Qualitative Methods Test Bank Answers Ch10

Chapter 10

1. Qualitative methods often focus on social context.

a. True

b. False

2. Qualitative methods often use categories predetermined by the researcher.

a. True

b. False

3. In qualitative methods, researchers learn by observing as they participate in a natural setting.

a. True

b. False

4. Intensive interviewing tends to contain highly structured questioning.

a. True

b. False

5. Qualitative research usually uses deductive reasoning.

a. True

b. False

6. Qualitative researchers use extraordinary efforts to make sure objectivity is achieved in research.

a. True

b. False

7. A case study may examine an organization.

a. True

b. False

9. A thick description provides a brief summary to describe the setting being studied.

a. True

b. False

10. Ethnography is the study of a culture that a group of people share.

a. True

b. False

11. Communities of people must always involve face-to-face interactions.

a. True

b. False

12. Netnography is a form of ethnography involving the study of online communities.

a. True

b. False

13. Photovoice is a method in which participants take photographs of meaningful scenes and interpret photographs.

a. True

b. False

14. A problem with photovoice is that participants do not have the opportunity to reflect on their concerns.

a. True

b. False

15. Reactive effects tend to be greatest when a researcher takes the role of a complete observer.

a. True

b. False

16. Covert participation is appropriate to gain access to otherwise inaccessible settings or groups.

a. True

b. False

17. Covert participants cannot take notes openly.

a. True

b. False

18. Covert participants need to keep up “the act” at all times while in the setting under study.

a. True

b. False

19. A participant observer should be aggressive in questioning others.

a. True

b. False

20. Participant observers can increase rapport by faking social similarity with their subjects.

a. True

b. False

21. Theoretical sampling focuses on particular processes and selecting individual or settings that permit comparisons to be made.

a. True

b. False

22. Deviant cases that offer a contrast should not be sampled

a. True

b. False

23. Field notes refer to those notes taken while a researcher is in the field.

a. True

b. False

24. The correspondence between researchers’ social attributes, such as age, sex, and race, and those of their subjects shapes the relationships and rapport that form during participant observation.

a. True

b. False

25. Systematic observational strategies are commonly used in qualitative studies.

a. True

b. False

26. Unlike the more structured interviewing used in survey research, intensive interviewing relies on open-ended questions.

a. True

b. False

27. A grand-tour question is designed to elicit a description of the field site.

a. True

b. False

28. New interviewees should be selected for intensive interviewing until a saturation point is reached.

a. True

b. False

29. Most researchers feel that tape recorders do not inhibit most interviewees and are routinely ignored.

a. True

b. False

30. Online interviewing is useful in connecting people separated by physical distance.

a. True

b. False

31. Online interviews create a written record of the interaction with the need for typed transcripts.

a. True

b. False

32. No formal procedure exists for determining the generalizability of focus group answers.

a. True

b. False

33. Qualitative methods can be used to assess the design and delivery of social work services.

a. True

b. False

34. Confidentiality can be satisfied in qualitative research merely by using fictitious names for the characters in their reports.

a. True

b. False

35. Which of the following is NOT a qualitative method?

a. Participant observation

b. Complete observation

c. Intensive interviewing

d. Focus group

e. Experiment

36. Which of the following is NOT a feature of qualitative research designs?

a. A focus on human subjectivity

b. Use of nomothetic causal explanations

c. Reflexive research design

d. Sensitivity to the subjective role of the researcher

e. A commitment to inductive reasoning

37. In qualitative research, the interpretation of data and its analysis emerges at what point in the research process:

a. Before entering the field

b. While writing accounts of the data

c. During initial stages of field work

d. While writing jottings

e. While writing field notes

38. Which of the following is FALSE about participant observation?

a. Natural processes are studied in the field.

b. Natural processes are manipulated by the researcher.

c. It attempts to see the world as the subjects see it.

d. It observes people in the course of their normal activities.

e. A participant observer may choose to participate or simply observe the activities of subjects.

39. Reactive effects are likely to be strongest in which qualitative research design?

a. Complete observation

b. Participation and observation

c. Covert participation

d. Intensive interviewing

e. Focus groups

40. Reactive effects in participant observation can be reduced by:

a. Maintaining strict objectivity

b. Leaving the field site periodically

c. Informing participants of the role of researcher

d. Building rapport with other participants

e. Using recording devices while in the field

41. When an observer immerses himself or herself in a group for a long time, gradually establishing trust and experiencing the social world as do the participants, the observer is engaging in the process of:

a. Netnography

b. Participant observation

c. Systematic observation

d. Intensive interviewing

e. Ethnography

42. When observers use a standard form on which to record variation within the observed setting, they are pursuing what type of research strategy:

a. Complete observation

b. Participant observation

c. Covert observation

d. Complete observation

e. Systematic observation

43. A grand-tour question is designed to elicit what type of response?

a. Description

b. Directions

c. Oral history

d. Lengthy narrative

e. Standardized

43. Julie studies an Overeaters Anonymous group for several years. In her book on the subject, she mentions the location of the meetings. This violates which one of the main ethical issues in field research:

a. Subjects’ confidentiality

b. Voluntary participation of subjects

c. Subjects’ well being

d. Disclosure of researcher’s identity

e. Informed consent of participants

44. Focus groups are useful for all of the following EXCEPT:

a. Developing hypotheses

b. Assessing the range of opinions about an issue

c. Investigating the meaning of survey results

d. Generalizing findings

e. Developing survey questions

45. Running a focus group requires:

a. A great moderator

b. A sample who represent a range of views on an issue

c. A great setting with wonderful views and pictures

d. Participants who do not know each other

e. A great assistant

46. Which role makes it difficult for researchers to get information because they cannot ask questions that will around suspicion about themselves?

a. Complete observer

b. Participant observer

c. Covert participant

d. Intensive interview

e. Focus group leader

47. Which of the following is FALSE regarding the use of tape recorders during focus groups or intensive interview?

a. Tape recorders are routinely ignored by subjects.

b. An informant who is misleading because of the presence of tape recorder is likely to give better information when the recorder is off.

c. Tape recorders allow the researcher to remain engaged in the discussion or conversation.

d. Subjects are not usually inhibited by the presence of a recording device.

e. The visible act of turning off the recorder may free a respondent to tell that “one great secret” that he or she has been keeping.

48. Intensive interviewing should be conducted until:

a. A saturation point is reached

b. All relevant informants have consented to participate

c. Field observation has been completed

d. The researcher obtains relevant tacit knowledge from respondents

e. The researcher must disclose his or her identity to respondents

49. Which is not a principle of community-based participatory research?

a. Acknowledges the community as a unit of identity

b. Focuses on the strengths and resources within the community

c. The researcher conducts all aspects of the research to ensure valid results

d. The results are disseminated to community partners

e. The process reflects a commitment to sustainability

50. While in the field and actively observing, a participant observer should do which of the following?

a. Write down everything seen or heard

b. Write down jottings

c. Write complete fieldnotes

d. Write down researcher's own impressions

e. Write nothing down

51. A sample comprised of people or settings unuslally rich in information pertaining to the research question is called:

a. Deviant sample

b. Critical cases sample

c. Theoretical sample

d. Typical case sample

e. None of the above

52. Intensive interviews are generally based on:

a. Closed-ended questions

b. Self-administered questionnaires

c. Open-ended questions

d. Random selection

e. Highly structured interview schedules

53. In a study of gang behavior, Jankowski (1991) included several different ethnic gangs, as well as large and small gangs, and gangs from different cities and regions of the country. This process of selecting different types of gangs represents what kind of sampling procedure?

a. Simple random sampling

b. Quota sampling

c. Stratified sampling

d. Theoretical sampling

e. Snowball sampling

54. In order to develop and maintain relationships in the field, Engel and Schutt suggest all of the following EXCEPT?

a. Be especially mindful of interaction early in research

b. Don’t be too aggressive when questioning others

c. Be prepared to fake a social similarity with subjects

d. Don’t fully immerse yourself in the field

e. Develop a plausible and honest explanation for yourself and your study

55. Which of the following describes a researcher who may be a complete participant in a field study?

a. A college professor who studies children’s play behavior

b. A college student who studies children with attention deficit disorder

c. A former jazz pianist who studies medical students

d. A male researcher who studies the women’s track team

e. A college student who studies classroom procedures

56. Ralph arranges with the manager of a fantasy baseball league to observe and interview members as part of his research. At the baseball “draft,” Ralph introduces himself to other members of the fantasy league and they agree to let him observe the draft and allow themselves to be interviewed, although they do not allow him to join the league (as his knowledge of other members' strategies may affect how he manages his fantasy team). His role as a field researcher is that of a:

a. Note-taker

b. Complete observer

c. Participant observer

d. Complete participant

e. Covert participant

57. Which of the following are ways in which qualitative methods inform practice?

a. Assess the design and delivery of services

b. Assist in uncovering the process and nature of service delivery

c. Clarify clients’ perceptions of interventions

d. Help social workers understand why people in need of services do not seek help

e. All of the above

58. Which of the following is not a disadvantage of online interviewing?

a. There is relatively no anonymity online.

b. Online interviewing does not allow a researcher to analyze facial expression.

c. Intimate rapport through face-to-face communication is lost.

d. Participants have a greater ability to present a false identity.

e. All of the above are disadvantages.

59. Cynthia wants to research on an online gaming site. In order to interact with its members, she joins the group and posts the outline of her project on the site’s board. She was quite excited to find ten new emails in her inbox pertaining to her research that day. Cynthia began the interviewing process, but became aware of the lack of response from the interviewees as the days went on. This is a disadvantage of what type of interviewing?

a. Intensive

b. Synchronous

c. Asynchronous

d. Question and answer

e. None of the above

60. How should a qualitative researcher select key informants for intensive interviews? What ethical considerations from a social work perspective should be taken into account when conducting intensive interviews?

61. How ethical is covert participation? Explain when, if ever, you think covert participation might be ethical.

62. What is a focus group? What type of information is generated? What are the qualities of a good focus group.

63. Should a recording device (such as a tape recorder) be used in an intensive interview? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.

64. Outline how a social work researcher might conduct complete observation, covert participation, and participant observation in studying how unions recruit in new settings. What are the advantages and disadvantages to each approach? What are the ethical considerations that need to be addressed for each?

65. Field research often results in a detailed description of a limited social setting. However, the resulting journal articles and books may be read by a wide audience and used to understand social behavior in many settings. Construct an argument for or against the generalizability of the results of field research studies. Also, indicate to what extent you feel it is worthwhile to forgo probability sampling methods to achieve other goals through field research.

66. Review the guidelines for developing and maintaining relationships in field research. Describe how you might follow these guidelines while studying consumers of substance abuse services in a public mental health agency? What potential ethical problems may develop in the field, and how would you overcome them?

67. To what extent do the personal dimensions of participant observation undermine or enhance its validity? Illustrate your answer with examples from the text.

68. Identify the advantages and disadvantages to online interviewing.

69. Taking and analyzing field research notes is a time consuming and interactive process, in which the field researcher develops ideas from analyzing notes that then guide the next round of note-taking. Describe this approach and discuss its advantages and disadvantages.