sociology chapter 3
28. Which of these qualities differentiate interviews from questionnaires?
Questionnaires are self-administered; interviews are not.
23. Which of the following is a benefit to unstructured interviews?
Respondents can cover issues that are meaningful to them.
49. Which of the following was ethically controversial in the case of the Henrietta Lacks?
She did not know of or consent to being a participant in a research study.
1. Sociologists practice empiricism.
T
10. Researchers test hypotheses with inferential statistics.
T
12. A researcher who lives with a religious community for five years and establishes a detailed account of their daily activities is utilizing the ethnographic research method.
T
13. Netnography is an account of what happens online.
T
15. Pre-structured interviews often yield data that can be coded numerically.
T
17. Random samples are the most common type of sampling method to avoid survey bias.
T
19. Wendy, a sociologist, studies the use of sexuality in television shows in order to understand changing gender norms. Her research method is known as content analysis.
T
23. The Nuremberg Code was developed to protect biomedical research subjects after the Nazi experiments on concentration camp inmates were revealed.
T
3. The research process may begin again if a researcher discovers additional questions when analyzing the existing data.
T
5. Scientific knowledge accumulates gradually and requires many studies.
T
7. Research questions in sociology generally determine the method of data collection.
T
9. Quantitative research requires statistical methods for collecting and reporting data.
T
portant because participants have the right to be aware they are being studied and therefore know the risks they may face.
T
6. The last step in the scientific method according to the text is which of these?
analyze the data in relation to the hypothesis
44. Casey conducts a research study examining the violence contained within television shows in the past five years. Which method will Casey likely use?
content analysis
14. When a researcher wants to report the average cost of college tuition from the 1950s until present time, he or she enlists ______ statistics.
descriptive
29. Organizations such as Gallup gather ______ surveys in order to gather accurate information about members of a certain group or in a given geographic area.
descriptive
30. Which of these would a researcher employ to discover the frequency of marijuana use among high school seniors?
descriptive survey
1. Lana has a theory about homelessness. She systematically gathers information through both observation and interviews to develop a theory. Which terms best fits Lana's activity?
empiricism
48. Which of these is concerned with issues of right and wrong, the choices that people make, and how they justify them?
ethics
21. A sociologist who spends an intensive amount of time for several years observing an immigrant community to understand their daily activities would be using which research method?
ethnography
33. Research based on convenience samples is usually which of these?
exploratory
47. Ethics in research became a central concern at what point in history?
following World War II, in response to atrocities committed by the Nazis
38. An experiment to find out what effect gender had on the starting salary a person was offered across different occupations and seniority levels would examine______ as the independent variable and ______ as the dependent variable.
gender; starting salary
12. Where is most qualitative research conducted?
in natural settings
42. Which statement explains the differences between history and historical-comparative sociology?
Historical researchers collect far more original historical data than do historical comparative sociologists.
18. Which of these sociology students is engaging in participant observation?
Mary visits a first-grade classroom to conduct a study on teacher-student interactions and helps out in the classroom as a para-educator.
54. Who strongly believed that values might guide the choice of research topics but it was imperative to be value-free when conducting and analyzing research and when teaching?
Max Weber
35. The two variables in an experiment are the ______, which is manipulated by the researcher, and the ______, which is a characteristic or measurement that resulted from the manipulation.
independent variable; dependent variable
15. Ray wants to test a hypothesis on the relationship between educational level and income in Chicago. Ray would enlist which of these types of statistics?
inferential
51. It is very important that institutional review boards require evidence of the ______ of those being studied.
informed consent
24. A(n) ______ is a person sought out by the researcher using interview methods because he or she has intimate knowledge of the group being studied and will talk openly about it to the researcher.
key informant
36. When a researcher has greater control over the selection of participants and the independent variables, this is referred to as a(n) ______ experiment, and when the researcher has less control over the independent variables, this is referred to as a/an ______ experiment.
laboratory; natural
10. Thomas Kuhn suggests that some disciplines are better described in a single-paradigm approach while others are better seen as multiple-paradigm sciences. In which group does sociology belong?
multiple-paradigm approach
20. Sociologists who gather information from such Internet sites as Facebook and Twitter are utilizing which research method?
netnography
19. Joe is studying prisoners behavior in a counseling session, but they can't see him because he is behind a shaded window. Which of these methods of research is he using?
nonparticipant observation
16. Which of these is a qualitative method?
open-ended interviews
25. Which of these interviews asks the same questions worded exactly the same way to numerous subjects in order to avoid any unanticipated reactions or responses?
pre-structured
53. When a researcher reports research findings in such a way that any reader can understand how the research was conducted, the researcher is utilizing which of these?
procedural objectivity
11. Mary is conducting open-ended interviews to research the relationship between college grades and the amount of time spent studying. This is an example of a ______ research method.
qualitative research
13. Joe studies arrest rates in major cities by examining Census Bureau data. Which type of research is Joe enlisting?
quantitative
5. Surveys are an example of a(n) ______ that sociologists utilize to conduct a research study.
quantitative tool
31. Which sample allows everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected?
random
45. Which of these refers to the degree to which a given question produces the same results time after time?
reliability
2. When conducting a research study, sociologists follow the ______, which refers to a structured way to find answers to questions about the world
scientific method
39. What method of studying divorce is likely being used if a research primarily gathers data from the Census and the General Social Survey?
secondary data analysis
32. Nonrandom samples used in survey research may result in which of these
significantly biases results
34. Sociologist Devah Pager randomly assigned fake criminal records to pairs of similar men who were applying for jobs to discover how race and a criminal record can affect the likelihood of being called back for an interview. This is a good example of which research method?
sociological experiment
22. Global ethnography is defined by which of these?
studying people's lives locally in depth to understand globalization's effects
27. Which research method involves conducting interviews and administering questionnaires to a representative portion of the population?
survey research
3. The first step in the scientific method is which of these?
uncover questions in need of answers
46. Which of these is important when conducting a study because it ensures that the question being asked is measuring what it is intended to measure?
validity
8. Gravity is a widely accepted explanation of the force that causes two particles to pull toward each other. Thomas Kuhn refers to this widely accepted general model as which of these?
a paradigm
3. Identify the primary difference between qualitative and quantitative research. List one type of each research method and explain how it is collected.
Ans: Varies, but should note that qualitative and quantitative research differ because qualitative research does not require statistical methods for collecting and reporting data, but quantitative does involve the analysis of numerical data. Types of research listed for qualitative could include observation, participant observation, open-ended interviews, or ethnography. Types of research listed for quantitative research could include survey research, experiments, or analysis of secondary data. It may but does not have to include specific types grouped within these larger categories. Neither group should include historical-comparative method within their answers, as it is separate from qualitative and quantitative methods.
2. In his discussion of Thomas Kuhn and paradigms in science, George Ritzer contends that sociology is a "multiparadigm" science. What is a paradigm? Why is sociology a multiparadigm science? What are the consequences for consensus within the discipline?
Ans: Varies but should include a definition of paradigm as a general model of the world that is accepted by most practitioners in the field. Answer may include description of a single-paradigm science such as astronomy and physics, which have agreed-upon premises and are free to do research within the confines of that paradigm. In single-paradigm sciences, work contributes to the consensus within the entire discipline, but eventually the paradigm collapses and is replaced by another one. In a multi-paradigm science such as sociology, no single paradigm is strong enough to unify the discipline. There is research within each of multiple paradigms that coexist and expand over time but doesn't contribute to consensus within the discipline. It is more difficult to accumulate knowledge. There is no revolution because no single paradigm is held, then replaced. The basic assumptions of each of the existing paradigms are constantly open to question or attack by those who operate using different paradigms, and there are more controversies than in single-paradigm fields. The result is a less universally agreed-upon base of knowledge resulting from cumulative study in sociology.
1. The first step in the scientific method is to uncover questions in need of answers. One question could address how recent mass shootings have affected opinions on gun laws in the U.S. List and describe the next five steps (steps 2 through 6) in the scientific research process, giving examples of how you might complete the steps in researching opinions about gun laws.
Ans: Varies but should include step 2: review the literature on the question of interest (on opinions about gun laws). Step 3: develop a hypothesis about Americans' current opinions on gun laws. Step 4: choose a research method to help answer the question. This might be a survey or interviews of people around their opinions of gun laws. Less likely use of observation. Step 5 is to collect data that confirms or fails to confirm the hypothesis. For this one, this is going out and doing the interviews or collecting the surveys on gun control. Step 6 is to analyze the data collected and assess its meaning considering the hypothesis that guided the research.
4. Elaborate on the ethics that guide research in sociology by providing three main ethical guidelines that researchers must follow. For one of these guidelines, provide an example of a study that violated this rule, and explain the concrete details of the study and how it violated ethics.
Ans: Varies but should include the rise of concern about ethics because of horrible acts by the Nazis during World War II in the name of medical experimentation. Other breaches included research at Tuskegee Institute where black men could contract and endure suffering through syphilis without being given available treatment that would have relieved their suffering to learn about the progression of the disease. Because of these breaches in ethics, the Nuremberg Code was written to spell out directives for ethical experiments involving human subjects. Students could cite physical harm (Tuskegee), psychological harm (Milgram experiment, Zimbardo prison experiment as examples), witnessing illegal acts (Venkatesh's gang research), or violating trust/deception (Laud Humphreys' research on homosexuality).
5. What is the concept of value-free sociology? Which sociologist discussed the concept? In what parts of teaching and research is a value-free stance important? In your opinion, can sociology be truly "value-free"?
Ans: Varies, but should state that value-free sociology is the concept that sociology should be objective and should not allow personal preferences or judgments bias their research. Max Weber is the sociologist associated with this argument in the text. Scientific methods set out to study things systematically and to consider that any hypothesis can be proven false. Weber suggests that no one can be completely objective and that it is okay to allow one's passions to help determine topics of interest, but the data collection itself should be as value-free as possible in order to avoid bias and unscientific results. Some question the ability to set aside our values, but it is important to be aware of potential biases and maintain procedural objectivity, the attitude of objectivity during the research process. Research should be presented with transparency in how it was carried out, allowing anyone to replicate the research approach and evaluate the merits and shortcomings of the research. Teaching, on the other hand, should be value-free according to Weber. His views were influenced by the use of the classroom to try to propagandize for Marxism in his day, and he opposed the use of the classroom or academic lecture to persuade students to adopt a certain political opinion or social value.
52. What is meant by beneficence as it is associated with institutional review boards?
Do as little harm to participants and as much as you can do to assist them with your research.
7. For a long time, scientists claimed that brain size determined intelligence, but this was later debunked. This example illustrates which of these?
Even widely accepted facts can be dismissed if research can show they are false.
11. Sociologists rarely conduct observational research.
F
14. Choosing who will be a part of the control and experimental group is a step in the interview process.
F
16. Most sociologists conduct their own surveys because of reliability issues.
F
18. Most sociological experiments take place within a laboratory setting with a controlled environment.
F
2. The scientific method is rarely used in sociological research because it has been shown to be biased when used with humans.
F
20. When a researcher gathers information from the census, police reports, or library documents, they are engaging in ethnographic data analysis.
F
21. Reliability is the degree to which the measurement tool measures what it is supposed to measure.
F
22. Stanley Milgram's obedience research is a good example of research designed to reduce the risks of psychological harm to the subjects.
F
24. Researchers have a concrete rule that if they observe an illegal act while conducting ethnographic field research, they always report it to the police.
F
26. Max Weber claimed that all sociological research should be value.free but teaching sociology should include one's values and positions on issues.
F
4. The scientific method is not suitable for studying human beings as individuals.
F
6. A scientific paradigm is usually only accepted by a very small number of practitioners in the field.
F
8. Surveys are a type of qualitative research.
F
26. Which of these is a problem associated with prestructured interviews?
Interviewers have to make up new questions for each interview.
41. Which of these is TRUE of the World Values Survey (WVS)?
It could be used for research questions that are framed differently than the ones that motivated the original research.
37. In experiments, there are independent and dependent variables. Which of these is characteristic of the independent variable?
It is not manipulated in the experiment.
40. Which of these is a disadvantage of secondary analysis?
The data may not fit the researcher's needs.
9. Who defined science as the existence of a general model or paradigm, which is accepted by most practitioners in the field?
Thomas Kuhn
17. Which sociologist studied a Chicago housing project and its gangs in thorough detail?
William F. Whyte
4. Joe reviews the literature and comes to believe that as one's educational level rises, so does one's income. Joe has created which of these?
a hypothesis
43. What is an ideal type?
a measuring rod to help us understand social reality
50. The Milgram experiment and the Zimbardo experiment both raised severe ethical issues but also provided scientific evidence of which of these?
the power of authority
