Question 1

While it is always important to ask clear and unambiguous questions regardless of the method you use,it is especially important to avoid confusion when conducting surveys.Why?

Accepted Answer

A)   Survey research methods commonly use statistics.
B)   Survey researchers are usually not present to clarify any misunderstandings.
C)   Survey researchers talk to many people.
D)   Survey research tends to look at large-scale social patterns.

Question 2

After researchers conduct a series of interviews,they usually transcribe the responses.The transcription process is fairly time-consuming,but it is valuable in part because it allows researchers to:

Accepted Answer

A)   look for patterns in their data.
B)   check for bias in how they asked questions.
C)   think up new questions they did not ask.
D)   determine the average age of their interviewees.

Question 3

What is reactivity?

Accepted Answer

A)   the way the experimental group reacts to the independent variable
B)   when researchers react to data by overreporting the results
C)   the tendency of research subjects to change their behavior in response to being studied
D)   the goal of applied research, to create a reaction

Question 4

Maria is worried about the representativeness of her study.She is conducting interviews,but each one seems to last at least five hours.Given that she only has one month to collect her data,what strategy might she use to increase her sample size?

Accepted Answer

A)   cut off interviews at two hours regardless if all questions were answered
B)   conduct a focus group
C)   ask only open-ended questions
D)   make respondents write out answers during interviews instead of answering verbally

Question 5

When high schools want to ask students about sensitive subjects like drug use or sexual health,they often use surveys rather than a more direct form of communication like interviews.Why?

Accepted Answer

A)   Surveys allow respondents to speak in their own words; they can reveal their own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
B)   Surveys allow researchers to ask much more complex questions than they could with any other methodology.
C)   Surveys allow students to answer the questions in private and assure the confidentiality of their responses.
D)   Surveys are more expensive and allow for larger staffs and budgets.

Question 6

Given what you learned in Chapter 2,why would interviewers' appearance,including clothing and hairstyle,make a difference in determining what they learn?

Accepted Answer

Any good answer will mention reflexivity...

Question 7

Researchers are often worried that interviewees have not been completely honest or forthcoming,especially when asked about sensitive subjects.How did Arlie Hochschild attempt to deal with this problem?

Accepted Answer

A)   She asked each question in a different way to try to trap respondents in contradictions.
B)   She interviewed each spouse separately to see if their stories matched.
C)   She observed some respondents as they went about their daily routines to see if their actions matched their answers.
D)   She confronted respondents when they gave answers that seemed dubious.

Question 8

If you observe a group in order to determine its norms,values,rules,and meanings,then what kind of research are you doing?

Accepted Answer

A)   normative
B)   quantitative
C)   qualitative
D)   natural science

Question 9

Julie Bettie wrote her ethnography Women without Class: Girls,Race,and Identity to examine the role of race and class in the lives of girls in California's Central Valley.She did most of her work at a high school,hanging out with and talking to students,but she felt very self-conscious about writing down her observations where the girls could see her,so she often ducked into a bathroom stall to write.What do ethnographers call her written observations?

Accepted Answer

A)   interviews
B)   representativeness
C)   nonverbal communication
D)   fieldnotes

Question 10

Why are social networking sites like facebook and Twitter so exciting to sociologists who study social networks?

Accepted Answer

A)   for the first time, social networking sites offer sociologists a data set rich enough to test ideas that until now have only been theorized.
B)   for the first time, sociologists do not have to spend the time and money to go talk to people and can do all their work from a computer.
C)   for the first time, sociologists can find out what young people's social networks look like.
D)   for the first time, sociologists can track the spread of urban legends.

Question 11

What difficulties does experimental research present for researchers?

Accepted Answer

Experiments are only applicable in certa...

Question 12

What do you call broad theoretical models of the social or natural world?

Accepted Answer

A)   paradigms
B)   hypotheses
C)   interviews
D)   grounded theory

Question 13

A closed-ended question is one that:

Accepted Answer

A)   allows for a wide variety of responses.
B)   encourages respondents to answer creatively.
C)   limits the possible responses.
D)   can only be answered orally.

Question 14

A famous social scientist tells you that the most important task in her research was to move from "total bewilderment" to "finding her feet" with the people she was studying.What can you say about this researcher?

Accepted Answer

A)   She worries about ethical issues in her research.
B)   She is a qualitative researcher.
C)   She cannot use interviews as a methodology.
D)   She exclusively uses quantitative methods.

Question 15

What are the goals of ethnography?

Accepted Answer

A)   to develop quantitative data sets that allow researchers to discover correlations
B)   to conduct interviews with people who have very different ways of life
C)   to describe activities sociologists observe and to understand what those activities mean to the people involved
D)   to develop ethics and standards for sociological research

Question 16

Each method of social research comes with its own advantages and disadvantages.This means that there is not necessarily a "right" answer to the question of which method should be used for a project.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using ethnographic research.

Accepted Answer

Ethnographic research allows researchers...

Question 17

What is it that interviewers seek when asking a respondent for his or her life history?

Accepted Answer

A)   a chronological account of the respondent's life
B)   biographical information on the maternal side
C)   detailed accounts of early childhood memories
D)   a genealogical map of family ancestry

Question 18

A professor receives a grant to study local employment conditions and files the required paperwork with her university's Institutional Review Board (IRB).Later,several graduate students,who were not around when the project started,are hired to take over the day-to-day management of the project.The IRB promptly cuts off the project's funding.Explain what an IRB does and why it might revoke funding for a research project.

Accepted Answer

The IRB is a group of scholars who revie...

Question 19

Even if variables are correlated,explain how a change in one variable might not be caused by a change in another variable.

Accepted Answer

Answers will vary but should include the...

Question 20

Even if you pick your method carefully,you will still have to sacrifice some types of information in order to acquire others.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 2: Studying Social Life: Sociological Research Methods

A famous social scientist tells you that the most important task in her research was to move from "total bewilderment" to "finding her feet" with the people she was studying.What can you say about this researcher?

Correct Answer
verified

Researchers are often worried that interviewees have not been completely honest or forthcoming,especially when asked about sensitive subjects.How did Arlie Hochschild attempt to deal with this problem?

Correct Answer
verified

What is reactivity?

Correct Answer
verified

What difficulties does experimental research present for researchers?

Correct Answer
verified
Experiments are only applicable in certa...
View Answer

Why are social networking sites like facebook and Twitter so exciting to sociologists who study social networks?

Correct Answer
verified

What is it that interviewers seek when asking a respondent for his or her life history?

Correct Answer
verified

Even if you pick your method carefully,you will still have to sacrifice some types of information in order to acquire others.

Correct Answer
verified

A closed-ended question is one that:

Correct Answer
verified

Even if variables are correlated,explain how a change in one variable might not be caused by a change in another variable.

Correct Answer
verified
Answers will vary but should include the...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

While it is always important to ask clear and unambiguous questions regardless of the method you use,it is especially important to avoid confusion when conducting surveys.Why?

Correct Answer
verified

When high schools want to ask students about sensitive subjects like drug use or sexual health,they often use surveys rather than a more direct form of communication like interviews.Why?

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
The IRB is a group of scholars who revie...
View Answer

Maria is worried about the representativeness of her study.She is conducting interviews,but each one seems to last at least five hours.Given that she only has one month to collect her data,what strategy might she use to increase her sample size?

Correct Answer
verified

Given what you learned in Chapter 2,why would interviewers' appearance,including clothing and hairstyle,make a difference in determining what they learn?

Correct Answer
verified
Any good answer will mention reflexivity...
View Answer

After researchers conduct a series of interviews,they usually transcribe the responses.The transcription process is fairly time-consuming,but it is valuable in part because it allows researchers to:

Correct Answer
verified

What do you call broad theoretical models of the social or natural world?

Correct Answer
verified

What are the goals of ethnography?

Correct Answer
verified

If you observe a group in order to determine its norms,values,rules,and meanings,then what kind of research are you doing?

Correct Answer
verified

Each method of social research comes with its own advantages and disadvantages.This means that there is not necessarily a "right" answer to the question of which method should be used for a project.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using ethnographic research.

Correct Answer
verified
Ethnographic research allows researchers...
View Answer

Exam 2: Studying Social Life: Sociological Research Methods

A famous social scientist tells you that the most important task in her research was to move from "total bewilderment" to "finding her feet" with the people she was studying.What can you say about this researcher?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Researchers are often worried that interviewees have not been completely honest or forthcoming,especially when asked about sensitive subjects.How did Arlie Hochschild attempt to deal with this problem?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is reactivity?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What difficulties does experimental research present for researchers?

Correct AnswerverifiedExperiments are only applicable in certa...View AnswerShow Answer

Why are social networking sites like facebook and Twitter so exciting to sociologists who study social networks?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is it that interviewers seek when asking a respondent for his or her life history?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Even if you pick your method carefully,you will still have to sacrifice some types of information in order to acquire others.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A closed-ended question is one that:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Even if variables are correlated,explain how a change in one variable might not be caused by a change in another variable.

Correct AnswerverifiedAnswers will vary but should include the...View AnswerShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

While it is always important to ask clear and unambiguous questions regardless of the method you use,it is especially important to avoid confusion when conducting surveys.Why?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When high schools want to ask students about sensitive subjects like drug use or sexual health,they often use surveys rather than a more direct form of communication like interviews.Why?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedThe IRB is a group of scholars who revie...View AnswerShow Answer

Maria is worried about the representativeness of her study.She is conducting interviews,but each one seems to last at least five hours.Given that she only has one month to collect her data,what strategy might she use to increase her sample size?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Given what you learned in Chapter 2,why would interviewers' appearance,including clothing and hairstyle,make a difference in determining what they learn?

Correct AnswerverifiedAny good answer will mention reflexivity...View AnswerShow Answer

After researchers conduct a series of interviews,they usually transcribe the responses.The transcription process is fairly time-consuming,but it is valuable in part because it allows researchers to:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What do you call broad theoretical models of the social or natural world?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What are the goals of ethnography?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

If you observe a group in order to determine its norms,values,rules,and meanings,then what kind of research are you doing?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Each method of social research comes with its own advantages and disadvantages.This means that there is not necessarily a "right" answer to the question of which method should be used for a project.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using ethnographic research.

Correct AnswerverifiedEthnographic research allows researchers...View AnswerShow Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
Experiments are only applicable in certa...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
Answers will vary but should include the...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
The IRB is a group of scholars who revie...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
Any good answer will mention reflexivity...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
Ethnographic research allows researchers...
View Answer