Sociological Research Methods
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Sociological Research Methods introduces students to the principles, strategies, and ethical considerations involved in conducting empirical research in sociology. The course covers both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including survey design, interviews, participant observation, content analysis, and statistical analysis. Students will learn how to formulate research questions, collect and analyze data, and interpret findings within a sociological framework. Emphasis is placed on critical evaluation of research design, data validity and reliability, and the responsible use of research in addressing social issues. Through practical exercises and projects, students gain hands-on experience in applying research techniques to real-world sociological questions.
Recommended Textbook
Making Sense of the Social World Methods of Investigation 4th Edition by
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Daniel F. Chambliss
Chapter 1: Science, Society, and Social Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) In which circumstances are descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, and evaluation research appropriate? Give an example for each.
Answer: Descriptive research questions-defines and describes social phenomena; Exploratory research questions-seek to find out how people get along in the settings under question; Explanatory research questions-seek to identify causes and effects of social phenomena and to predict how one phenomenon will change or vary in response to variation in another phenomenon; Evaluation research questions-describe and identify the impact of social policies and programs
Q2) "Why do young people in poor neighborhoods join gangs?" This is an example of what kind of research question?
A) Exploratory
B) Descriptive
C) Explanatory
D) Evaluation
E) Quantitative
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: The Process and Problems of Social Research
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Q1) Research that collects data at more than one point in time is called:
A) Longitudinal
B) Cross-sectional
C) Ideographic
D) Nomothetic
E) Inductive
Answer: A
Q2) Chambliss states "the adequacy of an explanation formulated after the fact is necessarily less certain than an explanation presented prior to the collection of data" . Explain in your own words what this statement means for students who will be conducting research of their own.
Answer: Inductive reasoning may produce anomalous or serendipitous patterns in the data; every phenomenon can always be explained in some way; Inductive explanations then are made more trustworthy if it is followed by deductive research; Great insights and ideas can come from inductive studies, but verifiable proof comes from deductive research
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) In the process of debriefing, the researcher:
A) Explains to the subject what happened in the study and why
B) Tries to make sure the participants are competent to give consent
C) Discloses her or his identity partially
D) Obtains research approval from the IRB
E) Publishes the results of the study
Answer: A
Q2) Every social scientist needs to consider how to practice his or her discipline ethically.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) It's only important to maintain participants' confidentiality in rare cases.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Explain the processes of deception and debriefing.
Answer: When an experimental design requires subject deception, researchers may withhold information before the experiment but then debrief subjects after the experiment, and why, and responds to subject' questions.
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Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement
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Sample Questions
Q1) Codes can be created by using key words from the text that is being analyzed.
A)True
B)False
Q2) An open-ended question is designed with explicit response choices.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Inter-item reliability should occur when using multiple indicators of a single concept.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is considered a form of new social media?
A) Facebook
B) MySpace
C) Twitter
D) Reddit
E) All of the above
Q5) Age in years is a good example of a nominal level of measurement.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Sampling and Generalizability
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Q1) What is the probability of selection for any man in a proportionate random sample, where a sample of 100 will be drawn from a population of 1,000 that is 50% male and 50% female?
A) 50
B) 25
C) .10
D) .50
E) .01
Q2) When cases are chosen not to represent the population but because of an interesting outcome, we refer to this as sampling the independent variable.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Another name for convenience sampling is:
A) Availability sampling
B) Judgmental sampling
C) Purposive sampling
D) Simple random sampling
E) Stratified sampling
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Chapter 6: Causation and Experimental Design
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Q1) Is it possible to determine whether a treatment led to a change in the value of cases on the dependent variable in an experiment in which there was no pretest? Explain your answer.
Q2) Subjects who can be recruited for a laboratory experiment, randomly assigned to a group, and kept under carefully controlled conditions for the duration of the study are the most likely to be representative of the larger population.
A)True
B)False
Q3) For researchers to ensure the results of their experiment worked for other groups, they decided to make several comparisons involving the same independent and dependent variables but with different groups, also known as:
A) Multiple group before-and-after design
B) Time series design
C) Repeated measures panel design
D) Ex post facto design
E) Test design
Q4) Why aren't experiments very generalizable? What can be done to improve the external invalidity of experiments?
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Chapter 7: Survey Research
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Q1) Interpretive questions are most useful during which part of survey research?
A) Questionnaire design
B) Precoding
C) Pretesting
D) First mailing
E) Focus groups
Q2) In a closed-ended survey question, responses must be exhaustive and mutually exclusive except in:
A) Interpretive and check-all-that-apply questions
B) Check-all-that-apply and filter questions
C) Filter and contingent questions
D) Contingent and cognitive questions
E) Cognitive and interpretive questions
Q3) Face-to-face social interaction occurs between researcher and respondent only in:
A) Mailed surveys
B) Web surveys
C) Phone surveys
D) In-person surveys
E) E-mail surveys
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Chapter 8: Elementary Quantitative Data Analysis
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Q1) Standard deviation is defined as the square root of the variance.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What does statistical significance mean with regard to the association between two variables?
A) Association is likely to be due to chance.
B) Association is not likely to be due to chance.
C) Association is likely to be due to a third variable.
D) Association is not likely to be due to a third variable.
E) Association exists and is deemed to be strong.
Q3) Which of the following data displays would be most appropriate for displaying the distribution of gender (male, female, other)?
A) Mean
B) Median
C) Bar chart
D) Frequency polygon
E) Histogram
Q4) A frequency polygon contains solid bars separated by spaces.
A)True
B)False
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, Listening
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Q1) Field research relies heavily on which two types of research subjects?
A) Covert participants and gatekeepers
B) Gatekeepers and key informants
C) Key informants and experts
D) Experts and stakeholders
E) Stakeholders and covert participants
Q2) Writing field notes:
A) Occurs while actively observing in the field
B) Usually takes at least three times as long as observation
C) Involves separating the researchers' impressions and feelings from what was actually observed
D) Can occur anytime within a month of the observation period
E) Is the same thing as writing jottings
Q3) If you are concerned with online communities, which form of qualitative analysis would be most appropriate?
A) Ethnomethodology
B) Case oriented analysis
C) Ethnography
D) Netnography
E) Grounded theory
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Chapter 10: Qualitative Data Analysis
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Q1) Qualitative research demands a disciplined transcription schedule, so the researcher does not become overwhelmed.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe grounded theory. How does it compare to deductive research?
Q3) Tacit knowledge is best defined as:
A) Initial responses to observations, made when analyzing field notes
B) Information that key informants deliberately withhold from intensive interviews
C) Careful considerations of the role of the qualitative researcher in influencing the field site
D) Hypotheses taken from field research that can be tested in future research
E) Largely unarticulated, contextual understandings of social processes
Q4) Anthropologists call the intention of representing a setting under study in the participants' own terms:
A) Reflexive focus
B) Emic focus
C) Indigenous focus
D) Holistic focus
E) Interpretivist focus
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Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Measures
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Q1) To evaluate a program designed to improve math scores for elementary school girls, girls were divided into treatment and control groups. Girls in the treatment group were required to attend an after-school program, while girls in the control group went home on time. Math exam scores were then compared between the two groups of girls. This type of program design is associated with:
A) Needs assessment
B) Evaluability assessment
C) Process evaluation
D) Impact analysis
E) Efficiency analysis
Q2) Evaluation research that investigates the process of service delivery is known as:
A) Needs assessment
B) Evaluability assessment
C) Process evaluation
D) Impact analysis
E) Efficiency analysis
Q3) Describe the special ethical considerations associated with evaluation research. How might a researcher lessen the detrimental impacts to subjects?
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Chapter 12: Evaluation Research
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Q1) The budget should not be included in your research proposal.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is typical of an applied research report but rarely used in a conventional report?
A) An appendix
B) A bibliography
C) An executive summary
D) A findings section
E) A literature review
Q3) How does your audience affect the way that you will write up a research report?
Q4) Two major drawbacks of qualitative methods are:
A) They have low generalizability and are time consuming.
B) They have low generalizability and rely on the truthfulness of the respondent.
C) They are time consuming and may miss nuances of a respondent's feelings.
D) The rely on the truthfulness of the respondent and may miss nuances of a respondent's feelings.
E) The have low generalizability and rarely specify causal mechanisms.
Q5) What is the purpose of a literature review in a proposal and a research report?
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