In short, a double-barreled question touches upon more than one issue, yet allows only for one answer. This may result in inaccuracies in the attitudes being measured for the question, as the respondent can answer only one of the two questions, and cannot indicate which one is being answered.
Probes are used more frequently in open-ended questions than in closed-ended ones.
True A probe is used to encourage conversation without influencing the answer. It is particularly suitable for open-ended questions.
The use of CATI enables a researcher to begin analyzing data even before the interviewing is complete.
True Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) is a telephone surveying technique in which the interviewer follows a script provided by a software application. It is a structured system of microdata collection by telephone that speeds up the collection and editing of microdata and also permits the interviewer to educate the respondents on the importance of timely and accurate data. The software is able to customize the flow of the questionnaire based on the answers provided, as well as information already known about the participant.
The problem of external validity refers to the generalizability of results.
True External validity is the validity of generalized (causal) inferences in scientific research. In other words, it is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people. Qualitative study relying on the idiographic approach tends to have low external validity.
The experimental and control groups must be as similar as possible.
True If the two groups are very different, the differences might be the causes for their different behaviors and outcomes.
The complete participant role carries more ethical dilemmas than does the complete observer role in field research.
True In qualitative field research, the complete participant normally takes an insider role and often observes covertly, being fully part of the setting. In contrast, the complete observer does not take part in the social setting at all. An example of complete observation might be watching children play from behind a two-way mirror.
Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory.
True In the social sciencesa case study (or case report) is a descriptive, exploratory or explanatory analysis of a person, group or event. An explanatory case study is used to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. Case studies may be prospective or retrospective.
Instrumentation is NOT a threat to internal validity in the one-shot case study.
True Internal validity is a property of scientific studies which reflects the extent to which a causal conclusion based on a study is warranted. Such warrant is constituted by the extent to which a study minimizes systematic error (or 'bias'). Instrumentation refers changes in the measurement of the dependent variable in pretest and posttest. One-shot case study DOES not have pretest or posttest. Therefore, instrumentation is not an issue for one-shot case study. One-shot case study is one of the classical pre-experimental designs.
Experiments are especially well suited to research projects involving relatively limited and well-defined concepts and propositions.
True It is important to have relatively limited and well-defined concepts before we carry out experiments. One of the main purposes of experiments is to find causality or causation.
The only pre-experimental design to include a comparison group is the static-group comparison design.
True Let us quickly go over Pre-Experimental Design. We sometimes carry out our research in our minds using one of the three pre-expermental designs. Pre-experimental designs are so named because they follow basic experimental steps but fail to include a TRUE control group. In other words, a single group is often studied but no comparison between an equivalent non-treatment group is made. Examples include the following: The One-Shot Case Study. In this arrangement, subjects are presented with some type of treatment, such as a semester of college work experience, and then the outcome measure is applied, such as college grades. Like all experimental designs, the goal is to determine if the treatment had any effect on the outcome. Without a comparison group, it is impossible to determine if the outcome scores are any higher than they would have been without the treatment. And, without any pre-test scores, it is impossible to determine if any change within the group itself has taken place. One Group Pretest Posttest Study. A benefit of this design over the previously discussed design is the inclusion of a pretest to determine baseline scores. To use this design in our study of college performance, we could compare college grades prior to gaining the work experience to the grades after completing a semester of work experience. We can now at least state whether a change in the outcome or dependent variable has taken place. What we cannot say is if this change would have occurred even without the application of the treatment or independent variable. It is possible that mere maturation caused the change in grades and not the work experience itself. Finally, the third option is the Static Group Comparison Study. This design attempts to make up for the lack of a control group but falls short in relation to showing if a change has occurred. In the static group comparison study, two groups are chosen, one of which receives the treatment and the other does not. A posttest score is then determined to measure the difference, after treatment, between the two groups. As you can see, this study does not include any pre-testing and therefore any difference between the two groups prior to the study are unknown. Moreover, the members in the two groups are not randomly selected. Despite these concerns, these are still important methods. Researchers still use these method in studies, because of limitations. Here is another example. After taking the research methods class, you should be a better researcher. If we were to carry out a study using the static-group comparison design, we would compare the knowledge level about research methods between those who have taken the class and those who have not taken the class. The problem is that we are not sure whether those who are taking the class are different from those who did not. We did not test their knowledge before taking the class (or the intervention).
Naturalism is an approach to field research based on the assumption that an objective social reality exists and can be observed and reported accurately
True Naturalism is an old tradition in qualitative research. The earliest field researchers operated on the positivist assumption that social reality was "out there," ready to be naturally observed and reported by the researcher as it "really is." The approach is related to the pre-modern view of reality.
Topics appropriate to experiments include hypothesis testing, explanatory research, and small group interaction.
True Often we are trying to find causal relations. Experiments are suitable for teasing out spurious relationships.
A demonstrated lack of bias is more important than a high response rate.
True Overall response rate is one guide to the representativeness of the sample respondents. If a high response rate is achieved, there is less chance of significant response bias than with a low rate. In contrast, if the response rate is low, the chance is higher for a biased sample. However, if researchers can demonstrate that there is little response bias, it would be much more important than a high response rate.
A qualitative interview is an interaction between an interviewer and a respondent in which the interviewer has a general plan of inquiry but not a specific set of questions.
True Qualitative Interviews are among the most familiar strategies for collecting qualitative data. The different qualitative interviewing strategies in common use emerged from diverse disciplinary perspectives resulting in a wide variation among interviewing approaches. Unlike the highly structured survey interviews and questionnaires in quantitative studies, qualitative interviews tend to be less structured. The interviewer is more a participant than a conduit from which information is retrieved.
In contrast to other research methods, qualitative field research involves a continuing interplay between data collection and theory. In other words, the data collected in field research also shapes theory both after and during data collection.
True Qualitative field research is often a theory or hypothesis-generating activity. More specifically, qualitative field research is the systematic study of ordinary activities in the settings in which they occur. Its primary goal is to understand these activities and what they mean to those who engage in them. To gain this understanding, field researchers collect data by interacting with, listening to, and observing people during the course of their daily lives, usually in some self-contained setting, such as an elementary school classroom, a street corner, a car dealership, or a public housing community.
Qualitative field research is the term used to distinguish this type of observation method from methods designed to produce data appropriate for quantitative analysis.
True Qualitative field research is the method of choice when the research question requires an understanding of processes, events and relationships in the context of the social and cultural situation. Instead of generating numerical data supporting or refuting clear cut hypotheses, qualitative research aims to produce factual descriptions based on face-to-face knowledge of individuals and social groups in their natural settings. Qualitative research is useful for obtaining insights into situation and problems concerning which one may have little knowledge. This method is commonly used for providing in depth description of procedures, beliefs and knowledge related to health issues, or for exploring the reasons for certain behaviors including the opinions of respondents about particular issues.
Secondary analysis refers to the analysis of data collected earlier by another researcher for some purpose other than the topic of the current study.
True Secondary analysis refers to the analysis of existing sources of information. Most likely, the data were collected for different purposes.
The extended case method looks for all the ways in which observations conflict with existing theory.
True The extended case method (ECM) is an ethnographic research method that focuses on a detailed study of concrete empirical cases with a view to "extract" general principles from specific observations. Typically, a researcher would participate in and observe a number of related events and actions of individuals and groups over an extended period of time. The researcher would then construct his or her (ethnographic) story and theorize about a social phenomenon, rather than start with a theory to explain an empirical reality. ECM is at once a method of data collection, analysis, and theory building. Both the conceptualization and the application of the ECM have changed over time. According to Buroway, the extended case method emulates a reflexive model of science that takes as its premise the intersubjectivity of scientist and subject of study. Reflexive science emphasizes intervention, process, structuration, and theory reconstruction.
It is usually best to begin self-administered questionnaires with the most interesting set of items.
True The self-administered questionnaire is a type of questionnaire, either in paper or electronic form, that a respondent completes on his/her own. A questionnaire is a survey method that utilizes a standardized set of questions, which allow respondents' answers to be systematically compared and/or contrasted. Questionnaires must be designed carefully as to ensure clarity. According to Babbie, it is usually best to begin the questionnaire with the most interesting set of items. This helps increase the response rate and completion rate.
Experiments in social science almost always involve deception. We commonly put the experiment subjects in unusual situations and ask them to undergo unusual experiences.
True The treatment group usually has to be exposed to some type of stimulus.
It is best to send a new copy of the survey with follow-up mailings.
True Those who have failed to respond to the original survey is less likely to have access to the original survey form. Plus, it is just convenient for the respondent to get a new copy of the survey.
Matrix questions with Likert scale responses are used when you want to ask several questions that have the same set of answer categories.
True When responding to a Likert question, respondents specify their level of agreement or disagreement on a symmetric agree-disagree scale for a series of statements. Thus, the range captures the intensity of their feelings for a given item. The format of a typical five-level Likert item, for example, could be: 1. Strongly disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neither agree nor disagree 4. Agree 5. Strongly agree
Which of the following is NOT recommended for online surveys:
Use complex wording to impress audience and increase response rates.
