Sociological Research Methods
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Course Introduction
Sociological Research Methods introduces students to the fundamental approaches, techniques, and ethical considerations used in sociological inquiry. The course covers both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including surveys, interviews, participant observation, content analysis, and experiments. Emphasis is placed on research design, sampling strategies, data collection, and analytical procedures. Students will learn how to critically evaluate sociological studies and develop their own research projects, with attention to issues of validity, reliability, and the responsible conduct of research. This course provides essential skills for conducting independent sociological research and understanding empirical findings in the field.
Recommended Textbook
Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences 8th Edition by Bruce L. Berg
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Chapter 1: Introduction
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Q1) The twenty-statement test is created to empirically measure the self-designation of an individual through defining categories of self-concepts. Breaking down a research concept into a definition and a way to measure it is referred to as ________.
A) anthropology
B) participant interviewing
C) operationalizing
D) participant observing
Answer: C
Q2) The goal of good research is to systematically discover answers to questions that a researcher has posed. How does qualitative research find answers to questions? Answer: Qualitative research answers research questions by observing social settings and the groups or individuals who inhabit them to determine how people make sense of their surroundings using social roles, norms, rituals, and social structures. Researchers look for patterns, but do not reduce pattern to the average behavior at the risk of misrepresenting and oversimplifying a population. The researchers often immerse themselves in the community studied to participate, and share in the understandings/perceptions of others with the goal of seeing how people structure and give meanings to their lives.
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Chapter 2: Designing Qualitative Research
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Q1) The phase in data analysis in which you code and transform data to focus and simplify is __________.
A) conclusion
B) data display
C) dissemination
D) data reduction
Answer: D
Q2) Which type of Internet function is deemed valid and useful, as opposed to suspect and unreliable?
A) document cross referencing database
B) document repository
C) document delivery service
D) document publisher
Answer: C
Q3) The research model that Berg/Lune advocate is the _______ approach.
A) research-before-theory
B) theory-before-research
C) linear progression
D) spiral model
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Ethical Issues
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Q1) What is the difference between confidentiality and anonymity, and how can researchers protect the confidentiality of subjects?
Answer: Confidentiality is an active attempt to remove from the research records any elements that might indicate the subjects' identities. Anonymity means that the subjects remain nameless. In qualitative research, anonymity is nearly impossible, but researchers can take a number of steps to ensure confidentiality. First, they can systematically change each subject's real name, replacing it with a pseudonym or case number. Identifying records, such as a list of names should be kept secure and disposed of as soon as it is no longer necessary. Researchers can apply for a Federal Certificate of Confidentiality to retain immunity from revealing notes, names, or other pertinent information in court. Researchers should sign an agreement within their own team not to carelessly discuss research and to keep information confidential.
Q2) Researchers may be led to breach the code of ethics when ________.
A) they have planned carefully during research design
B) their study does not break any laws
C) they have excess funding to use
D) they have thought deeply about risks to subjects
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: A Dramaturgical Look at Interviewing
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Q1) What are several ways to begin data analysis?
Q2) When a researcher assumes that the interview should have standard questions adapted to mirror the subjects' vocabularies and perspectives, and seeks to accommodate the varying interpretation of questions in the interview, this is a(n) _______ structure.
A) semistandardized interview
B) standardized interview
C) creative interview
D) unstandardized interview
Q3) An interview item that provides a way for the interviewer to draw out more complete stories from subjects, to elaborate and tell more is a(n) ____________.
A) extra question
B) throw-away question
C) probing question
D) essential question
Q4) What steps should an interviewer take when preparing guidelines for the interview to be ready for the interviewing experience?
Q5) What considerations should an interviewer keep in mind to create a question order for the interview?
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Chapter 5: Focus Group Interviewing
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Q1) What are some disadvantages of focus group interviewing?
Q2) Points of agreement within the group refers to ____________.
A) consensus
B) dissensus
C) resonance
D) group think
Q3) Which is NOT a disadvantage of online focus groups?
A) Loss of role and authority of the moderator
B) Loss of atmosphere arising during in-person focus group
C) Ability to effectively use group dynamics as integral part of process
D) Loss of attentiveness on topic being discussed by group
Q4) The ideal length for a single focus group session is ________.
A) 0-30 minutes
B) 30-60 minutes
C) 60-90 minutes
D) 90-120 minutes
Q5) What are the basic ingredients for a focus group?
Q6) Explain the parts of data and how researchers should analyze the raw data created by a focus group.
Q7) What is a focus group and what are its appropriate uses?
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Chapter 6: Ethnographic Field Strategies
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Q1) A person who is in a position to grant or deny access to the research scenario by making the researcher's goals very easy, or very difficult or impossible, is called a(n)
A) gatekeeper
B) guide
C) informant
D) bargainer
Q2) Explain the state of mind a researcher should take when beginning an ethnographic study.
Q3) What are the dangers of a researcher becoming invisible in a setting?
Q4) A systematic method for classifying similar events, actions, objects, people, or places into discrete groupings is called _____________.
A) typology
B) sociogram
C) metaphor
D) nomination
Q5) What are subjective versus external motivating factors for research?
Q6) Explain the four distinct elements that go into creating full and detailed field notes:
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Chapter 7: Action Research
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Q1) The phase of action research in which the researcher may use triangulation to collect data is called ______________.
A) Gathering the Information to Answer the Questions
B) Identifying the Research Question(s)
C) Analyzing and Interpreting the Information
D) Sharing the Results with the Participants
Q2) What is photovoice, and how does it fit in with past trends in ethnography?
Q3) There are several questions a researcher should ask when meeting with stakeholders to analyze the data collected. Which question helps to establish general focus for the researchers, and remind the participants of what the focus of the study originally was?
A) How
B) What
C) Where
D) Why
Q4) What makes action research unique from other types of research?
Q5) What is the role of the action researcher?
Q6) What are the main assumptions of action research regardless of which discipline uses the research technique?
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Chapter 8: Unobtrusive Measures in Research
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Q1) What are the three types of autobiographies, and how are they used?
Q2) What ethical concern do researchers need to be aware of when using unobtrusive data?
Q3) The private archival material that provides individually created content as well as links to the works of others, streaming video, and audio elements is the ___________.
A) letter
B) diary
C) autobiography
D) blog
Q4) Using the court transcripts of the O.J. Simpson trial to create a commentary on the exchanges between the defense and prosecution is an example of ______________.
A) actuarial records
B) accretion
C) physical erosion
D) archival strategies
Q5) Define actuarial records and give an example of how they can be used as an unobtrusive data source.
Q6) What is the diary method, and what are the advantages to using it?
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Chapter 9: Social Historical Research and Oral Traditions
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Q1) Which term attempts to systematically recapture the complex nuances, the people, meanings, events, and ideas of the past that have shaped the present?
A) Nostalgia
B) Historical research
C) Historiography
D) History
Q2) A Web site that is home to the oral histories of women who served in the U.S. Army during World War II is called _______________.
A) Internet Archive
B) Slave Narratives from the Federal Writer's Project
C) What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?
D) Hogan Jazz Archive
Q3) Which kind of source is a photograph taken as a direct outcome of experiencing an event firsthand?
A) Primary
B) Secondary
C) Tertiary
D) Quaternary
Q4) What is an oral history?
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Chapter 10: Case Studies
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Q1) Which researcher quality indicates that the researcher is willing to ask questions before, during, and after data collection to determine the true reasons the event is happening?
A) Inquiring mind
B) Ability to listen and sense
C) Understanding of the issues
D) Unbiased interpretation
Q2) Why are objectivity and generalizability to important to case studies?
Q3) Which type of personal document requires analysis to determine why it is recorded, and then can provide a window into personal life and relationships?
A) Diary
B) Letter
C) Memo
D) Photo and video
Q4) What is an example of a case study from your own knowledge, or from the text?
Q5) What are the steps involved in creation of grounded theory during case study research?
Q6) Name and define three types of case studies.
Q7) What is a community case study, and how does it work?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: An Introduction to Content Analysis
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Q1) Which term describes labels used by members of certain areas to distinguish among things, persons, and events using jargonized terms that may reflect out-group versus in-group classifications?
A) Theoretical classes
B) Concept classes
C) Special classes
D) Common classes
Q2) Manifest content is comparable to the ________ present in the message.
A) surface structure
B) hidden structure
C) deep structural meaning
D) thick description
Q3) How can a researcher avoid exampling?
Q4) What is the sequence of analytic activities a researcher should use when completing qualitative content analysis?
Q5) What are the advantages and disadvantages of content analysis?
Q6) Explain the four guidelines to open coding.
Q7) Compare narrative and nonnarrative content analysis approaches.
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Q8) What is content analysis, and what does it seek to accomplish?
Q9) How does negative case testing work?
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Chapter 12: Writing Research Papers: Sorting the Noodles from the Soup
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Q1) Which section of a research paper is a brief summary of the most important and interesting research findings of the study?
A) Title
B) Abstract
C) Introduction
D) Literature review
Q2) The literature review allows the researcher to establish credibility through citing relevant sources. There is a hierarchy of sources that are well accepted to establish credibility. Explain the hierarchy and its importance to a literature review.
Q3) Which writing pitfall typically involves several fragments spliced together into several confusing lines that may force the writer to use passive voice?
A) Lazy word beginnings
B) Similar word confusions
C) Vague referrals
D) Long run-on sentences
Q4) What is plagiarism, and what actions make up plagiarism?
Q5) What value does rewriting have in research?
Page 15
Q6) What is the difference between a report and a peer-reviewed article?
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