Advanced Sociological Methods
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Course Introduction
Advanced Sociological Methods delves into the sophisticated techniques used in contemporary sociological research, focusing on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The course covers advanced topics such as multivariate statistical analysis, longitudinal study designs, structural equation modeling, and comparative methods, as well as the application of computer-assisted data analysis tools. Students will also engage with qualitative approaches, including ethnography, in-depth interviewing, and content analysis, critically examining issues of validity, reliability, and ethics in research. By integrating theoretical understanding with practical application, this course prepares students to design and implement robust sociological studies that address complex social phenomena.
Recommended Textbook
An Invitation to Social Research How Its Done 5th Edition by Emily Stier Adler
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Chapter 1: The Uses of Social Research
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Q1) What is intersubjectivity and why is it important in the scientific method?
Answer: Intersubjectivity refers to the idea that scientific knowledge is not just based on individual subjective experiences, but is instead the result of shared understanding and agreement among different observers and researchers. It is important in the scientific method because it helps to ensure the reliability and validity of scientific findings. By requiring that observations and findings be replicable and agreed upon by multiple independent researchers, intersubjectivity helps to minimize the influence of individual biases and errors. This means that scientific knowledge is more likely to be accurate and trustworthy, as it has been subjected to critical evaluation by multiple perspectives. Ultimately, intersubjectivity is essential for building a body of knowledge that can be used to make informed decisions and advancements in various fields of science.
Q2) In applied research,investigators are interested in
A) knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
B) research having practical and useful outcomes.
C) knowing about fields where there is little previous research.
D) creating social theory.
E) none of these.
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: Theory and Research
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Q1) Avariable has an effect on the dependent variable as well as an effect on the independent variable.
A) independent
B) antecedent
C) intervening
D) extraneous
E) time order
Answer: D
Q2) "In our research,we are looking at how gender (male or female)affects the amount of money individuals leave for tips at restaurants." A possible hypothesis based on this research question is
A) men are more likely to be large tippers than women.
B) women are more likely to be large tippers than men.
C) large tippers are more likely to be physically attracted to restaurant workers of the opposite sex.
D) all of these are plausible hypotheses.
E) none of these are plausible hypotheses.
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Research
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Q1) The majority of social science researchers feel the IRB process creates impediments and hurdles to achieving relevant and critical social science research.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) refer(s)to a set of abstract principles that are used to determine appropriate and acceptable social conduct.
A) Informed consent
B) Professional rules of conduct
C) Ethics
D) Moral code
E) IRB
Answer: C
Q3) The American Sociological Association's Code of Ethics applies only to research conducted for professional purposes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Planning a Research Project
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Q1) Professor Kent is very interested in investigating whether the parenting styles of single fathers and single mothers differ with respect to modeling of sex roles for children.Professor Kent has recently become a single father of two young children.Is this a researchable and feasible question?
A) This is not researchable because Professor Kent is not likely to be value-free.
B) This is a researchable question because it is answerable through research and feasible if Kent can gain access to the population and find time and money to support the study.
C) This is not a researchable question because it is not possible to design a way to study this in the real world and it is not feasible because it is unlikely that parents would let researchers have access to this data.
D) This is a researchable question because many people have already investigated this topic and it is feasible because single parents are usually eager to participate in research.
E) This is a researchable question because a sampling frame does exist of single parent mothers and fathers in the United States.
Q2) Describe how funding sources may influence whether research is value free.
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Chapter 5: Sampling
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Q1) The larger the size of the samples taken from the population,the more likely that A) the statistic will be an accurate estimation of the population parameter.
B) we will obtain identitical statistics and parameters.
C) we will gain an accurate picture of the variation within the samples.
D) our study will become very expensive.
E) accuracy will be less.
Q2) Systematic random sampling has the advantage of A) being easy to do.
B) being more accurate than simple random sampling.
C) overcoming any consistent bias in the ordering of the population.
D) being less expensive than simple random sampling.
E) none of these.
Q3) As a surveyor,you call households on your call list and 10% never answered the call.What kind of error have you encountered?
A) coverage error
B) sample error
C) measurement error
D) nonrespondent error
E) nonresponse error
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Chapter 6: Measurement
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Q1) What is the difference between reliability and validity?
Q2) A set of categories that defines class assignment as freshman,sophomore,junior,and senior is an ordinal level of measurement.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A researcher designs a survey question asking respondents to indicate their class standing as either: First-Year,Sophomore,Junior,Senior,or Graduate Student.What level of measurement did she use?
A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) interval
D) ratio
E) none of these
Q4) Why is it important to consider the level of measurement in study design? Use the example of education and explain how education can be measured in multiple ways.What is the benefit to measuring education on one level of measurement versus another?
Q5) How would you explain operationalization and conceptualization to someone who has no background in social research?
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Chapter 7: Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Case Study Designs
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Q1) A study design must balance ethical,practical,and methodological issues.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If we are interested in learning about how social and economic elites influence decision making in one city and will rely upon census data,newspaper accounts,interviews,and surveys to do this research,we are relying on the Study design.
A) case
B) non-experimental
C) trend
D) longitudinal
E) questionnaire
Q3) Identify and explain the major challenges to doing research using longitudinal study designs.
Q4) In a panel design,researchers assemble a panel of experts and ask them about opinions on a topic of interest.
A)True
B)False
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Q5) Explain the difference between a panel study and a cohort study.
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Chapter 8: Experimental Research
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Q1) The Solomon four-group design has
A) two experimental and two control groups.
B) three experimental groups and one control group.
C) two pretest groups and two posttest groups.
D) four experimental groups.
E) four control groups.
Q2) In posttest only quasi-experimental designs,the major threat to internal validity is that it is virtually impossible to conclude that changes are the result of the manipulation of the independent variable alone.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A Solomon four-group design is useful for addressing issues of internal validity. A)True B)False
Q4) Selecting treatment and control groups from the population by method of random sample increases the study's generalizability.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 9: Questionnaires and Structured Interviews
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Q1) Which type of survey method has the lowest response rate?
A) mailed questionnaires
B) phone interviews
C) group administered questionnaires
D) in person interviews
E) web surveys
Q2) A data collection method that involves administration by a trained interviewer of a survey instrument with closed- ended responses is a
A) questionnaire.
B) structured interview.
C) face-to-face interview.
D) field interview.
E) life story.
Q3) If a researcher is going to ask potentially embarrassing or sensitive questions,it is better to get them over with early in the survey.
A)True
B)False
Q4) List two advantages and two disadvantages of an in-person interview.
Q5) What is the interviewer effect? How can this be minimized or managed?
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Chapter 10: Qualitative Interviewing
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Q1) Selecting an interview method is dependent on
A) the amount of structure desired.
B) the time available.
C) the age of participants.
D) the research question.
E) the representativeness of the sample.
Q2) In standard interviews,the researcher has the flexibility to alter questions as needed.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The questionnaire used by Sandra Enos in Managing Motherhood in Prison included some open ended questions,but mostly closed ended questions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A joint interview is when several individuals complete a questionnaire in the presence of a researcher.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the issues of validity for qualitative interviews.
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Chapter 11: Observational Techniques
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Q1) Sally is a researcher engaging in observational methods.She is taking part in all activities of those she is observing.What is her observer role?
A) participant as observer
B) observer as participant
C) complete participant role
D) complete observer role
E) complete researcher role
Q2) Observational research techniques are often a problem because they cause the researcher to intrude into the lives of the research subjects.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Explain why Halloween is a good holiday to study the social construction of race relations.How did the researchers accomplish this task in the focal research? Why were observational methods the best way to research this question over other methods?
Q4) Thick descriptions are based on bare bone facts versus context and motives. A)True
B)False
Q5) Give two advantages and two disadvantages of using observational methods.
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Chapter 12: Using Available Data
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Q1) In the focal research by Martinez and Lee,Martinez had to spend hours with police detectives who acted as gatekeepers for the data.
A)True
B)False
Q2) There are a variety of surveys that gather data on teen use of alcohol and drugs and involvement in crime and sexual experience.There are available in printed form and on the Internet.If these are dependent variables,what are some of the variables that might be independent variables? For example,what might be related to early use of drugs and alcohol? What would be good sources of this data?
Q3) Martinez and Lee compared the context of immigrant homicides,including Haitians,Jamaicans,and Mariels in Miami.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the key differences between primary and secondary data? When using secondary data,what are the main issues researchers need to be aware of?
Q5) Define and provide an example of physical traces,erosion measures,and accretion measures.
Q6) Describe the ecological fallacy and how you might avoid it.
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Chapter 13: Content Analysis
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Q1) There are times when the unit of analysis and the unit of observation can be the same thing.
A)True B)False
Q2) Content analysis is an unobtrusive,inexpensive,relatively easy,and flexible method of data collection.
A)True B)False
Q3) What are the main differences between quantitative content analysis and qualitative content analysis?
Q4) Name five different materials that can be used for content analysis and a situation in which they might be used for research.
Q5) Like other kinds of social research,one of the first steps in content analysis is to determine
A) the number of cases that the research will focus on.
B) the kind of medium that the analysis will focus on.
C) the units of analysis that the research will focus on.
D) the ease of accessibility of the subject matter.
E) none of these.
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Chapter 14: Applied Social Research
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Q1) Participatory research involves
A) getting permission from authorities first.
B) projects that are done with the community, not to the community.
C) projects that are more academia based and less community based.
D) both projects that are done with the community, not to the community as well as getting permission from the authorities first.
E) none of these
Q2) Which type of evaluation research is best used in the early implantation stages of the program or policy?
A) needs assessment
B) formative
C) cost benefit
D) process
E) none of these
Q3) Evaluation research is distinguished from basic research by
A) its immediate usefulness.
B) its contribution to the development of scientific theory.
C) its specific practical implications.
D) its immediate usefulness and its specific practical implications.
E) none of these.
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Chapter 15: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis
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Q1) The range of a variable is the difference between the lowest and highest values.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A data display should only be used to highlight the essential points of the final report.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Social anthropological approaches to qualitative research aim to
A) analyze relationships between discrete variables.
B) discover regular patterns in social interaction.
C) apply their own interpretive frameworks and accounts.
D) strike a balance between deductive and inductive theorizing.
E) balance qualitative and quantitative methods.
Q4) The graph of a normal distribution looks like a(n)
A) bell.
B) pyramid.
C) oval.
D) tripod.
E) square.
Q5) Outline the major steps involved in qualitative data analysis.
Page 17
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