Sociological Research Methods
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Course Introduction
Sociological Research Methods introduces students to the principles, strategies, and ethical considerations underlying research in sociology. The course covers both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, exploring techniques such as surveys, interviews, participant observation, and content analysis. Emphasis is placed on the formulation of research questions, operationalization of variables, data collection and analysis, and the interpretation and presentation of findings. By critically examining methodological approaches and engaging in practical exercises, students gain foundational skills necessary to design, conduct, and evaluate sociological research.
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) The extent to which a researcher's sample is representative of the population that it was drawn from is called:
A) Reliability
B) Overgeneralization
C) External validity
D) Responsiveness
E) Measurement validity
Answer: C
Q2) A new student observes that in his first class, the people sitting in the back row answer most of the questions, so in the next class he sits with the back row, concluding that this is where the smartest students sit. What is wrong with his reasoning?
A) He overgeneralized.
B) He made systematic observations.
C) He let his own biases affect his conclusions.
D) He deferred to authority.
E) None of the above
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: The Process and Problems of Social Research
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Q1) A theory is a tentative statement about empirical reality including a relationship between two or more variables.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The Gallup Poll, which takes different samples from the U.S. population and asks them similar questions at different points in time, is a good example of which kind of research design?
A) A panel study
B) A fixed sample design
C) A cohort study
D) A trend study
E) An event-based design
Answer: D
Q3) In a panel design, data are collected from the same individuals at multiple points in time.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Ethics in Research
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Sample Questions
Q1) It's very important for scientists to be open and honest about their research methods and their findings.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following types of research creates few ethical problems?
A) Survey
B) Experiment
C) Descriptive
D) Explanatory
E) Exploratory
Answer: A
Q3) There are special protections in place regarding research involving:
A) Vulnerable populations
B) Indecent populations
C) Egregious populations
D) Fearful populations
E) All of the above
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Conceptualization and Measurement
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ordinal level of measurement has the highest mathematical precision.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What is the difference between conceptualization and operationalization? After defining these terms, demonstrate this difference by conceptualizing and operationalizing one of the following concepts: happiness, prejudice, deviance, environmentalism, justice, poverty. Discuss potential measurement procedures for the concept.
Q3) What is wrong with the following question's response categories: What is your class status: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.
A) Not mutually exclusive
B) Not exhaustive
C) Not a numerical level of measurement
D) Not reliable
E) Both a and b
Q4) Inter-item reliability should occur when using multiple indicators of a single concept.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Sampling and Generalizability
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) It is not possible to determine the probability of selection of elements in a disproportionate stratified random sample.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The population is the entire set of individuals or other entities to which study findings are to be generalized.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Causation and Experimental Design
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Q1) Describe each of the five criteria for identifying a causal effect and provide an example of each. Which are best demonstrated through experiments? Why? Which do experiments not demonstrate well? How can experimental designs be altered to compensate? Is anything lost with quasi-experimental designs?
Q2) Aggregate matching is when individual cases in the treatment group are matched with similar individuals in the comparison group.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Hawthorne Effect suggests that if the control group believes it is being left out of some special treatment, it will perform worse than expected on posttests.
A)True
B)False
Q4) To establish time order, which of the following must come first?
A) Covariation
B) Association
C) The dependent variable
D) The pretest
E) The independent variable
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Chapter 7: Survey Research
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Q1) In a survey, a contingent question always follows a(n):
A) Double-barreled question
B) Double-negative question
C) Open-ended question
D) Interpretive question
E) Filter question
Q2) Outline the procedure for pretesting a survey.
Q3) What are the key features of a good cover letter? Which features are most important for maximizing the response rate in a survey? For treating respondents ethically? Write a sample cover letter for a self-administered, mailed survey in which respondents will be asked questions about their relationship with their brothers and sisters.
Q4) Describe five different ways that surveys can be administered. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Q5) 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
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Chapter 8: Elementary Quantitative Data Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the following distribution of the variable semesters completed, which is median: 4, 3, 1, 0, 3, 3, 4, 0, 3, 2, 4?
A) 0
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3
E) 4
Q2) 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
Q3) A graph with a normal distribution looks like which of the following?
A) A balance beam with two equal size bags on either side of the median
B) A box with a wide base and short sides
C) A bell with a hump in the middle and sloping sides
D) A pyramid with broad based extension across the range of cases
E) A barbell with equal weight on either side
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Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods: Observing, Participating, Listening
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Sample Questions
Q1) If you are concerned with how people construct reality more than describing that reality, which form of qualitative analysis would be most appropriate?
A) Ethnomethodology
B) Case oriented analysis
C) Ethnography
D) Narrative analysis
E) Grounded theory
Q2) According to Chambliss's "Nine Steps to Successful Field Research," a researcher should do all of the following except:
A) Be yourself.
B) Don't interfere.
C) Protect your sources, more than is necessary.
D) Show up only when you have made arrangements with subjects.
E) Write everything down, that day.
Q3) Covert participation is a form of complete observation.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe how qualitative analysis can proceed both inductively and deductively. Use examples from the text to describe each.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Qualitative Data Analysis
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Q1) Outline the general phases of qualitative data analysis, beginning in the field and ending with a research report.
Q2) There are three ways to read any text for analysis:
A) Etically, emically, and reflexively
B) Literally, reflexively, and interpretively
C) Interpretively, objectively, and subjectively
D) Intersubjectively, objectively, and subjectively
E) Tacitly, etically, and emically
Q3) To interpret text literally, what must a researcher focus on?
A) How his or her orientation shapes research
B) How meaning is constructed in text
C) The subtext, or implied meaning
D) Actual content and form
E) Frequency of certain key words
Q4) Describe grounded theory. How does it compare to deductive research?
Q5) Qualitative data analysis tends to be iterative and reflexive. Explain what this means in your own words.
Q6) Describe the ethics involved in qualitative data analysis. Do these differ from ethics in other forms of data analysis? Explain.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Measures
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Q1) Impact analyses typically use quantitative data.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In what circumstances should qualitative methods be used in evaluation research? In what circumstances should quantitative methods be used? Use examples to demonstrate your answer.
Q3) Describe the special ethical considerations associated with evaluation research. How might a researcher lessen the detrimental impacts to subjects?
Q4) According to U.S. law, some sort of evaluation is required of all government programs.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The investigation of how a social program works is called a mechanism evaluation.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Name some of the steps listed in the chapter that can be taken when ethical standards can't be met.
Q7) 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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Q1) __________ are the strongest for testing nomothetic causal hypotheses.
A) Experimental designs
B) Interview designs
C) Web-based designs
D) Non-experimental designs
E) None of the above
Q2) Which of the following is not a part of the research proposal?
A) Introductory statement
B) Literature review
C) Conclusions
D) Budget
E) Ethics statement
Q3) The author's reputation and previous articles should have no bearing on how you assess the findings of a journal article.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The foundation for a good research proposal is a good literature review.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is the purpose of a literature review in a proposal and a research report?
Page 14
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