Qualitative Research Methods
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Course Introduction
Qualitative Research Methods introduces students to the design, implementation, and analysis of qualitative research in social sciences and related fields. The course covers foundational concepts such as research design, data collection techniques (including interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and document analysis), and methods for coding and interpreting qualitative data. Students will engage with ethical considerations, reflexivity, and the development of trustworthy research practices. Through practical exercises, critical readings, and the development of a small-scale research project, students gain the skills necessary to conduct and evaluate qualitative research, and to understand its strengths and limitations in addressing complex social phenomena.
Recommended Textbook
Making Sense of the Social World Methods of Investigation 4th Edition by
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12 Chapters
707 Verified Questions
707 Flashcards
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Daniel F. Chambliss
Chapter 1: Science, Society, and Social Research
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59 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Using the General Social Survey, a researcher finds that of all the religious groups in the United States, Catholics are the single largest group, but combined Protestant denominations outnumber Catholics. This is an example of what kind of research?
A) Exploratory
B) Descriptive
C) Explanatory
D) Evaluation
E) Qualitative Answer: B
Q2) Exploratory research is designed to identify causes and effects.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Evaluation research can be used to describe the impact of social programs.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: The Process and Problems of Social Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a review of the average teacher salaries across school districts, Flo found a range from $35,000 to $65,000, with teachers in urban school districts generally earning more than those in rural and suburban school districts. Flo has done what:
A) Made an empirical generalization
B) Constructed a theory
C) Tested a theory
D) Constructed a hypothesis
E) All of the above
Answer: A
Q2) According to Erving Goffman, interactions among individuals cannot be units of analysis in social research.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Deductive research begins the research process with theory, from which a hypothesis is derived.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Ethics in Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the text, which of the following is not given special protections because of their vulnerability to coercion?
A) Pregnant women
B) Prisoners
C) Mentally disabled persons
D) Elderly
E) Educationally or economically disadvantaged persons
Answer: D
Q2) Describe the process of gaining assent/consent to conduct research involving children as participants.
Answer: Children cannot give consent to participate in research; a child's legal guardian must give written informed consent to have the child participate in research. Then the child must in most circumstances be given the opportunity to give or withhold assent to participate in research, usually by a verbal response to an explanation of the research.
Q3) It's only important to maintain participants' confidentiality in rare cases.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using single questions rather than multidimensional index scores to measure concepts?
Q2) Levels of Measurement
Note that levels of measurement may be used more than once.
Group A
1. An index of political participation with a range from 5 to 45
2. Age, defined as child, young adult, adult, and senior
3. Gender: male or female
4. Number of siblings
5. Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
6. Score on exam
7. Military rank
8. Citizenship: U.S. Citizen or Not U.S. citizen
Group B
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
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Chapter 5: Sampling and Generalizability
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Sample Questions
Q1) The larger the sample, the more confidence we can have in the sample's representativeness.
A)True B)False
Q2) What is availability sampling? In what circumstances is it appropriate for social scientific research? How does availability sampling compromise generalizability? Does the proliferation of availability samples in popular research change the way that social scientific research is conducted or accepted by the general public?
Q3) A census collects data from every element in the entire population of interest. A)True B)False
Q4) Cluster sampling is a form of non-probability sampling. A)True B)False
Q5) In a census, the probability of selection is always less than 1.0. A)True B)False
Q6) How does a simple random sample differ from an availability sample? Which is better for social research and why?
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Chapter 6: Causation and Experimental Design
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Sherman and Berk's (1984) study of the effect of arrest on future domestic violence, police officers determined which subjects would be arrested based on random selection, made while officers were responding to actual calls for domestic disturbances. Their study is a good example of:
A) A double-blind study
B) A quasi-experimental design
C) A field experiment
D) The use of matching in group assignment
E) A Solomon Four Group design
Q2) When a researcher matches individual cases with similar individuals in a comparison group, the researcher is using which of the following methods?
A) Before-and-after design
B) Ex post facto group design
C) Individual matching
D) Aggregate matching
E) Group matching
Q3) In what situations is it ethnical to deceive participants in an experiment? Provide an example that would ethically allow deception and an example in which the ethics of deception are more ambiguous.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Survey Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) The General Social Survey is an example of:
A) A mailed survey
B) An omnibus survey
C) A phone survey
D) A web survey
E) An e-mail survey
Q2) Which of the following allows interviewers to display interview questions on a computer screen in order to process the responses and check that responses fall within allowed ranges?
A) Self-administered survey
B) E-mail interview
C) Web interview
D) Random digit dialing
E) Computer-assisted personal interview
Q3) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of including neutral, middle alternatives in response choices for survey questions.
Q4) Web surveys are becoming popular due to their flexibility and inexpensiveness.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Outline the procedure for pretesting a survey.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Elementary Quantitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nominal variables should be displayed on:
A) Bar charts
B) Histograms
C) Frequency polygons
D) Both a and b
E) All of the above
Q2) Histograms are used to display the distribution of quantitative variables that vary along a continuum.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is not a measure of variation?
A) Range
B) Mean
C) Standard deviation
D) Variance
E) Normal distribution
Q4) Describe circumstances in which mean, median, and modes are best used as measures of central tendency, providing at least two concrete examples for each.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, Listening
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Sample Questions
Q1) Qualitative research methods are particularly strong in studying the meanings that participants attach to events.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When conducting a study of grassroots movements that organized to keep big box stores out of their neighborhood, Wendy agreed to serve as the secretary for that group. What role did she take in the field?
A) Complete observer
B) Participant observer
C) Complete participant
D) Covert participant
E) Investigative observer
Q3) To study natural social processes, a research should choose which form of qualitative analysis?
A) Ethnomethodology
B) Field research
C) Ethnography
D) Narrative analysis
E) Grounded theory
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Chapter 10: Qualitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Narrative analysis codes the narrative as a whole, rather than coding different elements within the narrative.
A)True B)False
Q2) Spontaneous statements made by informants in a qualitative study are more authentic than those made in response to a researcher's questions.
A)True B)False
Q3) A participant centered understanding attempts to understand something from which perspective?
A) Researcher's
B) Hermeneutic
C) Participants'
D) Emic
E) Etic
Q4) A researcher should always be reflexive and know his or her own biases before entering the field.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Measures
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Sample Questions
Q1) Evaluation research developed in tandem with government expansion during the Great Depression and World War II.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Evaluation research began and developed in which time period?
A) 1910s-1920s
B) 1930s-1940s
C) 1950s-1960s
D) 1970s-1980s
E) 1990s-2000s
Q3) The direct product that a program delivers is the outcome.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe the potential problems for stakeholder orientation in evaluation research, in general and using the example of reducing welfare payments in favor of a workfare program.
Q5) Outline the elements of a social program and how they are linked together, using the example of the DARE program detailed in the text.
Q6) 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) Experienced writers suggest all of the following except:
A) Leave final editing to the last-minute
B) Don't expect to write a polished draft in a linear fashion
C) Leave enough time for dead ends and revisions
D) Ask others to review and react to what you have written
E) Write as you go along
Q2) In a research report, in which section do you include copies of the instruments used?
A) The introductory statement
B) The findings section
C) The discussion section
D) The conclusion section
E) The appendixes
Q3) Why is the organization of a research report important? Explain three techniques proposed by Chambliss to help organize a research report. Which of these would be most effective for helping you organize a report? Explain.
Q4) The foundation for a good research proposal is a good literature review.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Outline the sections of a research report. Explain the purpose of each section.
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