question

Two different types of research (e.g. descriptive and exploratory) can often blend together in practice.

answer

True

question

This type of data collection typically requires that a researcher closely observes a small group of people over a length of time.

answer

ethnographic field research

question

Which of the following is NOT a major purpose of research?

answer

to find hidden treasure

question

Dr. Marsh designed a study to determine if the new healthcare guidelines impacted practitioner procedures. This study is most likely a(n)

answer

evaluative study.

question

A study that is developed to determine whether a new immigration law is effective is considered what type of study?

answer

evaluative

question

Dr. Van Offer is conducting a survey research study. He will

answer

ask people questions in a written format or in an interview format.

question

Explanatory research

answer

identifies sources of social behaviors and beliefs

question

Dr. Van Offer is a medical doctor with an idea about how to improve his dermatology patients care. He would like to perform a study. What type of study should he consider?

answer

descriptive

question

Basic social research increases general knowledge and

answer

is the source of most new scientific ideas.

question

In practical application the seven-step research process requires that one must finish one step before undertaking the next step.

answer

True

question

Dr. Mottle is interested in studying the Amish migration into the Midwest during the 1900s. Which of the following would best fit her research?

answer

historical research/qualitative research

question

Descriptive research

answer

can blend together with explanatory research.

question

Quantitative data collection techniques include all BUT the following:

answer

historical comparative research.

question

Argument used in the research context means a set of of logically connected statements that end with a logical conclusion.

answer

True

question

Applied science researchers often use the results in decision making.

answer

True

question

Dr. Marsh did an exploratory study on a topic that he thought was very interesting. He spent hours and hours collecting data and analyzing the data, but when he tried to interpret the data he didn't get anywhere - nothing made sense. Which of the following steps in the research process do you think that Dr. Marsh skipped?

answer

designing the study

question

Applied researchers rarely

answer

worry about building, testing, or connecting findings to a larger theory.

question

Which of the following is NOT a step in the research process?

answer

take a course in research

question

Two types of research are typically done in the later stage of the learning process. They are

answer

explanatory, evaluation

question

Strong, solid evidence is directly correlated with quantitative research and has nothing to do with qualitative research.

answer

False

question

A researcher has little responsibility in minimizing the risk of harm to participants.

answer

False

question

Qualitative research is NOT

answer

usually number-related.

question

For what reason(s) would a researcher NOT conduct a literature review?

answer

It is more fun to read than a novel.

question

When does a researcher focus the research question when his/her research uses quantitative data?

answer

early in the process

question

Value free means

answer

research without any prior assumptions or theory.

question

Which of the following is NOT a part of the Six Step Process of Literature Review?

answer

design your study

question

Professional associations promote codes of ethics, and

answer

the penalty for a minor ethical violation rarely goes past public embarrassment and a letter of complaint.

question

Researchers test hypotheses in two ways: a straightforward way and

answer

by using the null hypothesis.

question

Synthesizing and writing the literature review is the first and easiest step of the literature review process

answer

False

question

There are eight basic elements that need to be included in an informed consent document.

answer

true

question

Violations of the ethical code

answer

have continued in modern times, and all over the world.

question

Mr. Marsh is starting his literature review on the topic of children and tooth decay. He has found lots and lots of information and now he is really confused as to his next step. What do you think that he should have done first?

answer

refined the topic

question

When a researcher reads a scholarly journal, s/he should

answer

form a mental image of the article's topic.

question

What questions should you ask when taking notes while reading material for your literature review?

answer

What is the study's basic design?

question

If Mr. Marsh traces research participants back to their identity using information they provided. He did not do a good job in protecting subjects'

answer

anonymity

question

A researcher is not responsible for protecting research participants from an increased risk of arrest simply because they are in a study.

answer

False

question

Some of the most notorious atrocities ever committed in the name of research were conducted by the Nazi doctors.

answer

True

question

Which of the following is NOT true for quantitative research?

answer

Data is in the form of words and images.

question

The Tuskegee syphilis study is one of the most outrageous instances of a disregard of basic ethical principles in research with humans in the United States.

answer

True

question

A causal hypothesis

answer

specifies how the variables are connected.

question

First thing that a researcher needs to do when using random sampling is

answer

develop an accurate sampling frame.

question

One key feature of random samples:

answer

must identify and pick a particular sampling element, rarely using substitutions.

question

A random sampling distribution curve is in the shape of

answer

bell shape curve.

question

Random sampling guarantees that every random sample a researcher picks perfectly represents the population.

answer

False

question

Mr. Marsh is confused - a probability sample would allow him to do what?

answer

to make valid inferences from the sample to the population

question

Sampling error assumes random sampling and is influenced by sample size and the diversity of cases in the sample.

answer

True

question

The size of a sample is more important than its frame.

answer

False.

question

Random-digit dialing

answer

nets many disconnected or nonoperating numbers.

question

Dr. Van Offer has a very large sample with very little diversity among cases, so his sampling error will be

answer

very small

question

The case or unit of analysis in a population is

answer

sampling element

question

Mr. Marsh is creating a list ______of sample elements using a telephone directory. The list is called a(n)

answer

sampling frame.

question

Mr. Marsh uses a list of all baseball season ticket holders for his sampling elements. This is called his

answer

sampling frame.

question

Convenience sampling

answer

is easy and fast but of limited use.

question

A researcher might use purposive sampling by

answer

selecting cases from a specific, difficult-to-reach population.

question

A typical confidence level is 95 percent meaning

answer

that a researcher is 95 percent confident that the true population parameter falls within the range around what the researcher found in the sample.

question

Which of the following might be an appropriate sample frame for a population aged 16-18?

answer

school registration

question

Mr. Marsh is using Systemic Sampling and his sample frame has 2000 names from a directory. If he is sampling 400, what is his sample interval?

answer

5

question

If a researcher walks into a bus station and starts interviewing people at random for his research is most likely using

answer

convenience sampling.

question

Snowball sampling is the same as network sampling.

answer

True

question

Stratified sampling is the same as snowball sampling.

answer

False

question

A scale that typically measures opinions or ratings at the ordinal level is probably

answer

a Likert scale.

question

Answer choices on a survey should be balanced. What does that mean?

answer

That the favorable or unfavorable choices are offered equally in a set of responses.

question

The Guttman scale measures how well data fit into a

answer

hierarchical pattern.

question

Mr. Marsh responded that he always completed employee evaluations on time when he was a manager, when in fact, he rarely conducted the task. As a respondent in a survey he exaggerated to look good. This is an example of

answer

social desirability bias.

question

It is more important to have high reliability than have high reliability and validity.

answer

False

question

A measurement can be valid for one purpose, but may not for another.

answer

False

question

When respondents answer questions based on a context of preceding questions and the interview setting, this is known as __________.

answer

context effect

question

Mr. Marsh changes his title to Dr. in order to influence survey respondents. He may be guilty of using

answer

prestige bias.

question

This term is used to address how well a researcher's measure of reality measures with the ideas she uses to understand that aspect of reality. What is this term?

answer

Validity

question

This type of validity is easiest to achieve and the most basic kind of validity. It is a judgment by knowledgeable people that the indicator really measures the concept it purports to measure. It is known as

answer

face validity.

question

The difference between open-ended questions and closed-ended questions is that

answer

open-ended questions let the respondent give any answer

question

An IQ score is an example of what type of measurement?

answer

Interval

question

Standard-format questions in a closed-ended survey do not offer which of the following?

answer

don't know choice

question

A social distance scale

answer

is a convenient way to determine how close a people feels toward a social group to which they do not belong.

question

The length of a questionnaire depends on the format of the survey and

answer

on respondent characteristics.

question

Reliability is necessary for validity and is easier to achieve than validity.

answer

True

question

Scales and indexes should have many dimensions in addition to being mutually exclusive and exhaustive.

answer

False

question

A good survey question is one in which the respondents know which answer the researcher expects.

answer

False

question

In qualitative studies two different researchers may not get identical results when studying the same thing.

answer

True

question

Which of the following is NOT true?

answer

The data, when plotted, in a Guttman scale form a triangle

question

A researcher should look at what elements when reading an experimental research paper?

answer

How was the dependent variable measured?

question

Dr. Mottle's experiment is conducted in the School of Nursing's cafeteria. The student nurses that she observes in the study do not know that they are being studied.

answer

Dr. Mottle wishes to avoid the Hawthorne effect.

question

Selection bias and maturation are threats to

answer

internal validity.

question

When using a true random process, over the long run the odds are

answer

the people in the groups will be equal.

question

If a double-blind study means that the subject (participant) and the person administering the treatment do not know whether the treatment is the control or placebo, then what does a single-blind study mean?

answer

that the subject (participant) does not know what s/he is getting - treatment or control

question

A placebo is an independent variable, typically an active treatment.

answer

False

question

Researchers use deception in all their experiments to ensure that participants don't alter their behavior or opinions to fit the researcher's hypothesis.

answer

False

question

Natural experiments are field experiments

answer

gather data after the fact.

question

Researchers control experimenter expectancy by

answer

using double-blind experiments.

question

In general, social scientists get their best results by comparing very different groups to each other.

answer

False

question

The weakness of static group comparison is that the researcher

answer

cannot know whether group differences prior to the experiment or if the independent variable caused differences in post test outcomes.

question

Threats to internal validity include all of the following EXCEPT

answer

quasi-experimental.

question

An experimenter's control over an experimental setting affects

answer

external validity.

question

Dr. Van Offer is studying a new communication method. If he uses the new technique in a randomized study, it would be the

answer

independent variable.

question

When a researcher is interested in how sequences affect the dependent variable, the design is

answer

Latin Square Design.

question

How many independent variables are in a 2 x 3 x 6 x 8 factorial design?

answer

4

question

Mr. Marsh conducts an experiment that he cannot translate into real life. The treatment is not realistic. This threat to external validity is called

answer

artificial treatment.

question

A threat that might weaken external validity is

answer

artificial setting.

question

Ethics can be an issue in research

answer

when researchers use deception in their research.

question

Mr. Marsh is so anxious to start his research that he doesn't consider the fact that his subjects may be completely humiliated by the research. Fortunately,

answer

the Institutional Review Board (IRB) suggests that he find a different way to conduct his research so as to protect his subjects.

question

The Statistical Abstract of the United States contains large amounts of data; however, it is too much information for a researcher and should be avoided.

answer

False

question

When a researcher uses coding s/he turns aspects of text content into quantitative variables.

answer

True

question

Privacy is not an issue in nonreactive data collection.

answer

False

question

Use of official existing statistics raises ethical issues regarding

answer

the fact that they are social and political products.

question

When measuring space in content analysis, a researcher

answer

measures the size, volume, and amount of time or physical space.

question

The primary ethical concern of physical evidence analysis is

answer

privacy and confidentiality of data.

question

Which of the following is NOT a limitation when using existing statistics?

answer

timeliness of the input

question

Identify one limitation of content analysis.

answer

interpret the content's significance

question

Many measures in large bureaucratic organizations are social indicators.

answer

True

question

Creativity has no place in nonreactive research.

answer

False

question

This particular limitation happens when a researcher quotes statistics in excessive detail.

answer

fallacy of misplaced concreteness

question

What are the advantages of quantitative nonreactive research?

answer

It is often faster and easier to collect data.

question

Coding (by assistants) is typically consistent so there is no need for measuring reliability.

answer

False

question

Dr. Mottle is concerned that the information that was collected by one of the government agencies might have systematic errors in it limiting the __________ of the information.

answer

validity

question

Physical evidence measures

answer

measure a behavior or viewpoint of interest.

question

To make sure that assistant coders are consistent, a researcher should

answer

have the coders code the same text independent of one another and check for consistency.

question

Text appears in all communication media, including

answer

All of the above

question

Which of the following are things a researcher would do to conduct a study with physical evidence?

answer

All of the above

question

If a researcher contemplates conduct of an existing statistics research study, it would be a good idea for him/her to talk with a(n) __________ first.

answer

information professional

question

Social indicator is a measure of social conditions and

answer

can be used in policy decisions.

question

A field site or setting is a fixed physical location.

answer

False

question

The purpose of ethnography is

answer

to provide a description of a way of life from the standpoint of its insiders.

question

When observing and collecting data

answer

the researcher becomes the data collection instrument.

question

Which of the following is NOT a level of field notes?

answer

suggested notes

question

Choosing people using a routine, special, or unanticipated focus is called

answer

sampling

question

Which of the following is true when developing strategies for success in the field?

answer

A researcher should appear interested in people and events of a field site.

question

Mr. Marsh is a poor note taker, what suggestion might be most helpful for him while doing his field research?

answer

Jot a few notes while in the field, but sit down immediately after he leaves the field and write down all his memories using whatever format is most comfortable for him.

question

Being in the field is the last stage in doing a field research study.

answer

False

question

In getting organized for a field study a researcher begins the process with a narrow question or specific hypothesis.

answer

False

question

What three types of questions do field researchers ask when interviewing?

answer

descriptive, structural, and contrast questions

question

A researcher may need to negotiate for access to new areas as his research focus develops.

answer

True

question

Cultural knowledge has two parts, explicit and

answer

tacit

question

Structural questions

answer

are asked after a researcher has organized specific field events into preliminary conceptual categories.

question

Building relationships through doing small favors, appearing interested, and avoiding conflicts are all strategies for success in field research.

answer

True

question

A specialized qualitative research technique that involves informal group interviews about a topic is a(n)

answer

Focus Group

question

Questions that focus on similarities or differences among categories, processes, or aspect are called

answer

contrast questions.

question

As a researcher learns how to fit in by learning rules, customs, etc., he does what?

answer

normalizes

question

Tacit knowledge includes

answer

unspoken cultural norms.

question

Mr. Marsh writes the following in his notes: the cashier had a bad hairdo. What would be a better way to describe the cashier's ______hair for field notes?

answer

The cashier had combed his jet-black hair straight-forward over his eyes.

question

Three major issues to consider when entering the field include: presentation of self, social role, and what other issue?

answer

disclosure

question

The research process is finite - requiring no additional studies or results.

answer

False

question

Empirical evidence involves moral, religious or ideological reasoning.

answer

false

question

Critical thinking

answer

leads us to uncover hidden assumptions.

question

When a researcher informs an external source of a serious ethical issue that is not being resolved within the organization, this is called

answer

whistle blowing

question

Practical limitations on study design include

answer

ethical concerns

question

What question will help identify the independent variable?

answer

Does it come earlier in time?

question

In the cause-effect statement the cause variable is

answer

the independent variable.

question

Micro level and macro level are terms used in

answer

level of analysis.

question

A proper sample allows researchers to study features of the population from which it came.

answer

True

question

If a researcher wants to sample a very small target population, he might as well

answer

include everyone.

question

When a researcher uses excessive detail in expressing a number or statistics report to give the impression of scientific rigor, he may be adding information that is not accurate. For example, using 1,899,312 to express population in a city instead of using 1.9 million people. This data quality limitation is known as

answer

fallacy of misplaced concreteness.

question

Content analysis cannot

answer

determine the truthfulness of an assertion.

question

Tacit knowledge is what remains unseen or unstated in field research.

answer

True

question

An informant in field research

answer

is a member in the field site which whom a researcher develops a relationship and who tells the researcher details about life in

question

Hawthorne Effect is

answer

awareness of being in a study.

question

When a researcher says that her experiment suffers from experimental mortality, it means that at least one of the participants died while participating in the experiment.

answer

False

question

Quasi-experimental design should always be used instead of experimental design when the researcher does not know how to conduct preexperimental designs.

answer

false

question

A placebo is

answer

all of the above (is sometimes called a sugar pill, is a noneffective or inactive independent variable and is used in double-blind experiments)

question

The greatest confidence in what is learned comes from studying the same issue using only one method.

answer

false

question

The lowest cost format for surveys is

answer

web-based

question

Accidental sampling occurs when a researcher selects cases that are easy and convenient. It lacks depth and is also called

answer

convenience sampling.

question

Cluster sampling has advantages and is less expensive than simple random sampling, but is slightly less accurate.

answer

true

question

Field researchers have strategies that they tailor to the field site and their background. Which of those strategies is listed below?

answer

false

question

Which of the following is NOT a factor affecting a researcher's choice of a field site?

answer

substitution - using another similar site

question

Dr. Mottle has been developing relationships within the community where she is conducting her field research. To gain trust she has been helping out with some of the chores in the local store. This is an example of possible strategies that build success in the field.

answer

true

question

The first stage of a person-to-person interview is to

answer

introduction and entry.

question

What two items complicate index construction?

answer

weighting and missing data

question

Writing good answer choices in a survey is not as important as writing a good question.

answer

false

question

A researcher faces three survey question sequence issues: how to organize, how to reduce question order effects, and how to control researcher bias.

answer

true

question

When creating this measure, two or more items are combined into a single numerical score. What is this called?

answer

index

question

A researcher faces three survey question sequence issues: how to organize, how to reduce question order effects, and how to control researcher bias.

answer

false

PS300. Research Methods

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