SOCL 2001 — Ch. 2

1. Alexis wants to research the 1960’s feminist movement. She reads articles from the time period, watches documentaries, reads scholarly journals on the topic, and interviews influential women from the movement. What kind of research method is Alexis using?
a. Ethnography
b. Surveys
c. Experiments
d. Secondary data analysis

2. Reliability is defined by the text as:
a. How well the study measures what it was designed to measure.
b. How long a study is expected to remain relevant and influential.
c. How close the study’s results come to the experimenter’s hypothesis.
d. A measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is reproduced.

3. John wants to study whether a larger number of laptops available to students at his school lead to higher grades. Choose the independent and dependent variable.
a. Independent variable: Grades; Dependent variable: Number of laptops
b. Independent variable: John; Dependent variable: Grades
c. Independent variable: Grades; Dependent variable: John
d. Independent variable: Number of laptops; Dependent variable: Grades

4. Quincia is studying how of the lack of comprehensive sex education is affecting a small, rural town in North Dakota. She spends two months in the town, observing and interviewing the townspeople. Quincia is conducting a(n) ¬¬¬¬_____.
a. Ethnography
b. Case study
c. Experiment
d. Secondary data analysis

5. A class of third graders is told that the assistant principal will be visiting their class to confirm their teacher’s reports of bad behavior. When the principal visits, the students behave perfectly. This is an example of ________.
a. The Authority Effect
b. The Regressive Effect
c. The Hawthorne Effect
d. The Cognizant Effect

6. Which of the following is NOT an example of a sociological hypothesis?
a. The more study halls students are given during the school day, the worse they perform on their tests.
b. The more CDs Jamilla buys, the less money she has in her bank account
c. The longer an inmate spends in prison, the more difficult it is for him to adapt to the outside world.
d. The more positive reinforcement a parent gives a child, the better they do in school.

7. Kendra is researching the effects of vitamin C on test-taking ability. Before the exam, Kendra gives group A orange juice, and group B water. Group B is the ______.
a. Experimental group
b. Dependent variable
c. Control group
d. Independent variable

8. The term interpretive framework can be defined as:
a. A basis for which sociologists determine whether their independent and dependent variables reflect the results.
b. A sociological research approach that seeks in-depth understanding of a topic or subject through observation or interaction; this approach is not based on hypothesis testing.
c. An established scholarly research method that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, and drawing conclusions.
d. Specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study

9. Tyson is researching whether actors on prime-time television and hit movies negatively impact teenagers’ body images. He is going undercover at a local high school to observe and participate with the students to better understand the world they live in. Tyson is conducting which research method?
a. Field research
b. Surveys
c. Experiments
d. Secondary data analysis

10. Which of the following is an example of nonreactive research?
a. Gathering data from government studies
b. Educating classrooms on the necessities of safe sex
c. Interviewing heroin addicts and providing them with clean needles
d. Volunteering at a local food bank and interacting with homeless persons

11. Miguel is doing a research paper on New York City’s Stone Wall riots of 1969. He visits the scene of the riots, interviews people who were there, reads the police reports of the event, and watches video footage. Miguel is conducting a(n) ______.
a. Overview
b. Case study
c. Experiment
d. Data analysis

12. Which of the following is not a purpose of the American Sociological Association’s code of ethics?
a. To guarantee the safety of their participants
b. To maintain value neutrality
c. To ensure the financial gain of the researchers
d. To foster professionally responsible scholarship in sociology

13. The term value neutrality is defined by the text as:
a. A practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment during the course of a study and in publishing results.
b. The study of evolving ethics and morals in relation to sociological research.
c. A systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as it relates to the study at hand.
d. A study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as a representation of a larger population.

Kyle is collecting newspaper clippings from his grandfather about the American public’s perception of World War II. This is an example of ______.
a. Tertiary data
b. Interactive data
c. Primary data
d. Secondary data

15. Which of the following is an example of an unethical sociological research practice?
a. Conducting a literature review prior to conducting an experiment
b. Drawing conclusions from a study which the hypothesis did not predict
c. Observing study participants without their consent
d. Using a control group and an experimental group during observation

16. Thomas wants to better understand the trends in literacy rates in Baltimore city over the past 50 years using Baltimore city data. What type of research should Thomas conduct?
a. A survey
b. Field research
c. An experiment
d. Secondary data analysis

17. What is the importance of interpretive framework?
a. It leads to in-depth knowledge of a participant’s social world.
b. It eliminates the need for a literature review.
c. It relies on statistics to determine causal relationships.
d. It prevents researchers from making unethical decisions.

18. Which of the following is not a step in the scientific method?
a. Research existing sources
b. Report results
c. Receive corroboration from the field
d. Formulate a hypothesis

19. Kevin conducted a study on whether the length of the line at a local Starbucks affected how well the customers enjoyed their coffee after receiving it. Malcolm conducted the study at his local Starbucks, and found the same results. Kevin’s study had a high level of _____.
a. Literacy
b. Validity
c. Interpretation
d. Reliability

20. In order to better understand the sorority pledging process at her university for her sociology thesis, Carmen pledges with a popular sorority. This is an example of _____.
a. Literature review
b. Participant observation
c. Secondary data analysis
d. Dependent variables