Complete Test Bank Ch6 Causation and Research Design

1. The unit of analysis is the level of social life from which data are collected.

a. True

b. False

2. The unit of analysis may be organizations.

a. True

b. False

3. If a study contains an ecological fallacy, it has drawn conclusions about individuals from group-level data.

a. True

b. False

4. If a study contains a reductionist fallacy, it has drawn conclusions about individuals based on group-level data.

a. True

b. False

5. A cross-sectional study collects data at one point in time.

a. True

b. False

6. Time order cannot be established in cross-sectional research designs.

a. True

b. False

7. A trend study involves gathering data at two or more points in time.

a. True

b. False

8. In a trend study, data are collected from the same subjects at more than one point in time.

a. True

b. False

9. Trend studies concern changes in the defined population and not changes in individuals within that population.

a. True

b. False

10. A panel study of older adults will collect data from the same group at several points-in-time.

a. True

b. False

11. Attrition is a problem in a trend study.

a. True

b. False

12. Attrition is a problem in a panel study.

a. True

b. False

13. The baby boom generation and the senior class at City High School are both examples of cohorts.

a. True

b. False

14. A cohort study may be a type of trend study OR a panel design.

a. True

b. False

15. When we say that education causes differences in income, we are using a nomothetic causal explanation.

a. True

b. False

16. When we test that cognitive behavioral therapy reduces depressive symptoms in older adults, we are suggesting an idiographic causal explanation.

a. True

b. False

17. A counterfactual situation is a hypothetical one, in which researchers must estimate what the situation would have been in the absence of variation in the independent variable.

a. True

b. False

18. Idiographic causal explanations seek to specify which conditions led to a particular outcome in a particular case or event.

a. True

b. False

19. Association in causal explanations requires that variables vary together.

a. True

b. False

20. Demonstrating that there is an association is sufficient to conclude that there is a causal explanation.

a. True

b. False

21. The more firefighters fighting a fire, the worse the damage is an example of a nonspurious relationship.

a. True

b. False

22. Randomization is a technique used to ensure spuriousness in experimental designs.

a. True

b. False

23. Random assignment and random sampling are the same.

a. True

b. False

24. Controlling for other variables is a way to minimize spuriousness in nonexperimental research.

a. True

b. False

25. To propose a causal explanation, a researcher need not establish time order.

a. True

b. False

26. An intervening variable is a third variable that impacts on the relationship between the independent and dependent variable.

a. True

b. False

27. Match the key term with its description.

[d] 1. Association

[a] 2. Context

[c] 3. Mechanism

[e] 4. Nonspuriousness

[b] 5. Time Order

a. Identification of other variables that allow for a relationship between independent and dependent variables.

b. The temporal priority of the independent variable.

c. The process that creates the connection between the independent and dependent variables.

d. Observed correlation between the dependent and independent variables.

e. The relationship between independent and dependent variables is not due to a third variable.

29. Match the key term with its description.

[c] 1. Cross-Sectional Research

[a] 2. Panel Study

[b] 3. Trend Study

[d] 4. Cohort Study

a. Collects data from the same individuals at multiple points in time.

b. Collects data from different samples of the same population at multiple points in time.

c. Collects data at a single point in time.

d. Collects data from people who share a common starting point at multiple points in time.

30. Match the measurement procedure to the definition.

[d] 1. Units of observation

[a] 2. Units of analysis

[b] 3. Reductionist fallacy

[c] 4. Ecological fallacy

a. The level of social life on which the research question is focused.

b. Using individual-level data to make inferences about group-level processes.

c. Drawing conclusions about individuals based on group-level data.

d. The level of social life from which data was collected.

31. Which one of the following may not be a unit of analysis?

a. Organizations

b. Cities

c. Counties

d. Families

e. They may all be units of analysis

32. Emile Durkheim compared suicide rates across different nations to determine the effects of social change on the strength of social bonds. For example, he found that predominantly Protestant European countries had higher suicide rates than predominantly Catholic European countries. What was the unit of analysis in his study?

a. Individuals

b. Countries

c. Religions

d. Suicide rates

e. Social change

33. Conclusions drawn about individuals based on family-level data (such as income) may or may not be correct, due to the possibility of an error known as a/an:

a. Ecological fallacy

b. Reductionist fallacy

c. Event-based fallacy

d. Selective observer fallacy

e. Faulty cases fallacy

34. In a study of different organizations’ boards of directors and their role in setting policy, the board chairs were interviewed. The unit of analysis in this study is:

a. Organizations

b. Boards of Directors

c. Board Chairs

d. Board members

e. None of the above

35. In a study of different organizations’ boards of directors and their role in setting policy, the board chairs were interviewed. The board chairs in this study are:

a. Unit of analysis

b. Context

c. Units of observation

d. Spurious reporters

e. None of the above

36. The belief that the variation in an independent variable will be followed by variation in the dependent variable, all other things equal is known as:

a. A nomothetic explanation

b. A individualist fallacy

c. An ecological fallacy

d. A historicist explanation

e. An idiographic explanation

37. Research that collects data at more than one point in time is called:

a. Longitudinal

b. Cross-Sectional

c. Idiographic

d. Nomothetic

e. Inductive

38. Longitudinal research designs are generally superior to cross-sectional research designs because they more readily establish:

a. Association

b. Time order

c. Nonspuriousness

d. Causal mechanism

e. Context

39. Which of the following is NOT a circumstance in which it is reasonable to draw conclusions about time order based on cross-sectional data?

a. The independent variable is fixed at some point prior to the variation in the dependent variable.

b. Respondents can give reliable reports of what happened to them or what they thought at some earlier point in time.

c. When events in the past are unrelated to the measurement of the dependent variable.

d. Measures are based on records that contain information on cases in earlier periods.

e. Cases were equivalent on the dependent variable prior to the treatment.

40. Individual respondents in a trend study:

a. Must belong to the same cohort

b. Must be part of the same population

c. Are subject to measurement at more than one point in time

d. Must belong to different populations

e. Must belong to the same panel

41. Panel studies are distinguished by which of the following designs?

a. Data are collected from individuals in the same room.

b. Data are collected from the same individuals at multiple points in time.

c. Data are collected at only one point in time.

d. Data are collected from different samples in the same population.

e. Data are collected from control and experimental groups.

42. Attrition in panel studies refers to which of the following?

a. Over time, the population changes.

b. Panel members begin to tire of repeated questioning and give thoughtless, stock answers during interviews.

c. The process of sample selection must remain the same at time 1 and time 2.

d. Some members of the panel may drop out of the study.

e. The process of re-interviewing a panel of informants at multiple points in time.

43. A cohort has which of the following characteristics?

a. Random selection from the general population

b. A common starting point

c. Values or beliefs in common

d. Inability to consent to participation in social work research

e. An occupational category in common

44. While investigating why juveniles spray grafitti, a researcher extensively interviews one thirteen year-old who was caught spraying grafitti. The researcher paid careful attention to the specific conditions of this juvenile offender that led to his act, such as: his relationship with his parents, his peers, his psychological health, his biological health, his educational experiences, his contact with role models, and his exposure to media. This study is a good example of what type of causal explanation?

a. Counterfactual

b. Exploratory

c. Idiographic

d. Nomothetic

e. Spurious

45. Which of the following are considered important criteria for establishing causality?

a. Time order

b. Nonspuriousness

c. Specification of context

d. An empirical association

e. All of the above

46. Which of the following are requirements for identifying a causal effect?

a. Association, time order, and nonspuriousness

b. Time order, nonspuriousness, and mechanism

c. Nonspuriousness, mechanism, and context

d. Association, mechanism, and context

e. Context, time order, and association

47. To say that variables have an association is to say that:

a. The relationship between them is genuine

b. They occur at the same point in time

c. They empirically vary together

d. The relationship between them is false

e. One is caused by the other

48. Researcher M found that when temperatures rise, so does the crime rate. Researcher M has satisfied which criterion for causality?

a. Association

b. Nonspuriousness

c. Causal mechanism

d. Context

e. None of the above

49. To establish time order, which of the following must come first?

a. Covariation

b. Association

c. The dependent variable

d. The pretest

e. The independent variable

50. Researchers worried about whether variation in the dependent variable, psychological adjustment, occurred before or after the variation in the independent variable, social support, are concerned about which criterion for causation?

a. Association

b. Time order

c. Nonspuriousness

d. Mechanism

e. Context

51. In nonexperimental research designs, which technique is usually used to establish nonspuriousness?

a. Counterfactuals

b. Association

c. Statistical control

d. Randomization

e. Random selection

52. As a child’s shoe sizes increases, so does his or her academic knowledge. This statement is a violation of which criterion for causality?

a. Association

b. Time order

c. Nonspuriousness

d. Mechanism

e. Context

53. The process through which the independent variable creates changes in a dependent variable is known as a/an:

a. Association

b. Context

c. Consideration

d. Covariation

e. Mechanism

54. A third variable that interacts with the independent variable is known as a:

a. Mediating variable

b. Spurious variable

c. Moderator variable

d. Dependent variable

e. None of the above

55. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of using cross-sectional versus longitudinal research designs? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using panel, trend, and cohort longitudinal designs?

Varies

56. Outline the two causal fallacies commonly associated with units of analysis. Give an example that demonstrates each, describing the problems with each fallacy in terms of the example.

Ecological fallacy—an error in reasoning in which incorrect conclusions about individual-level processes are drawn from group-level data; example—a researcher looking at factory records and making the assumption that individual unskilled factory workers were more likely to engage in sabotage; reductionism—an error in reasoning that occurs when incorrect conclusions about group-level processes are based on individual-level data; example—making a connection between individual-level data between race and the likelihood of arrest for violent crime and applying that to racial groups on a large scale.

57. Describe the difference between nomothetic and idiographic causal explanations.

Nomothetic causal explanation—a belief that the variation in an independent variable will be followed by variation in the dependent variable; idiographic causal explanation—an explanation that identifies the concrete individual sequence of events, thoughts, or actions that resulted in a particular outcome for a particular individual or that led to a particular event; case-oriented understanding—an understanding of social processes in a group, formal organization, community, or other collectivity that reflects accurately the standpoint of participants.

58. Describe each of the five criteria for identifying a causal effect and provide an example of each.

Association—variation in one variable is related to variation in another variable; time order—the variation in the dependent variable occurred after the variation in the independent variable; nonspuriousness—when a relationship between two variables is not due to a variation in a third variable; mechanism—a discernible process that creates a causal connection between two variables; context—a particular outcome is understood as part of a larger set of interrelated circumstances.

59. A politician campaigns on a platform of eliminating welfare benefits. One ad used by politician says: “Receipt of welfare benefits leads to poor school performance: People who receive welfare benefits have, on average, lower grades than people who do not receive welfare benefits.” Construct an argument to challenge this causal reasoning. First, give three examples that drive home the point that association does not establish—causation. Then, construct a plausible alternative explanation for low grades that does not involve an effect of welfare benefits on grades, but which does allow for their association.

Varies

60. Propose four different research designs that study juvenile delinquency using cross-sectional designs, panel designs, trend designs, and cohort designs.

Varies

61. In your own words, describe nonspuriousness. How do researchers attempt to achieve nonspuriousness in experimental and nonexperimental designs? What is the role of extraneous variables in explaining a spurious relationship?

Nonspuriousness—when a relationship between two variables is not due to a variation in a third variable; randomization—the random assignment of cases, as by the toss of a coin; random assignment—a procedure by which each experimental subject is placed in a group randomly, a distinction from random sampling; statistical control—a method in which one variable is held constant so that the relationship between two (or more) other variables can be assessed without the influence of variation in the control variable; extraneous variable—a variable that influences both the independent and dependent variables so as to create a spurious association between them that disappears when the extraneous variable is controlled.

62. Propose two potential explanations of success in college. In the first, propose a nomothetic causal explanation, in which you identify at least five variables that might be associated with success. In the second, propose an idiographic explanation, using a hypothetical case.

Varies

63. Provide an example in which you expect that a contextual effect exists. Why do you think this contextual effect occurs? How would you design research to account for this contextual effect?

Contextual effect—relationships among variables that vary among geographic units and other social settings; example—Sampson and Laub (1993) found that countries with a large underclass and poverty concentrated among minorities treat juvenile cases more harshly in the court system than countries that do not; context effect occurs because we do not act the same way in different situations, but instead react accordingly to the current context; examples of research designs—content analysis of court cases, cross-sectional design, repeated cross-sectional design.