SOC 311 Exam 2

The distinction between experimental and non-experimental methods is based on whether or not:

The researcher has control over the independent variable

The people who were not arrested were known as which of the following?

Control group

Which feature of the classical experimental design was not applicable to this study?

Pre-test

If the researchers had been unable to randomly assign cases to the two groups, that would have threatened:

The internal validity of the experiment

The comparability of the experimental and control groups

The ability to isolate the effect of the study technique

Typically speaking, field experiments are:

Stronger on external validity than on internal validity

Which of the following is TRUE about survey research?

It is useful for studying attitudes or behaviors prevalent in a large population.

Which of the following is an advantage of survey interviews over self-administered questionnaires?

Typically higher response rates

Currently, the key challenge with using web surveys to study the general population relates to:

The ability to obtain a sampling frame that would enable the researcher to contact selected respondents electronically

Which of the following is an advantage of closed-ended questions, compared to open-ended ones?

They call for responses that are more efficiently analyzed.

Which of the following is an example of a double-barreled question?

Do you think that state budgets should be reduced and public finances made more transparent?

The primary source of reliability problems in survey research is:

Questions that are not relevant to respondents and/or are poorly written

Which of the following is TRUE regarding qualitative research?

It is distinguished by its emphasis on the context of social life and social interaction.

An example of the "complete participant" role is:

Enlisting in the military to study the re-socialization process as a "recruit"

The mixed participant/observer role involves:

Studying social situations while interacting with people in those situations

Compared to the survey interview, the qualitative research interview is typically:

Less concerned with standardized question wording and order

Complete neutrality on the part of a qualitative research interviewer may be difficult because:

The interview is like a conversation, with interviewees expecting a sharing of opinions

Unobtrusive methods of data collection:

Remove the researcher from the events and behavior under study

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of secondary data analysis, compared to primary data collection?

Typically provides greater validity

Using existing statistics, Professor Ford finds that cities with low median incomes tend to have higher crime rates than cities with high median incomes. Ford concludes that low-income people are more likely to commit crimes than are high-income people. Ford is:

Committing the ecological fallacy

Ben analyzed data from every state in the U.S. to determine whether there is a relationship between the number of guns sold and a state's murder rate. The unit of analysis is:

States

For which of the following situations would content analysis be appropriate?

Studying the speeches of Presidents to see how often they refer to the issue of inflation

Francesca did a content analysis of letters to the editor. She counted the number of times that the words "disagree" and "agree" appeared. Francesca was doing:

Manifest content coding

In comparison to coding the latent content of communication, coding the manifest content:

Has an advantage in terms of reliability

You have been asked to evaluate the effectiveness of an after school program designed to reduce juvenile delinquency.

a) Identify one possible indicator of juvenile delinquency (that could be examined for change over time as shown on the chart below; 1 pt).

b) Let's say that the delinquency rate (based on your measure) changed over time as shown on the chart. Does the chart suggest that the treatment had the intended effect? Briefly explain

a) the after school program

b) The rate was already on a steady decline

In-person interviews are typically more time and cost-intensive than other survey modes. Provide an example of a situation in which in-person interviews might be worth the extra time and cost

a bit longer or questions are more complex

You are planning a study to investigate differences in friendship patterns (i.e., the number and quality of friendships) in residence halls that group students by shared interests/major and those that do not.

a) Identify one dependent variable in this study

friendship patterns

You are planning a study to investigate differences in friendship patterns (i.e., the number and quality of friendships) in residence halls that group students by shared interests/major and those that do not.

b) Identify the independent variable in this study

residence hall

You are planning a study to investigate differences in friendship patterns (i.e., the number and quality of friendships) in residence halls that group students by shared interests/major and those that do not.

c) Let's say that you had to choose between survey research and observation. Which one would you choose? Defend your answer

Survey research. Able to ask them personally.

You are planning a study to investigate differences in friendship patterns (i.e., the number and quality of friendships) in residence halls that group students by shared interests/major and those that do not.

d) Based on your chosen method, provide a measure of your dependent variable

What % of people would you consider to be close friends.