Chapter 2: Research Methods

Question 1

Bias

Answer 1

A characteristic of results that systematically misrepresent the true nature of what is being studied

Question 2

Causal Relationship

Answer 2

A relationship between two variables in which one variable is the cause of the other

Question 3

Concepts

Answer 3

Ideas that summarize a set of phenomena

Question 4

Correlation

Answer 4

The degree to which two or more variables are associated with one another

Question 5

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 5

Starts from broad theories about the social world but proceeds to break them down into more specific and testable hypotheses

Question 6

Dependent Variables

Answer 6

Variables that change as a result of changes in other variables

Question 7

Document Analysis

Answer 7

The examination of written materials or cultural products: previous studies, newspaper reports, court records, campaign posters, digital reports, films, pamphlets, and other forms of text or images produced by individuals, government agencies, private organizations, or others.

Question 8

Experiments

Answer 8

Research techniques for investigating cause and effect under controlled conditions

Question 9

Fieldwork

Answer 9

A research method that relies on an in-depth and often extended study to describe and analyze a group or community; also called ethnography

Question 10

Hypothesis

Answer 10

Ideas about the world, derived from theories, that describe possible relationships between social phenomena

Question 11

Independent or experimental variables

Answer 11

Variables the researcher changes intentionally

Question 12

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 12

Starts from specific data, such as interviews, observations, or field notes, that may focus on a single community or event and endeavors to identify larger patterns from which to derive more general theories

Question 13

Interview

Answer 13

A detailed conversation designed to obtain in-depth information about a person and his or her activities

Question 14

Leading Questions

Answer 14

Questions that tend to elicit particular responses

Question 15

Negative correlation

Answer 15

A relationship showing that as one variable increases, the other decreases

Question 16

Objectivity

Answer 16

The ability to represent the object of the study accurately

Question 17

Operational Definition

Answer 17

Describes the concept in such a way that it can be observed and measured

Question 18

Population

Answer 18

The whole group of people studied

Question 19

Positive Correlation

Answer 19

A relationship showing that as one variable rises or falls, the other does as well

Question 20

Principle of falsification (or falsifiability)

Answer 20

The principle, advanced by philosopher Karl Popper, is that a scientific theory must lead to testable hypotheses that can be disproved if they are wrong.

Question 21

Qualitative research

Answer 21

Research that is characterized by data that cannot be quantified (or converted into numbers), focusing instead on generating in-depth knowledge of social life, institutions, and processes

Question 22

Qualitative variables

Answer 22

Variables that express qualities and do not have numerical values

Question 23

Quantitative research

Answer 23

Research that gathers data that can be quantified and offers insight into broad patterns of social behavior and social attitudes.

Question 24

Quantitative variables

Answer 24

Factors that can be counted.

Question 25

Random sampling

Answer 25

Sampling in which everyone in the population of interest has an equal chance of being chosen for the study

Question 26

Reliability

Answer 26

The extent to which researchers’ findings are consistent with the findings of different studies of the same thing or with the findings of the same study over time

Question 27

Replication

Answer 27

The repetition of a previous study using a different sample or population to verify or refute the original findings

Question 28

Research

Answer 28

Specific techniques for systematically gathering data

Question 29

Sample

Answer 29

A small number of people; a portion of the larger population selected to represent the whole

Question 30

Scientific Method

Answer 30

A process of gathering empirical (scientific and specific) data, creating theories, and rigorously testing theories

Question 31

Scientific Theories

Answer 31

Explanations of how and why scientific observations are as they are

Question 32

Social Desirability Bias

Answer 32

A response bias based on the tendency of respondents to answer a question in a way that they perceive will be favorably received

Question 33

Spurious relationship

Answer 33

A correlation between two or more variables caused by another factor that is not being measured rather than a causal link between the variables themselves.

Question 34

Statistical Data

Answer 34

Quantitative information obtained from government agencies, businesses, research studies, and other entities that collect data for their own or others’ use

Question 35

Stratified Sampling

Answer 35

Dividing a population into a series of subgroups and taking random samples from within each group

Question 36

Survey

Answer 36

A research method that uses a questionnaire or interviews administered to a group of people in person or by telephone or e-mail to determine their characteristics, opinions, and behaviors

Question 37

Validity

Answer 37

The degree to which concepts and their measurements accurately represent what they claim to represent

Question 38

Value Neutrality

Answer 38

The characteristic of being free of personal beliefs and opinions that would influence the course of research

Question 39

Variable

Answer 39

A concept or its empirical measure that can take on two or more possible values