Test Bank Chapter 2 Understanding The Research Process

Experience Sociology, 4e (Croteau)

Chapter 2 Understanding the Research Process

1) Studies that describe and help us better understand some aspects of society are examples of

A) applied research.

B) basic research.

C) public sociology.

D) experiments.

2) Researchers who make their findings known to nonacademic audiences are engaging in

A) the peer-review process.

B) public sociology.

C) applied research.

D) basic research.

3) Studies that aim to understand and work toward solving social problems are referred to as

A) basic research.

B) public sociology.

C) applied research.

D) field research.

4) Minoosh created a study to measure how different after-school programs affected students' grades. She will use her findings to help schools allocate funding into after-school programs. Her study is an example of

A) basic research.

B) applied research.

C) public sociology.

D) research methods.

5) Manuel interviewed new parents to learn how gender, both the parents' and the babies', shapes the interactions parents have with their babies. He is conducting

A) basic research.

B) applied research.

C) public sociology.

D) research methods.

6) Reina interviewed young girls about their perceptions of media images of women in order to understand how those images influenced the girls' self-esteem. She is conducting

A) applied research.

B) public sociology.

C) research methods.

D) basic research.

7) Evidence that is based in numbers is known as ________ data.

A) computer-based

B) survey

C) quantitative

D) qualitative

8) Evidence that is non-numerical, such as information gathered from interviews or observation, is known as ________ data.

A) survey

B) content

C) quantitative

D) qualitative

9) Bryan collected homicide and suicide statistics from different cities so he could examine the relationship between these two causes of death. What kind of data is he using?

A) quantitative

B) qualitative

C) survey

D) correlation

10) Heng uses interviews and field research to study how neighborhoods rebuild after natural disasters. What kind of data is he using?

A) quantitative

B) qualitative

C) interpretive

D) peer-process

11) Marisol conducted a study in which she counted the number of times world leaders used specific words in their speeches. What type of data is she using?

A) secondary

B) experimental

C) quantitative

D) qualitative

12) In a sociological study of the relationship between two variables, which one changes in response to changes in the other?

A) independent variable

B) dependent variable

C) quantitative variable

D) qualitative variable

13) In a sociological study of the relationship between variables, what is associated with and/or causes change in the value of the other?

A) independent variable

B) dependent variable

C) quantitative variable

D) qualitative variable

14) Beth conducted a study and found that individuals with more education tend to marry later and have fewer children. What is the independent variable in her study?

A) education

B) individuals

C) age at marriage

D) number of children

15) In a study, Hans found that the length of a prison sentence varied based on the convict's race, social class, and number of prior arrests. What was the dependent variable in his study?

A) race

B) social class

C) length of prison sentence

D) number of prior arrests

16) An educated guess that explains the relationship between two variables in a study is called a(n)

A) operationalization.

B) hypothesis.

C) experiment.

D) variable.

17) In designing a study of the relationship between grades and class attendance, Mana states that she expects grades to improve as class attendance increases. This statement is her study's

A) generalization.

B) operationalization.

C) variable.

D) hypothesis.

18) What is the term that refers to a relationship in which one variable is connected to change in another variable?

A) correlation

B) operationalization

C) relationship

D) association

19) Which of the following is NOT an element of social research?

A) learning the truth about human nature

B) collecting empirical evidence

C) explaining how the research was conducted

D) observing patterns in social life

20) Raymond found that as mothers' educational achievement increases, the greater the level of education their daughters are likely to attain. What is the dependent variable?

A) daughters' education

B) education

C) mothers' education

D) years of schooling

21) Mahmoud found that unemployed young men are more likely to engage in deviant activities than employed young men. What is the independent variable?

A) unemployment.

B) employment.

C) employment status.

D) deviant behaviors.

22) Which term refers to when researchers share how they collected and analyzed their data?

A) methodology

B) transparency

C) lucidity

D) explanation of data

23) When completing her research on reasons couples make the decision to live together, Lavonne included a section in her report that described the data she collected and how she reached her conclusions. What aspect of social research is she conducting?

A) finding patterns in everyday life

B) collecting empirical data

C) providing transparency in methods

D) reporting provisional knowledge

24) Qualitative data and quantitative data are examples of

A) finding patterns in everyday life.

B) empirical evidence.

C) transparency.

D) reporting provisional knowledge.

25) Which of the following types of data allows researchers to gather information on many different cases, but provides a limited amount of information on each case?

A) quantitative

B) qualitative

C) interview

D) content

26) Which term is used for data that represent different values?

A) facts

B) samples

C) figures

D) variables

27) What does it mean for a sociologist to report provisional knowledge?

A) The findings represent the truth about the study from the data collected.

B) The findings represent the truth about what sociologists know about the topic.

C) The findings are subject to change with the discovery of new information.

D) The findings are temporary and based on early data analysis.

28) To establish causality, which of the following conditions does NOT need to be met?

A) The variables must be correlated.

B) The cause must precede effect.

C) The causal relationship must not be explainable by some third variable.

D) The change in the dependent variable must occur before the change in the independent variable.

29) Which of the following is NOT one of the problems researchers face when conducting social research using human participants?

A) It is difficult to control research settings and human participants.

B) Human participants can change their behaviors when studied.

C) Research using existing data provides more valid results.

D) Social life is harder to predict than natural laws.

30) Garner is conducting a study on how students who live on campus eat. He asked participants to record where they ate each of their meals. He found that during the week he collected data, there was a large increase in the number of students eating in the dining hall when compared to the weeks before and after he conducted his study. With what phenomena should Garner be concerned in his findings?

A) Hawthorne effect

B) Hamburg effect

C) Higgins process

D) Hutchens process

31) The two key components of social research are theory and

A) data.

B) patterns.

C) transparency.

D) knowledge.

32) The term that refers to scholars' gathering and evaluation of data is

A) research methods.

B) field methods.

C) applied research.

D) basic research.

33) Closed-ended questions are used in ________ research.

A) content analysis

B) survey

C) secondary data analysis

D) intensive interviewing

34) Julie works for Knowledge Works, a company that calls individuals in the United States and asks them closed-ended questions about their knowledge of different social policies. What kind of research is she conducting?

A) focus group

B) intensive interviewing

C) content analysis

D) survey

35) Which of the following research methods can effectively describe large populations in a cost-effective way?

A) focus groups

B) intensive interviews

C) surveys

D) field research

36) Which of the following is considered to be a limitation of experiment research?

A) It is limited to micro-level questions.

B) It is very time and labor intensive.

C) Data is broad.

D) The data specific to the researcher's question may not be available.

37) You are planning to conduct a survey about student opinions of dining on campus. In constructing your questionnaire, you should avoid all of the following EXCEPT

A) loaded language.

B) double-barreled questions.

C) clearly phrased questions.

D) definitions of terms that may be unclear.

38) The target group a researcher is interested in studying is the

A) data.

B) population.

C) sample.

D) model.

39) What is the portion of a population studied by researchers that represents the whole population?

A) sample

B) data

C) model

D) group

40) All of the following are sampling techniques EXCEPT for

A) quota sampling.

B) random sampling.

C) intermediary sampling.

D) convenience sampling.

41) Levi collects data for a study by questioning anybody who walks by his store at the mall. What data collection method is he using?

A) random sampling

B) quota sampling

C) convenience sampling

D) intermediary sampling

42) The sampling method that involves selecting cases to include by chance is called ________ sampling.

A) convenience

B) random

C) intermediary

D) quota

43) Dr. Karner is interested in learning how students in his department feel about the courses being offered. To select the students who will take the questionnaire, he wrote the names of every student on small slips of paper and blindly drew 100 names from a hat. What sampling method did he use?

A) convenience sampling

B) lotto sampling

C) quota sampling

D) random sampling

44) What does it mean for researchers to generalize their findings?

A) They share it with people outside academia.

B) They use their findings to support social policies.

C) They ensure others understand how they conducted their study.

D) They use their findings to understand patterns in larger groups.

45) Ja'nice interviewed a group of students with disabilities about the barriers they face in the classroom. She concluded that other students with disabilities to whom she did not talk probably face similar problems. What is she doing?

A) ensuring the peer review process

B) generalizing her findings

C) providing transparency

D) defining her sample

46) Tammy created a survey to study how much alcohol students drink. On the survey she asked the following question: In the past seven days, how many times have you consumed alcohol or smoked marijuana? What is the main problem with how this survey question is worded?

A) It is unclear what the question is asking.

B) It contains loaded language.

C) It is a double-barreled question.

D) Students might define drinking differently.

47) Laud was interested in what type of men engaged in anonymous homosexual sex in public places. He spent time in a public bathroom where men engaged in sex with other men, and he secretly observed the types of men who visited the bathroom. What kind of research was he conducting?

A) intensive interviewing

B) content analysis

C) field research

D) secondary data analysis

48) What data-gathering technique includes focus groups?

A) field research

B) intensive interviewing

C) content analysis

D) survey

49) Amelie used data collected by the United States Census Bureau to study changes in family size over the past 100 years. What kind of research is she conducting?

A) survey

B) secondary data analysis

C) experiment

D) content analysis

50) In what data collection technique does the researcher ask open-ended questions to participants and record their responses for analysis?

A) field research

B) experiment

C) survey

D) intensive interview

51) What kind of research involves the analysis of data that one did not collect oneself?

A) secondary data analysis

B) survey

C) content analysis

D) experiment

52) The data collection method in which researchers evaluate information gathered from sources such as news articles, television shows, or magazine ads is called

A) field research.

B) content analysis.

C) a survey.

D) secondary data analysis.

53) Suriya designed a study to see if study sessions increased her students' performance on exams. She assigned only half her class to participate in a study session before an exam. What kind of research is she conducting?

A) survey

B) field research

C) experiment

D) intensive interviewing

54) Rebekkah collected advertisements for beauty products from popular women's magazines. She systematically analyzed the images in order to study how gender was represented. What kind of research is she conducting?

A) experiment

B) survey

C) secondary data analysis

D) content analysis

55) Before Leann starts interviewing her research participants, she informs them of the risks and benefits of their participation in her study. By doing this, she is ensuring

A) anonymity.

B) informed consent.

C) confidentiality.

D) value-neutrality.

56) Which of the following is considered to be very difficult to achieve?

A) confidentiality

B) informed consent

C) anonymity

D) uninformed consent

57) Studies that provide anonymity

A) do not allow the participant to know the true purpose of the research study.

B) change the names of participants so that their identity will not be known.

C) group participant data based on characteristics like race or gender.

D) guarantee that the researcher is not even aware of who the participant is.

58) Which of the following is one way a researcher can ensure confidentiality?

A) ensuring that participants understand the research process

B) keeping a list of participant contact information

C) including the names of participants in the final report

D) changing personal details that might identify a person

59) In his study of workplace harassment, George changed the names of the participants that he quoted in his final report. This was done to ensure

A) anonymity.

B) informed consent.

C) confidentiality.

D) secrecy.

60) What is the first step in the sociological research process?

A) designing the research

B) identifying a research question

C) considering the ethics of the study

D) exploring a topic

61) What is the second step in the sociological research process?

A) Consider the ethical problems present in your question.

B) Decide what type of methods you will use.

C) Identify a specific research question.

D) Explore the topic to find similar studies.

62) Baxter is interested in studying gender and voting patterns. He asks you what he should do next. You should advise him to

A) think of a specific research question to investigate.

B) look up studies on gender and voting to see what has already been done.

C) determine what research method he wants to use in his study.

D) start collecting data to analyze his topic.

63) During what phase of the research process would you operationalize your concepts?

A) analyzing data

B) collecting data

C) developing a specific question to study

D) designing the study

64) Mei is doing intensive interview research with domestic violence victims. She has designed her study and asks you what she should do next. You should advise her to

A) consider the ethical issues in her study.

B) develop the list of questions she will ask in her interviews.

C) start conducting interviews to collect data.

D) develop a specific research question to focus on in her interviews.

65) Determining who will receive your survey is a component of which of the following research stages?

A) exploring a topic

B) collection data

C) designing the study

D) considering the ethical dimensions

66) Receiving approval from your school's Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a part of the

A) exploring your topic stage.

B) considering the ethical dimensions stage.

C) interpreting data stage.

D) designing the study stage.

67) What type of research focuses on how individuals create meaning in their everyday lives?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) classical social science

68) What type of research views the world as being guided by natural laws that can be discovered though research?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) classical social science

69) Which position strives for value neutrality?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) classical social science

70) Steven's college has a major problem with student drinking on campus. He decided to study student drinking behavior by focusing on the reasons students drink and the meanings they attach to their behaviors. What type of research is he conducting?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) All of these answers are correct.

71) Steven's college has a major problem with student drinking on campus. He decided to study student drinking behavior by focusing on the factors that influence drinking behavior and the variables that predict that a student will engage in heavy drinking. What type of research is he conducting?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) classical social science

72) Which term refers to the process of removing one's personal viewpoints and opinions from the research process?

A) transparency

B) value-detachment

C) value-neutrality

D) objectivity

73) What type of research seeks to create knowledge that can be used to make society a better place?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) classical social science

74) Which position rejects the idea of value-neutrality?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) classical social science

75) Which type(s) of research is/are based on the belief that recognizing the values of the researcher is important when conducting research?

A) positivist social science and interpretive social science

B) positivist social science and critical social science

C) interpretive social science and critical social science

D) Only critical social science recognizes values.

76) Steven's college has a major problem with student drinking on campus. He decided to study student drinking behavior so that he could help the college identify why students drink and to inform policies and practices that would reduce problematic drinking. What type of research is he conducting?

A) positivist social science

B) interpretive social science

C) critical social science

D) classical social science

77) Sociological research is evaluated for quality prior to publication. This is known as

A) public sociology.

B) basic research.

C) the peer-review process.

D) quality assurance.

78) What is the purpose of the peer-review process?

A) It allows researchers to share their research with other sociologists.

B) It helps to ensure that only quality research is published.

C) It provides a way for sociologists to share their findings with the public.

D) It helps researchers improve their methods prior to collecting data.

79) Megan submitted a manuscript to a journal for publication. The editor at the journal asked experts in the topic Megan studied to read and comment on her work. Megan received feedback from these experts that she then used to improve her manuscript before it was published. What practice is described here?

A) collecting manuscript feedback

B) the peer-review process

C) gaining expert feedback

D) draft editing for publication

80) Glenna was asked by a journal to evaluate a research study written by another scholar. After reading the paper, she provided feedback to the author and said that more work was needed to improve the quality of the paper before it was published. Glenna is participating in

A) providing expert feedback on the draft.

B) editing a draft for publication.

C) ensuring only quality research is published.

D) the journal's peer-review process.

81) When evaluating research, you should ask all EXCEPT for which of the following questions?

A) Who conducted this research?

B) What sample was used?

C) What theory informed this research?

D) Do the findings reflect the data?

82) Quinn came across a study regarding homelessness and its potential causes. He is interested in knowing more about the concepts and perspectives that the researcher utilized. Which question would be the most important for Quinn to ask?

A) What is the sample?

B) What theory informed this research?

C) What data was used?

D) Who paid for this research?

83) Connell saw a research study that found that individuals who owned a smartphone had more sex partners than individuals who did not own a smartphone. Which question would be the most important for Connell to examine to assess the findings of this study?

A) What was the sample?

B) What theory informed this research?

C) Where was this study conducted?

D) What is the research question?

84) Henry read two research studies on men's contributions to housework. One study found that men did 50 percent of the housework and the other study found that men did 30 percent of the housework. In order to assess the differences in these findings, what question should Henry ask?

A) What was the sample?

B) Are these findings justified?

C) How were the variables operationalized?

D) What was the research question?

85) How have modern technological advances assisted the research process?

A) Technology has not assisted the research process.

B) Qualitative data are easier to collect and analyze.

C) Both qualitative and quantitative data are easier to collect and analyze.

D) Quantitative data are easier to collect and analyze.

86) Sociology is just a perspective and a discipline.

87) The goal of basic research in sociology is to describe and help us better understand our social world.

88) The term public sociology refers to the efforts to reach beyond an academic audience to make the results of sociological research, both basic and applied, known to the broader public.

89) Randal found that as one's years of education increased, so did one's annual income. In his study, the independent variable is income.

90) Sociologists use empirical evidence to understand patterns in everyday life.

91) Researchers reason deductively from a general theory when they use it to inform the gathering of specific data.

92) Theory helps explain data collected by research.

93) Theory can only reveal connections among social phenomenon if they are apparent.

94) Intensive interviewing requires close-ended questions.

95) The final step in the research process is to analyze your data.

96) The operationalization of variables takes place during a study's design.

97) Critical social science believes that research must be value-free.

98) The process of peer-review is associated with credibility.

99) Digitization has provided researchers with new opportunities to study current ideas, politics, and popular culture in real time.

100) The Internet and other related technologies have transformed social research by enabling researchers to both expand the scale of their work and to keep costs down.