Test Bank for Approaches to Social Research 6e

1 Test Bank for Approaches to Social Research 6e Singleton Straits

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Multiple Choice

• Based on your reading of this chapter, what is the best answer to the question, “Why study

research methods?” Studying research methods

• is a necessity for those who plan to conduct their own research.
• will enhance the resumes of those who apply to graduate school.
• will clarify the link between the natural sciences and social sciences.
• can benefit you as both a consumer and producer of research evidence.*

• One media report of Karpinski’s study of Facebook use and grades used the following

headline: “Sad but true: Using Facebook can lower your GPA.” This headline is misleading because the study

• showed that Facebook use is only a problem for first-year students.
• merely showed an association between Facebook use and poor grades.*
• was limited to students on Facebook.
• found a causal relationship only for humanities and social science students.

• To study the effect of mood on altruism, investigators manipulated subjects’ moods by giving

some of them cookies, after which all subjects were asked to donate money to a local charity.This research is an example of

• an experiment.*
• a survey.
• field research.
• the use of available data.

• With this approach, researchers observe people’s behavior after they systematically introduce

changes into the environment.

• experiments*
• surveys
• field research
• use of available data

• With his approach, researchers focus on what people say as opposed to what they do.
• experiments
• surveys* Stuvia.com - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material

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• field research
• use of available data

• A study of altruism in which members of a large group of people were questioned about their

charitable acts would characterize

• experiments.
• surveys.*
• field research.
• use of available data.

• Deciding which observations to record and when and how to record them are among the most

basic problems of the

• experimenter.
• survey researcher.
• field researcher.*
• analyst of available data.

• Assessing the effect of the 9/11 attacks on helping others by using records of the Salvation

Army and United Way to chart donations before and after the attacks is an example of

• an experiment.
• a survey.
• field research.
• the use of available data.*

• Which approach is best suited for studying the past and social change?
• experiments
• surveys
• field research
• use of available data*

• According to the text’s discussion of the basic approaches to social research,
• some approaches are more scientific than others.
• experimentation is the only truly scientific approach to social research.
• quantitative approaches are superior to qualitative approaches.
• there are more than two dozen distinctive approaches.
• each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses.*

• According to the authors of your textbook,
• social science findings seldom are reported in the media because few journalists

understand and appreciate the value of social research.

• most social research is designed to assess the effects of social programs and policies.
• studying research methods will cultivate your skepticism about research evidence.*
• studying social research methods mainly benefits students who pursue graduate work in

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T F* 1. An association between two phenomena (such as Facebook use and grades) implies that one is the cause of the other.

T* F 2. A knowledge of research methods can benefit you both as a consumer and a producer of research evidence.

T* F 3. Researchable questions are necessarily narrow and specific.

T F* 4. According to the text, altruism has the same meaning as simply helping others.

T F* 5. The basic approaches to social research are usually equally suitable or feasible to answer a given research question.

T F* 6. There are two basic approaches to social research: qualitative and quantitative.

T* F 7. In the experiment on social exclusion and helping, students made to feel excluded were less likely to help others.

T* F 8. Anthropological studies of remote societies in which researchers live among the inhabitants for long periods typify field research.

T F* 9. A survey researcher would study helping behavior primarily by observing people engaged in naturally occurring acts of helping.

T* F 10. A major problem encountered by social researchers who want to use available data is finding data appropriate to address the research question.

Essay

• Write an essay answering the following question: Why care about research methods? Be sure

to discuss and give examples of how studying research methods can benefit you personally as both a consumer and producer of research evidence.

• Briefly describe the four basic approaches to social research.

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CHAPTER 2

The Nature of Science

Multiple Choice

• According to the text, when students think of “scientists,” they rarely think of
• chemistry and physics.
• white lab coats and test tubes.
• research activities.
• the formulation of theory.*

• According to the authors of your textbook, the natural sciences and social sciences
• have nothing in common.
• share common philosophical and logical foundations.*
• differ primarily in how each defines the concept of “objectivity.”
• differ insofar as the natural sciences are based on empiricism, whereas the social sciences

are not.

• The authors of the textbook take the position that
• social research is fundamentally scientific.*
• the general scientific method may be applied to some social science topics but not to

others.

• the social sciences should model themselves after the natural sciences in terms of the

structure of scientific theory but not in terms of the scientific “process.”

• the social sciences are less scientific than the natural sciences because they cannot be as

objective.

• The most essential, defining “product” of science is
• ideas in the form of principles and theories.*
• technological advances such as telecommunications, laser beams, and computer chips.
• precise measurement and accurate prediction.
• discoveries such as new planets, new organisms, and medical cures.

• Which of the following is an example of a scientific question?
• To what crimes should capital punishment apply?
• Should clinical abortions be government funded?
• Should intelligence tests be used in the schools?
• Is political corruption a serious problem in the United States?
• Why do women have abortions?*

• Which of the following is not a rule about language usage in science? Stuvia.com - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material

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