Sociological Research Methods
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Course Introduction
Sociological Research Methods introduces students to the principles and techniques used in the systematic investigation of social phenomena. The course covers both quantitative and qualitative approaches, including survey design, interviews, participant observation, content analysis, and case studies. Emphasis is placed on formulating research questions, selecting appropriate methodologies, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting findings within a broader sociological context. Students also engage in critical discussions about ethical considerations, validity, and the real-world application of research results, preparing them to conduct independent sociological research and critically evaluate existing studies.
Recommended Textbook Research Methods The Essential Knowledge Base 2nd Edition by Trochim
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Chapter 1: Introduction
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Q1) Maris wants to document the coping methods of family caregivers for individuals with Alzheimer's disease as the dementia progresses.She is conducting ____ research.
A)descriptive
B)relational
C)theoretical
D)causal
Answer: A
Q2) In ____,individuals with expertise in the field critique a paper that has been submitted for publication.
A)meta-analyses
B)peer reviews
C)evidence-based guidelines
D)requests for proposals
Answer: B
Q3) An hypothesis is a specific statement of prediction.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Ethics Foundations of Ethics in Research
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Q1) Researcher and couples' therapist ____ hired actors to falsely testify about their involvement with data collection activities related to his research studies and deceived those actors about what they were actually doing.
A)Jan Hendrik Schön
B)William Fals-Stewart
C)Haruko Obokata
D)Bodo-Eckehard Strauer
Answer: B
Q2) Research misconduct involving the appropriation of another person's ideas,processes,results,or words without giving appropriate credit is classified as ____.
A)plagiarism
B)falsification
C)fabrication
D)deception
Answer: A
Q3) In research ethics,groups who may not be fully in control of their decision making are referred to as _______________.
Answer: vulnerable populations
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4
Chapter 3: Qualitative Approaches to Research
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Q1) Reliability is to quantitative research as ____ is to qualitative research.
A)credibility
B)transferability
C)dependability
D)confirmability
Answer: C
Q2) The study of a culture using qualitative field research is referred to as _______________.
Answer: ethnography
Q3) Participant action research is one of the most objective forms of qualitative research.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Research that uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is referred to as _______________.
Answer: mixed methods research
Q5) The degree to which a measure is consistent or dependable is referred to as its _______________.
Answer: reliability
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Chapter 4: Sampling Foundations of Sampling
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Q1) Following a natural disaster,interviewers seek out "typical" victims to ask them about their experiences.In doing so,they are seeking a(n)____ sample.
A)convenience
B)purposive
C)modal instance
D)expert
Q2) Larger surveys and controlled studies generally employ nonprobability sampling techniques.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Any sample that focuses on diversity or variety is known as a(n)____ sample.
A)quota
B)snowball
C)heterogeneity
D)expert
Q4) In _______________,people are nonrandomly selected until a specific number of sampled units for each subgroup of a population have been selected.
Q5) What is systematic random sampling and how is it accomplished?
Q6) Explain the proximal similarity model with an example.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Introduction to Measurement
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Q1) The reliability ratio is expressed as ____.
A)var(T)/ var(X)
B)var(X)/ var(T)
C)rel(X)/ rel(T)
D)rel(T)/ rel(X)
Q2) When systematic error affects the mean of a distribution,it is referred to as ____.
A)shifting
B)variance
C)bias
D)regression
Q3) The extent to which a measure or instrument actually measures what it is theoretically supposed to measure is _______________.
Q4) If you could see all random error in a distribution,it would ____.
A)have a variance equal to the mean
B)sum to zero
C)shift the mean in a positive direction
D)be greater than the population variance
Q5) What is content validity and how is it specified?
Q6) Systematic error in an estimate is referred to as _______________.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Scales, Tests, and Indexes
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Q1) The "evaluation" dimension of the semantic differential refers to whether what is being rated is viewed ____.
A)in a favorable or unfavorable way
B)as being positive or negative
C)as active or passive
D)as powerful or powerless
Q2) A response scale ____.
A)is used to collect the response for an item
B)results from a process of assigning numbers to objects
C)has a value for each item on the scale
D)refers to a set of items
Q3) The Buros Center for testing at the University of Iowa is a good source for ____.
A)reviews of standardized tests
B)grant opportunities for individuals interested in psychometrics
C)reduced cost access to copyrighted tests
D)legal advice for people who have been discriminated against as a result of standardized testing
Q4) What is consequential validity and why does it matter?
Q5) Describe the steps involved in the Method of Equal-Appearing Intervals.
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Chapter 7: Survey Research
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Q1) Eric is conducting a survey that asks about the use of illicit substances,and he recognizes that for many individuals,this is extremely sensitive information.Which format would best serve his needs?
A)group questionnaire
B)drop-off survey
C)focus group
D)personal interview
Q2) In general,group questionnaire administration yields higher response rates than do mail questionnaires
A)True
B)False
Q3) When an interview includes questions about sensitive topics,the questions should be placed ____.
A)at the start of the an interview,to get them over with B)after initial questions that have built rapport
C)throughout the interview,so that people get a break from them
D)at the end of the interview
Q4) A(n)_______________ interview typically provides the lowest response rate of all of the interview types.
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Chapter 8: Introduction to Design
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Q1) Christopher has developed a behavioral method that he believes will help people quit smoking.He recruits a group of 25 people who want to quit smoking and begins his intervention.By the time the intervention ends,only eight people remain,but they have all quit smoking.This is an example of a(n)____ threat.
A)history
B)mortality
C)instrumentation
D)regression
Q2) The Green Team has won six weeks in a row,and the Blue Team,rather than being discouraged,is working their weight loss program with extra determination.This is classified as ____.
A)diffusion of treatment
B)compensatory rivalry
C)resentful demoralization
D)compensatory equalization
Q3) In resentful demoralization,the comparison group knows what the program group is getting and develops a competitive attitude with the program group.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Experimental Design
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Q1) A(n)____ is a consistent difference between levels of a factor.
A)null case
B)main effect
C)interaction effect
D)crossover case
Q2) The foundational randomized clinical trial,of polio vaccine,was conducted by ____.
A)Edward Jenner
B)Jonas Salk
C)Benjamin Waterhouse
D)John Snow
Q3) The two major types of _______________ experimental designs are covariance designs and blocking designs.
Q4) What type of design is shown above?
A)basic analysis of covariance experiment
B)randomized block with homogenous groups experiment
C)2 x 2 factorial experiment
D)basic two group post-test only randomized experiment
Q5) Random assignment depends on the idea of _______________.
Q6) In the _______________,the treatment has no effect.
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Chapter 10: Quasi-Experimental Design
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Q1) A two-group design in two phases defined by three waves of measurement is a ____ design.
A)double pretest
B)switching replications
C)nonequivalent dependent variables
D)regression point displacement
Q2) The graph in the accompanying figure indicates _____.
A)no treatment effect
B)a treatment interaction
C)an effect of treatment
D)confounding
Q3) Describe the pattern-matching NEDV design.
Q4) What type of design is a post-only design in which,after the fact,a pretest measure is constructed from preexisting data?
A)non-equivalent groups
B)regression discontinuity
C)proxy-pretest
D)separate pre-post samples
Q5) Describe the two forms of the proxy-pretest design.
Q6) How does the double-pretest design address selection-maturation threats?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Introduction to Data Analysis
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Q1) Data analysis has important implications for conclusion validity.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Conclusion validity applies to quantitative but not qualitative research.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Statistical power is related to ____.
A)Type I error only
B)Type II error only
C)both Type I and Type II error
D)neither Type I nor Type II error
Q4) Describe the phenomenon of fishing and explain how it is related to error.
Q5) If the scores on a test are normally distributed,what percentage will be within two standard deviations of the mean?
A)50
B)68
C)95
D)99
Q6) Creating graphs and computing measures of central tendency are part of _______________ statistics.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Inferential Analysis
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Q1) The line indicated by letter A in the accompanying figure is the ____.
A)error term
B)regression coefficient
C) value
D)slope
Q2) The t-value can be expressed as
A)noise / signal
B)signal / noise
C)noise - signal
D)signal - noise
Q3) The degrees of freedom are a function of the ____.
A)alpha level
B)variance
C)means
D)sample size
Q4) In the regression discontinuity analysis model,the pretest is adjusted by ____.
A)subtracting the cutoff
B)multiplying by the reliability estimate
C)multiplying by
D)subtracting zo
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Chapter 13: Communicating Research
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Q1) The literature review is included in the ____.
A)introduction
B)method
C)results
D)discussion
Q2) The running head has ____.
A)20 characters or less
B)20 words or less
C)50 characters or less
D)50 words or less
Q3) The abstract is placed immediately before the ____.
A)introduction
B)method
C)results
D)discussion
Q4) In APA-style,the _______________ is typically limited to 12 words
Q5) The last section in an APA-style paper is the_______________.
Q6) In APA-style,the first section of the body of the paper is the _______________.
Q7) The _______________ section begins immediately after the introduction.
Q8) In an APA-style paper,what are the two components of citing other research?
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