Cj 3346 TXST, Prof. S - Monte Carlo (MC) Quizzes for Final

What are the four types of social research?

1) Descriptive

2) Exploratory

3) Explanatory

4) Evaluative

How does transparency and peer review fit with scientific research?

Transparency makes procedures, methods, and data analysis clear so studies can be replicated; peer review has expert judge whether article should be accepted, revised, or rejected.

What are quantitative methods?

They record variation in terms of categories that vary in amount, producing numerical data or attributes ordered by magnitude.

What are qualitative methods?

They capture social life as participants experience it, using words, interviews, or observations that do not have direct numerical interpretation.

What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative methods?

(1) quantitative methods use predetermined categories, while qualitative methods focus on participants experiences.

(2) quantitative methods produced numerical data, while qualitative methods produced non-numerical data, such as words or observations.

(3) quantitative methods rely on experiments and surveys, while qualitative methods rely on interviews, observations, and focus groups.

What type of method is used when a researcher employs predetermined categories on questionnaires?

The researcher is using a quantitative method to gather information.

What is the difference between social science and pseudoscience?

Social science uses systematic methods open to evaluation, while pseudoscience relies on personal testimonials in unverified claims.

True or false: The use of triangulation suggests that a researcher can get a clearer picture of the social reality being studied by viewing it from several different perspectives.

True.

What is an independent variable?

The variable that leads to a variation in another variable.

What is a dependent variable?

A dependent variable changes with variation hypothesis to change more very dependent on the variation in another variable.

What is a theory?

A logically interrelated set of propositions about empirical reality.

What is the role of theory in research?

(1) theory guides the research process by helping formulate hypothesis, shaping research questions and connecting data to broader explanation.

(2) the role of theory is to provide testable explanations about the social world.

True or false: One of the most important requirements of theory is that it is falsifiable.

True.

What is deductive research?

Deductive research begins with a general premise and moves towards testing a specific expectation.

What is inductive research?

Inductive research begins with specific data in build towards a broader general explanation.

What is a research question?

A question that is answered through the collection in analysis of firsthand, verifiable, empirical data.

What is a hypothesis?

A hypothesis is a tentative statement about empirical reality involving the relationship of two or more variables (at the very least, this includes your independent, independent variable.)

What is the difference between a research question and a hypothesis?

A research question makes a prediction where a hypothesis does not.

What criterion do we use to evaluate a research question?

(1) Scientific relevance, built upon existing research.

(2) Social importance, relevance to society.

(3) Feasibility, measured in terms of cost and time.

True or False: The withholding of a beneficial treatment from some subjects is a cause for ethical concern.

True.

What does an IRB stand for?

An Institutional Review Board (IRB).

What population receives special protections during research?

Children, pregnant individuals, economically, or educationally, disadvantage, persons, prisoners, and individuals with cognitive impairments or developmental disabilities.

What are the ethical standards in the Belmont Report?

Beneficence

True or False: Confidentiality must be maintained for individual research participants unless it is voluntarily and explicitly waived.

True.

In which circumstances may it be defensible for a researcher to deceive their subjects?

When knowledge of the experimental premise may change subjects behavior, and the studies validity would be compromised if they know the truth.

True or false: A measure is valid when it yields consistent scores or observations of a given phenomenon on different occasions.

False.

What is conceptualization?

Defining what is meant by a term.

What is operationalization?

Operationalization is the process of defining how a concept will be measured or quantified in a study.

How is conceptualization different from operationalization?

Conceptualization focuses on defining a concept, while operationalization focuses on measuring that concept.

What are the four levels of measurement?

(1) Nominal: Categorizes data without a specific order.

(2) Ordinal: Categorizes data with a meaningful order.

(3) Interval: Measures data with equal intervals but no true zero

(4) Ratio: Measures data with equal intervals and a true zero.

What does it mean when a variable's attributes or values are mutually exclusive?

Mutually exclusive means that a respondent can only belong to one category at a time.

What does it mean when a variable's attributes or values are exhaustive?

Exhaustive means that all possible categories are included, allowing every respondent to fit into a category.

What is Triangulation?

Using two or more different measures of the same variable.

How might triangulation assist in achieving better validity?

By confirming results across different measures of the same variable. Minimizing the measurement, error, and in increasing confidence in that variable.

True or false: Variables that have only two values are known as dichotomies.

True.

True or false: Availability samples are generalizable to a larger population.

False.

What is the purpose of sampling?

The purpose of sampling is to generate a set of individuals or other entities that give us a valid picture of all such individuals or other entities.

What is a sample?

A subset of elements from the larger population.

What is the difference between probability and nonprobability sampling?

And probability sampling, every element of the population has a known chance of being selected; in non-probability sampling, the chance of selection or unknown.

What are the four common types of nonprobability sampling?

Availability sampling, quota sampling, purposive sampling, snowball sampling.

Why might it be useful to use a nonprobability sample?

When we do not have a population list or sampling frame, when exploring a research question that does not concern a large population, when conducting a preliminary or exploratory study, when conducting qualitative research.

What are units of analysis?

The level of social life on which a research question is focused, such as individuals.

Why are units of analysis important?

They determine what or who the research is studying and shape how findings are interpreted.

True or false: Probability sampling methods are those in which the probability of selection is known and not zero.

True.

True or false: Association is not a sufficient criterion on its own for establishing a causal effect.

True.

Explain the meaning of the expression, 'correlation does not prove causation.'

Even if two variables change together, that does not necessarily mean one causes the other.

What are the three features that true experiments have that allow researchers to show causality?

Assessment of change in the dependent variable after the intervention, random assignment of participants to groups, presence of both a treatment and a control group.

What are the required elements to prove causation?

Non-spuriousness, temporality, association.

True or false: The random assignment of subjects to experimental and comparison groups is not the same as random sampling of individuals from some larger population.

True.

What are quasi-experimental designs?

A design that includes a comparison group similar to the experimental group, but lack random assignment.

Which of the following is true of quasi experiments?

They are missing at least one of the requirements necessary to be a true experiment

What are the three attractive features of survey research?

Versatility, efficiency, and generalizability.

What is a fence sitter?

A respondent who sees themselves as neutral on an issue and prefers a neutral or undecided option.

What is a floater?

A respondent who chooses a substantive answer even when they do not know anything about the question.

What are key principles to guide the design of a questionnaire, as described in your text?

Consider whether the questionnaire should be translated into other languages and build on existing instruments when possible.

True or false: Asking questions that are not necessary for purposes of their research may make the questionnaire more intrusive than necessary.

True.

What are the four guidelines for writing clear and meaningful questions?

Avoid making either disagreement or agreement, seem disagreeable, avoid double barrel, questions, use clear, grammar, specific reference periods, avoid confusing, phrasing, and vagueness.

True or false: Structurally, questions on surveys generally fall into two categories: those with and those without explicit response choices.

True.

What is the saturation point?

The point at which subject selection is ended because new interviews yield little additional information.

True or false: Random selection is rarely used to select respondents for intensive interviews.

True.

What is reflexivity? Why is it important?

An account of how researchers interact with participants, resolve problems, and reflect on how their values in experiences shape, research process, thereby enhancing validity and reliability.

What are the three distinctive research designs in qualitative methods?

Participant observation, focus groups, and intensive interviewing.

Does intensive interviewing rely on open-ended or close-ended questions?

Open-ended questions, to allow participants to provide rich, detailed narratives in their own words.

True or false: There are set standards for evaluating the validity or authenticity of conclusions in a qualitative study.

False.

What are the strengths of using mixed methodology?

Mixed methodology allows, researchers to combine qualitative and quantitative strengths to enhance different forms of validity.

What are the challenges of using mixed methodology?

Mixed methodology often requires more time and resources than using a single method, mixed methodology can involve difficulties in aligning sampling or recruitment strategies across methods, mixed methodology requires researchers to integrate different types of data in a coherent way.

True or false: Closed-ended questions are most common and are well suited for the reliable measurement of variables that have been studied in the past and whose meanings are well understood.

True.

What are mixed methods?

Mix method allow researchers to capture, both contextual meeting and measurable patterns, mixed methods, intentionally integrate qualitative and quantitative techniques in a single project, mixed methods can provide insights about processes that a single method might miss.

Why are mixed methods used?

Mixed methods are used to draw on the complementary strengths of both qualitative and quantitative approaches and examining related research questions.

What is the value of triangulation?

Triangulation provide provides a clearer and more credible understanding of a phenomenon by examining it through multiple methods or perspectives

True or false: The use of mixed methods should be an intentional design decision, not the addition of another aspect of research that is an afterthought or fishing expedition.

True.

The use of multiple methods to study one research question is?

Triangulation.

Which of the following best describes a meta-analysis?

A meta-analysis is a quantitative technique that statistically analyzes patterns across multiple studies by treating each study as a case with measurable variables.

True or false: No single research method, including mixed methodology, is inherently superior across all research contexts.

True.

True or false: mixed methodology offers, important advantages, but it's not universally the best choice for every study.

True.

True or false: the usefulness of mixed methodology depends on the specific research question and a type of validity, researcher aims to maximize.

True.