Sociology Chapter 2 Review
Why is it important to strive to be objective when you conduct research?
If you do not try to be objective, you increase the likelihood that you may misinterpret data. FEEDBACK: Objectivity is an ideal, and it is fundamental to all social science research. While it is highly desirable in theory, it is difficult to be completely objective in practice.
Which of the following illustrates a causal relationship?
Sara babysat for four hours. She earned twenty dollars. FEEDBACK: Causation describes a relationship between two variables and means that a change in one variable directly produces a change in the other. Distinguishing between causation and correlation can be one of the more difficult requirements of the scientific methodologies used in research.
The statement, "Parents are more concerned about climate change than nonparents," would be an example of _____.
a hypothesis FEEDBACK: When a statement is testable and expresses an expectation, it is a hypothesis.
A survey asks the question, "Do you currently own any pets?" The two answer options are "Yes" or "No." What type of question is this?
closed-ended FEEDBACK: Questions can be open-ended, allowing for any answer from the respondent, or closed-ended, limiting the respondent's possible answers. Closed-ended questions can make it easier to compare a larger number of responses.
What is the goal of ethnographic research?
to describe and understand observed activities and what they mean to the groups studied FEEDBACK: Ethnographic research is a tool to help researchers understand social life. It involves participant observation and careful observation to both document what is seen and to understand meaning.
Surveys and interviews differ in which important way?
Survey results are more easily generalizable to the larger population. FEEDBACK: It is important to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of research methods. Selecting the best research method for a study may mean the difference between obtaining useful and useless results.
Kristoff used decades' worth of government reports, historical accounts, and newspaper articles from Germany and France to study the social and cultural forces that shaped when and where World War II monuments were erected and how they were received by the public. His approach is an example of which research method?
comparative historical FEEDBACK: Using a comparative historical method allows researchers to explore different time periods in history. Researchers use cultural artifacts such as books, photographs, diaries, paintings, and newspapers as sources of historical data.
What is a benefit of using the Internet to conduct surveys?
cost-effectiveness FEEDBACK: While the Internet makes administering surveys easier and often less expensive, it is still up to the researcher to ensure the survey is reliable, representative, and valid. The perception of online surveys being outside the mainstream is fading fast.
Which type of research is most likely to use field notes?
participant observation FEEDBACK: Field notes are data commonly acquired through participant observation and make up the bulk of the researcher's data set.
Shayna wants to study how the social environments of high schools affect the formation of social cliques among students. To do so, she needs to collect data on friendships between students and visualize the structure of friendships within several schools. Which research method is best suited for her study?
social network analysis FEEDBACK: Some of the earliest works using social network analysis come from Georg Simmel's study of how group size affects relationships between group members.
An institutional review board (IRB) helps to ensure the safety of subjects of review. Who typically sits on such a board?
academic scholars FEEDBACK: Institutional review boards are most often found at research universities. These boards have the ability to stop a research project if they have concerns about the safety of the subjects.
"Why Isn't Johnny in Preschool?" was a project conducted by Chicago's Community Organizing and Family Issues group that was aimed at determining why families in lower-income, racially diverse neighborhoods in Chicago were less likely than other families to enroll their children in early educational programs. The findings were used to design outreach and public awareness campaigns. This type of research project is called _____.
action research FEEDBACK: Action research is a growing trend in social science methodology. Action research combines social science research with community problem solving and social change.
Which statement about quantitative and qualitative research is correct?
Qualitative research works with nonnumerical data and interprets the results. FEEDBACK: Understanding research methods is important because different methods may be more suitable in the effort to answer a particular sociological question.
Dr. Frank wants to explore how gender impacts the experiences of boys and girls in competitive swimming. He opts to use interviews as his means of collecting data. Which of the following is a disadvantage of this method?
Representativeness may be limited. FEEDBACK: While interviews can provide rich data, it is challenging to develop results that can be applied widely.
To better assess how campers feel about their experiences in summer camp, the counselors pass out a questionnaire. The answer options are either: strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. This is an example of _____.
a Likert scale FEEDBACK: The Likert scale is a type of closed-ended questionnaire because it limits answer choices to a specific set of responses. It does offer the researcher a continuum of responses, which is useful in organizing data.
Professor Richland published a study on his experiences pursuing recreational skydiving while maintaining his family and work responsibilities. He focused on providing a detailed account of his own personal thoughts and feelings as a participant in this activity and how he managed his competing obligations. Professor Richland's study is an example of _____.
autoethnography FEEDBACK: Autoethnographers' accounts of their personal experiences, feelings, and thoughts are the focal point of their study. This newer qualitative method used by sociologists is both analytical and personal.
Richard conducted a participant observation of Uber drivers and kept very detailed field notes including information on drivers' identities and activities on his laptop. The laptop was stolen and the field notes made their way online, which resulted in Uber firing several of the drivers. This situation describes a _____.
breach of confidentiality FEEDBACK: Confidentiality helps to promote a safe environment where respondents can offer candid responses. It is an important part of good research ethics. The potential for harm in most social scientific research comes from the breaching of confidentiality.
Dr. Hao plans to conduct an experiment that studies the relationship between smartphone usage and anxiety. He will randomly assign some subjects to the control group in which they will use their phone as usual for a week, and the other subjects to the experimental group in which they will not be allowed to use their phone at all. He will measure the anxiety levels in the two groups at the beginning and end of the study and compare them to see if anxiety levels decreased in the experimental group. In this research, smartphone usage is the _____.
independent variable FEEDBACK: In this example, smartphone usage is the independent variable, meaning it is the factor that is predicted to cause change in the experimental group. Anxiety is the dependent variable, the factor that is changed (or not) by the independent variable.
Jamison plans to research the benefits of comedy as a coping mechanism during times of natural disasters. Before moving ahead, he will explore pertinent research already compiled on this topic. This is what step of the scientific method?
literature review FEEDBACK: This is an important step in the research process that allows a researcher to become familiar with what already exists and to avoid duplication of the research effort.
The Nielsen Company gathers data on what products people use as well as how they feel about them. This company uses sociological research methods as one of the leaders in what field?
market research FEEDBACK: Market research is a type of applied research with the goal of learning about consumer behavior.
In their ethnographic study of teenage mothers, Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas found that teenage mothers frequently viewed their children as a major source of positivity and stability in their lives. In order to get these young mothers to open up to them about their lives, Edin and Kefalas had to make an effort to develop _____.
rapport FEEDBACK: Edin and Kefalas used participant observation in their work to study a difficult-to-access population. The fact that Edin and Kefalas were women and mothers themselves played a role in their ability to create rapport and gain access as they lived and worked in East Camden. Their deep immersion into this population made it possible for them to gain valuable insight.
Over the last five semesters, Dr. Thompson's research class has repeatedly asked the same question on a particular project. Each semester the question produces similar answers. This exemplifies which concept?
reliability FEEDBACK: Reliability helps to ensure that the data we collect is the same kind each time we ask the set of questions. If the data changes each time, the basis of comparison may be absent or weak.
One major difference between the experimental method and ethnographic research is that in most cases it is not possible to repeat an ethnographic study to check its validity, but well-designed experiments can be repeated. In other words, ethnographies lack _____.
replicability FEEDBACK: Replicability is an important element of the scientific method because it helps to establish the validity of research findings, but because of the unique combinations of people, timing, setting, and researcher role, no one can ever undertake the same ethnographic study twice.
A sociology professor is working on a community service project with his students to gauge visitor satisfaction at the local state park. Visitors are asked to fill out a form with ten Likert scale questions regarding various aspects of the park. What type of research is this?
survey FEEDBACK:Surveys are questionnaires that are administered to a sample of respondents selected from a target population, and they ask the same questions each time they are administered, yielding reliable data. A common type of questionnaire is based on the Likert scale, a format in which respondents can choose from answer options presented along a continuum.
The text discusses the development of a research process, from identifying a problem, to the formulation of a hypothesis and collecting of data, and finally to the sharing of the findings. Taking all of the seven steps together, social scientists regard this as _____.
the scientific method FEEDBACK: The scientific method is the standard procedure for acquiring and verifying empirical knowledge. While researchers may not order these steps the same way every time, each step is an important part of the process.