Methods of Social Inquiry Test Questions
Course Introduction
Methods of Social Inquiry introduces students to the fundamental approaches and techniques used in the systematic study of society and human behavior. The course covers both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including surveys, interviews, field observations, experiments, and content analysis. Students will learn how to formulate research questions, design and conduct studies, collect and analyze data, and interpret social phenomena. Emphasis is placed on ethical considerations, rigorous methodology, and the critical evaluation of published research. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with practical skills for conducting their own research and a deeper understanding of how social knowledge is generated and validated.
Recommended Textbook
An Invitation to Social Research How Its Done 5th Edition by Emily Stier Adler
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2
Chapter 1: The Uses of Social Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) A researcher is interested in understanding why some students choose to live in residence halls while others do not.The unit of analysis is the student.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The positivist view of science states that
A) science should always focus on things which benefit society.
B) we should only study things that can be observed and measured.
C) science is beneficial for providing solid ground for things in society that can be speculated about.
D) science should be objective, free from personal biases
E) none of these
Answer: B
Q3) An early step involved in doing science is to specify the goals of inquiry.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Theory and Research
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Q1) A variable that has an effect on both the independent variable and the dependent variable is called an intervening variable.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The dependent variable (DV)is defined as
A) a variable that affects or influences another variable.
B) a variable that is being influenced by another variable.
C) a statement about how two or more variables are expected to be related to one another.
D) a variable that comes before and is responsible for the association between the dependent and independent variable.
E) the condition of empirical association.
Answer: B
Q3) If we move from specific observations to more general abstractions,we are using deductive logic.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following represents the correct chronological order of events?
A) Tuskegee, Milgram, ASA Code of Ethics, Common Rule
B) Milgram, Common Rule, Tuskegee, ASA Code of Ethics
C) Milgram, Tuskegee, Common Rules, ASA Code of Ethics
D) Common Rule, Tuskegee, Milgram, ASA Code of Ethnics
E) ASA Code of Ethics, Tuskegee, Milgram, Common Rule
Answer: A
Q2) If no force or coercion is used to enroll subjects in a study,that will satisfy the question of whether they are voluntarily participating in the research.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Which of the following research methods does not involve ethical concerns?
A) in person interviews
B) mail in questionnaire
C) observation in a public place
D) experiments
E) none of the above
Answer: E
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Planning a Research Project
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Sample Questions
Q1) Some topics may be interesting and important,but gaining access to the population may be very difficult.Which of the following presents the greatest obstacles?
A) college students living in a dormitory
B) individuals who are members of a bowling league
C) children who are hospitalized for minor illness
D) individuals who are members of a secret cult
E) singles who go on a singles' cruise
Q2) Research questions are questions about topics that can be answered through A) research.
B) access to funding.
C) social change.
D) significant cost.
E) observation
Q3) Research costs include
A) salaries
B) pre-testing data costs
C) equipment costs
D) data collection costs
E) all of these
Q4) Describe how funding sources may influence whether research is value free.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Sampling
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Sample Questions
Q1) What was the effect of sampling frames as shown in the focal research by Keeter,Dimock,and Christian?
A) there was no difference in results by surveys completed by land line users and surveys completed by land line and cell phone users.
B) there was a difference in results by surveys completed by land line users and surveys completed by land line and cell phone users.
C) land lines are becoming obsolete.
D) surveyors shouldn't call respondents on cell phones.
E) none of these are true.
Q2) Members of a population,which are included in a sample,are referred to as A) sampling units.
B) elements.
C) units of analysis.
D) both elements and units of analysis.
E) none of these
Q3) If we make accommodations to oversample certain members of a sample,we are taking a cluster sample.
A)True
B)False
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Measurement
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) If a measure yields the same result consistently,we think of it as ameasure.
A) valid
B) reliable
C) handy
D) predictable
E) none of these
Q3) It is pretty easy to take a nominal measure and transform it into a ratio measure.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is the difference between reliability and validity?
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Case Study Designs
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Sample Questions
Q1) The longitudinal nature of panel studies allows researchers to A) document patterns.
B) establish time order sequences.
C) take "snapshot" photographs of a particular moment in time.
D) document patterns and establish time order sequences.
E) all of these.
Q2) When a case is selected because of its uniqueness for a study,Robert Stake calls this an intrinsic case study.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If a respondent dies between two data collections,she has contributed to panel fatigue.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The focal research example on retirement by Adler and Clark utilized a cross-sectional study design.
A)True
B)False
Page 9
Q5) What must be established to prove that variables are causally related?
Q6) What are some good reasons to conduct a case study?
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Page 10
Chapter 8: Experimental Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) An experimental design is appropriate if it is________to do so.
A) practical and ethical
B) ethical and inexpensive
C) inexpensive and timely
D) timely and practical
E) none of these
Q2) Experimental study designs are best suited forresearch.
A) exploratory
B) descriptive
C) controlled
D) community
E) explanatory
Q3) 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.
Q4) Discuss the issue of internal validity and experiments.Which types of experimental designs are best suited to address the issue of internal validity? How so?
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Chapter 9: Questionnaires and Structured Interviews
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Sample Questions
Q1) One factor that affects the response rate to a survey is the likelihood that a respondent's identity will be disclosed to official authorities.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Group-administered questionnaires
A) are typically inexpensive.
B) are expensive.
C) raise ethical concerns about voluntary participation.
D) are typically inexpensive and also raise ethical concerns about voluntary participation.
E) none of these.
Q3) Compare the advantages and disadvantages of mail vs.phone surveys.
Q4) List two advantages and two disadvantages of an in-person interview.
Q5) 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
Q6) What is the interviewer effect? How can this be minimized or managed?
Page 12
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Chapter 10: Qualitative Interviewing
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Q1) Describe what happens after the interviews have been completed.
Q2) 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
Q3) Visual methods have limitations,including all of the following,except
A) issues of privacy.
B) representativeness.
C) incompleteness.
D) questions of probability sampling.
E) access to digital equipment.
Q4) Shulamit Reinharz labels the unstructured approach
A) an "intervieweeguided" interview.
B) the "reality constructing" approach.
C) a quantitative researcher's optimal method.
D) an "intervieweeguided" approach and the "reality constructing" approach.
E) none of these
Q5) What are some elements and strategies that are likely to enhance the chances of a successful interview?
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Chapter 11: Observational Techniques
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Sample Questions
Q1) Complete participant and complete observation do not permit
A) generalizability.
B) ethical considerations.
C) probing.
D) theoretical basis.
E) analysis.
Q2) Lofland and Lofland (2005)emphasize a set of social skills that include
A) connections, knowledge, and courtesy.
B) connections, knowledge, accounts, and courtesy.
C) friendship, familiarity, facts, and finesse.
D) connections, knowledge, courtesy, friendship, familiarity, facts, and finesse.
E) none of these
Q3) What are the differences between thin and thick descriptions? How can visual sociology be used for observations and subsequent thick descriptions?
Q4) Give two advantages and two disadvantages of using observational methods.
Q5) Observation is useful if you do not know much about the subject under investigation.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Using Available Data
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the dependent variable in the focal research by Martinez and Lee?
A) rates of immigration
B) ethnic backgrounds of immigrants
C) employment
D) homicide
E) immigrant victimization
Q2) 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
Q3) If we examined the extent of wear and tear in carpeting in a museum to study the popularity of exhibits,we would be employing
A) the floor wear index.
B) an erosion measure.
C) an accretion measure.
D) a reliable variable.
E) the ecological fallacy.
Q4) Define and provide an example of physical traces,erosion measures,and accretion measures.
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Chapter 13: Content Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Content analysis is a technique that depends on the researcher's capacity to create and record meaningful variables for classifying units of analysis.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Content analysis dates back to
A) the late 1600s.
B) the early 1900s.
C) the 1950s.
D) the 1960s.
E) 1990.
Q3) Content analysis is not appropriate for
A) evaluating census data.
B) want ads.
C) diary entries.
D) email messages.
E) newspapers.
Q4) There are strict guidelines for doing qualitative content analysis. A)True
B)False
Page 16
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Chapter 14: Applied Social Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) Consider an existing program at your college/university.How would you go about evaluating that program?
Q2) Stakeholders are individuals or groups who participate in or have an interest in a program or a policy.Stakeholders can include program staff,funders,program participants,legislators,community groups,parents,and others.In the hypothetical case of a one-year intensive special reading program that is designed to increase the reading skills of third grade students at the Grant Urban Elementary School,discuss how and why these various stakeholders might react to an evaluation study that found that the program was not producing any significant improvement in students' reading skills.Be sure to consider the point of view of as many stakeholders as possible (e.g.,teachers,parents,school board officials,students,business community members,etc.)What might different stakeholders say about the evaluation study itself?
Q3) Ethical concerns in applied research
A) are probably less important than in basic research.
B) are equally important as in basic research.
C) are only significant to the community members.
D) are only significant to the researchers.
E) none of these.
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Chapter 15: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) A researcher computes a statistic with a probability of p>.05.This means that
A) it is likely there is a strong relationship between the variables.
B) the relationship is likely not strong enough to suggest that it exists in the population.
C) the researcher should calculate another statistic.
D) the researcher is guilty of Type II error.
E) the variable is reliable.
Q2) A partial relationship involves a control variable.
A)True
B)False
Q3) ________is the process by which researchers create visual images to summarize qualitative information.
A) Data reduction
B) Graphical depiction
C) Data displaying
D) Coding reduction
E) Memoing
Q4) In describing a population,why is it advantageous to not only know the measures of central tendency,but also to calculate measures of dispersion?
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