Behavioral Research Methods
Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
Behavioral Research Methods introduces students to the fundamental techniques and principles used to investigate human and animal behavior. The course covers research design, experimental and non-experimental methods, sampling strategies, data collection, and measurement issues. Emphasis is placed on ethical considerations, validity and reliability, statistical analysis, and the interpretation and communication of findings. Through lectures, readings, and hands-on projects, students develop the skills necessary to critically evaluate research literature and design their own behavioral studies in both laboratory and naturalistic settings.
Recommended Textbook
Making Sense of the Social World Methods of Investigation 4th Edition by Daniel F. Chambliss
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Science, Society, and Social Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) Generalizability refers to the ability of a study to inform us about persons, places, or events that were not directly studied.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Both explanatory and evaluation research studies are concerned with the causes and effects of social phenomena. The difference between them is that evaluation research focuses on the:
A) Effect of particular policies or programs
B) Meanings that people give their actions
C) Description of the social phenomena of interest
D) Consideration of the impact of social context
E) How people get along in the setting under study
Answer: A
Q3) Overgeneralizations occur when people conclude that what is true for some cases is true for all cases.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Process and Problems of Social Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) To maintain participants' confidentially, a researcher should:
A) Give each participant a consent agreement that outlines protection of privacy
B) Lock records in a safe place
C) Create special identifying codes
D) Only allow designated research personnel to look at participant data
E) All of the above
Answer: E
Q2) The results of Sherman and Berk's (1984) study of the impact of arrest on repeat calls to the police department for domestic violence supported which of the following social theories?
A) Symbolic interactionism
B) Deterrence theory
C) Labeling theory
D) Conflict theory
E) Inductive logic
Answer: B
Q3) Longitudinal research collects data at more than one point in time.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Ethics in Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the primary focus of research ethics?
A) Protect the researcher
B) Protect the organization that funds the research
C) Protect the university
D) Protect the subjects
E) Protect women and children only
Answer: D
Q2) The act of publication is not a necessary element in maintaining openness and honesty in ethical research.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The researcher's commitment to maintaining privacy and confidentiality:
A) Should be included in the informed consent agreement
B) Is a key ethical standard for protecting participants
C) Does not apply to observations in public places or information available in public records
D) Both a and b
E) All of the above
Answer: E
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Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following would not be analyzed using content analysis?
A) Romance novels
B) Interview transcripts
C) Science fiction films
D) Women's magazines
E) Newspaper articles
Q2) Textual analysis is a research method for systematically analyzing and making inferences from text.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When are open-ended questions more appropriate than closed-ended questions? Describe scenarios where each would be appropriate for studying one of the following concepts: deviance, romance, educational quality, economic development.
Q4) Propose a study using direct observations and unobtrusive measures for measuring conspicuous consumption among college students. Identify several measures that you might use in this study. Discuss how using direct observation and unobtrusive measures has advantages and disadvantages relative to surveys for measuring conspicuous consumption.
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Chapter 5: Sampling and Generalizability
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Sample Questions
Q1) Another name for convenience sampling is:
A) Availability sampling
B) Judgmental sampling
C) Purposive sampling
D) Simple random sampling
E) Stratified sampling
Q2) A researcher has decided to do a study of people who hunt in a nearby national forest. He asks a friend, whom he knows to be a hunter, if he would consent to an interview. He interviews his friend, and then asks his friend if he could name other people who hunted in the forest. His friend provides him with five names. The researcher contacts those five people, interviews them, and asks each of those people for names of other hunters. This sampling technique is known as:
A) Casual sampling
B) Personal sampling
C) Key informant interviewing
D) Snowball sampling
E) Qualitative sampling
Q3) Availability sampling is another name for simple random sampling.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Causation and Experimental Design
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Sample Questions
Q1) Experimental Designs
Group A
1. True Experiment
2. Non-Equivalent Control Group
3. Before-and-After
4. Ex Post Facto Control Group
5. Solomon Four Group
Group B
a. Randomized assignment into control and experimental groups
b. Lacks a control group
c. Contains two sets of control groups and two sets of experimental groups
d. Experimental and control groups are designated after experimental treatment
e. Lacks a posttest
f. Control group is created not by randomization, but to be as similar as possible to the experimental group
Q2) It is never ethical to randomly assign treatment to subjects in experiment just because the effect of the treatment is unknown.
A)True
B)False
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Survey Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) Confidentiality in surveys requires that no identifying information is ever recorded to link respondents with their responses.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Telephone surveys are fast and efficient. Why not conduct all surveys by phone? In your answer, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach and highlight any unique advantages of other survey designs. Be sure to clarify when (if ever) the other designs are preferable.
Q3) A major weakness of web-based surveys is that Internet access is not widely or evenly available in the general population.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A cover letter should:
A) Establish credibility of research
B) Contain a personal address
C) Contain an original signature
D) Explain voluntary participation
E) All of the above
Q5) Outline the procedure for pretesting a survey.
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Chapter 8: Elementary Quantitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following data displays represent data not as bars, but as connected points in a single line?
A) Mean
B) Mode
C) Bar chart
D) Frequency polygon
E) Histogram
Q2) Which of the following would best illustrate marital status in a diagram as explained in the text?
A) Histogram
B) Frequency polygon
C) Box plot
D) Bar chart
E) Pie chart
Q3) In a crosstabs, the cells display:
A) Counts
B) Percentages
C) Categories of the dependent variable
D) Both a and b
E) All of the above
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Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, Listening
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) 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.
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Qualitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) One researcher examined how people greeted one another on the street, by paying careful attention to their verbal exchanges. This type of research is probably:
A) Oral history
B) Narrative analysis
C) Ethnography
D) Qualitative comparative analysis
E) Conversation analysis
Q2) Although the volume of data collected in qualitative analysis can overwhelm an inexperienced researcher, Chambliss and Schutt recommend which of the following to keep control of your data?
A) Discard unused data after the conceptualization stage
B) Maintain a disciplined transcription schedule
C) Hire professional transcribers
D) Review field notes and transcriptions only after the observation period has finished
E) Keep personal feelings and impressions separate from field notes
Q3) Qualitative and quantitative methods should always be kept separate.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Measures
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Sample Questions
Q1) Impact analysis generally relies on what sort of research design?
A) Experimental and quasi-experimental
B) Open-ended surveys
C) Closed-ended surveys
D) One-shot case studies
E) Key informant interviewing
Q2) Outline the elements of a social program and how they are linked together, using the example of the DARE program detailed in the text.
Q3) One important difference between evaluation research and other social scientific research is:
A) Evaluation research is often guided by politics.
B) Evaluation research rarely uses qualitative research.
C) Evaluation research rarely uses quantitative research.
D) Evaluation research is conducted by professional researchers.
E) Evaluation research is not widely respected by academics.
Q4) According to U.S. law, some sort of evaluation is required of all government programs.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Why is evaluation research more political than other forms of social research?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Evaluation Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) A research proposal would not include:
A) A literature review
B) A methodological plan
C) A statement of limitations
D) A summary of findings
E) Pilot study results
Q2) In a research proposal, in which section do you clarify what you are interested in studying?
A) The introductory statement
B) The literature review
C) The methodological plan
D) The ethics statement
E) The statement of limitations
Q3) After you have completed a draft of a research report, which of the following techniques will help you improve your organization?
A) Construct a reverse outline
B) Seek constructive criticism from others
C) Use a word processing program to facilitate reorganizing
D) Leave enough time to revise
E) All of the above
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