Chapter 1: Why Do Research on Families and Children?

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Qualitative research on children and families can be difficult for many reasons. According to the text, readers should ______.

A. only focus on studying nuclear marriages

B. focus on studying individual behaviors instead of family behaviors

C. use mostly quantitative research on families

D. remember why they are interested in studying families

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Benefits of Well-Conducted Research

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which step is normally taken during the exploration stage?

A. deciding on which specific issues to study

B. conducting informal interviews with individuals about their behaviors

C. developing theories to explain how certain circumstances lead to different outcomes

D. analyzing data that has been collected for the study

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Exploration

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Which of the following would be considered a description of American families?

A. why married couples choose to get divorced

B. the reported number of marriages per year

C. how individual parents choose to discipline their children

D. what causes some teenagers to engage in alcohol use more than others

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Description

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. A theory can be used to ______.

A. make prophecies about the future

B. define a population

C. change the way the world works

D. justify a set of beliefs about the world

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Interventions

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Kate is a college student interested in studying how poverty affects a family’s behavior patterns. Based on the research she has collected and theories about the relationship between poverty and family behaviors, she is now developing programs with nonprofit organizations to assist low-income families. Kate is currently engaging in which stage of social research?

A. exploration

B. description

C. explanation

D. intervention

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Interventions

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. What is a common complication when studying families?

A. Families are always changing over time.

B. People are not interested in studying families.

C. There is already a clear definition of what families are.

D. There are minimal complications when studying families.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Families Are Systems of Individuals

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Which of the following statements best describes all families?

A. Family members must communicate with each other regularly.

B. Families consist of people who hold multiple roles and statuses.

C. Families are limited to married couples with children.

D. Families members live in the same household.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Multiple Statuses and Multiple Roles

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Which of the following is an example of backstage behavior?

A. how a family interacts with each other in a grocery store

B. a method used by parents to discipline their children at home

C. a child’s performance in school

D. a parent’s occupation

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Backstage Behavior

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Which of the following preconceptions might interfere with the study of families?

A. People may be biased toward different family behaviors based on their own backgrounds.

B. People may share too much information about their families when being interviewed.

C. People regularly look past their own experiences with family.

D. People may share a universal definition of what a family looks like.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Preconceptions About the Family

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Why might a family construct a “family myth?”

A. to hide traits or behaviors that do not meet societal expectations

B. to pass down stories and traditions to the next generation

C. to facilitate open and honest communication within a family

D. to explain social phenomena

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Backstage Behavior

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. Faith is not considered when constructing and testing scientific theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The description stage is when researchers attempt to identify the nature of an association between variables.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Are the Stages of Social Research?

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Confirmed theories are not enough to support interventions or to make predictions about future outcomes.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Are the Stages of Social Research?

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. The unit of analysis for studying families is normally limited to the dyad level.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Is Research on Families and Children Different?

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Ethnocentrism may affect the preconceived notions that participants have about other families, cultures, and ideas.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Is Research on Families and Children Different?

Difficulty Level: Easy